How Pearl Jam reconnected with the electrifying spirit of their youth in metro Phoenix

Unlike the Clash, whose music Eddie Vedder clearly idolizes, Pearl Jam were never touted as the Only Band That Matters.

But to those who gravitated to what Pearl Jam were doing in the ‘90s, that’s exactly what they had to feel like, from the life-affirming power of their music to the death-defying antics of a singer known for executing stage dives from perilous heights.

It’s been a minute since he’s done that sort of thing.

But Vedder's vocals are no less impassioned at 57 than they were back when Pearl Jam's earliest triumphs — the 13-times-platinum breakthrough “Ten” and the seven-times-platinum “Vs.” in particular — were doing so much to define what a huge swath of '90s “alternative rock” acts would do their best (or worst) to sound like.

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And he still knows how to work a crowd, as he displayed with the seemingly effortless charm and command of a natural entertainer while sipping red wine from a bottle Monday night at Gila River Arena during Pearl Jam's first metro Phoenix concert since 2013.

He's just using his words more these days.

As a wise man sang before the show was through, "It's evolution, baby."

Josh Klinghoffer opened Pearl Jam's show

He even clocked in early to open his own concert, strolling out before the scheduled opener, Josh Klinghoffer of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Klinghoffer is pulling double duty on this tour — a utility player for the headliners, he's also opening as the one-man solo project Pluralone.

After telling the crowd "you definitely win" the award for most people who showed up early, Vedder said, "My name is Ed. I'll be playing with the band later."

Then, he treated the early arrivals to a crowd-pleasing acoustic rendition of "Far Behind," a solo song from the soundtrack to "Into the Wild" before saying "I take pride in this privilege" of introducing Klinghoffer.

The multi-instrumentalist was joined by Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard on "Buttercup," a song by one of Gossard's other projects, Brad, in a set whose highlights ranged from Pluralone's "Rat Bastards at Every Turn" to "Backwater," a song by Tempe's Meat Puppets chosen to honor the show's proximity to their hometown.

"I heard that it's what they call Victory Day today in Russia," Klinghoffer said before ending his set with a cover of John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance," encouraging the crowd to keep it going for half an hour until Pearl Jam came out on stage.

He even joked that he'd play Jane's Addiction's "Jane Says" if they did.

Suffice to say, he didn't end up singing any Jane's Addiction songs.

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Pearl Jam opened their powerful headlining set with a moody rendition of "Wash," the B-side to their anthemic first single, "Alive," before following through with the mainstream-rock-radio chart-topper "Given to Fly" from 1997's "Yield."

Then, Vedder shared the first of several lengthy monologues, this one concerning a trip he took in 1988. He was driving from San Diego to Phoenix when his car broke down in Gila Bend, where a friendly couple took him in for a few days.

"If you've ever seen Gila Bend, you see it for about 90 seconds as you're driving through at 80 miles an hour," Vedder said. "And it was almost like life forced me to stop. I was broke, I was stuck and I was not going anywhere."

At the story's conclusion, he launched into "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town," the first of many massive singalongs.

Vedder peppered the set with local references. He thanked the Coyotes "for lending us this space tonight" and noted that two of his favorite Coyotes — Christian Fischer and Clayton Keller — were in the house.

He also talked about spring training games and visiting the Musical Instrument Museum, which he highly recommended, with a favorite uncle who lived in Arizona.

And he took great joy in bringing up the ADOT sign he noticed on his way to the arena: "Even flow on the gas; left to pass."

He thought he was having an acid flashback, Vedder joked before sharing a message for the person who designed those signs: "That's incredible; keep eating the edibles."

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He and his bandmates are ostensibly touring the States in delayed support of 2020's "Gigaton," an album released in the early days of the pandemic.

And the setlist did include four songs from that one, all of which were well-received and seemed to hold their own surrounded by the songs on which their legacy has come to rest.

But every other song they played from their own catalog was from the '90s, including such first-album highlights as "Even Flow" and "Black," the "Vitalogy" standout "Corduroy" and a heartfelt rendition of "Daughter."

"Even Flow" featured an epic guitar lead from the awe-inspiring Mike McCready that started with him playing wah-guitar behind his head and only got better from there.

He's an electrifying musician to witness, at times recalling the reckless abandon of Neil Young.

As much as Vedder tends to dominate a spotlight, the talent has always run deep in this band, from drumming powerhouse Matt Cameron to bassist Jeff Ament, who did a brilliant job of channeling John Entwistle on "Leaving Here," to guitarists McCready and Gossard.

Vedder prefaced "Daughter" with an urgent plea for reproductive rights, saluting local politicians Gabby Giffords and Sen. Mark Kelly.

"At the same time," Vedder said, "you have a governor who has just signed a bill that outlaws a woman's freedom to choose even in the event of rape or incest."

We're in America, Vedder said. "In America, we believe in freedom, liberty and privacy. And people should have the freedom to choose."

By that point, he'd already referenced the senator's twin brother, fellow astronaut Scott Kelly, who was also in the house and put in a request for "Black," which featured more extreme guitar heroics from McCready.

After bringing the set to a spirited close with "Porch," Vedder twirling his mic like Roger Daltrey in his prime and leaping off a PA speaker during the guitar break, Pearl Jam returned for an extended encore.

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The encore version of 'Alive' was a raucous celebration

The encore started with the singer paying tribute to his niece, Molly Vedder, who's set to graduate from Arizona State University this week and blew off a graduation event to see her uncle rock a sports arena.

After launching the encore with "Smile," Vedder ceded the spotlight to McCready for a finger-tapping tribute to "another legend that we miss," Eddie Van Halen, on "Eruption."

That gave way to a raucous "Do the Evolution," followed by an emotional reading of "Better Man," which Vedder sent out to a woman he met who shared the story of losing her sister to COVID-19.

"Better Man" built to a cathartic climax, Vedder doing a flurry of windmills on guitar before kicking the mic stand over. Then they dusted off their cover of the Motown classic "Leaving Here" (in the style of the Who), which Vedder dedicated to "all the badass women out there and all the badass men who support them."

The encore ended with two classics from the early days — a version of "Alive" that couldn't possibly have felt more like a celebration, Vedder gleefully tossing tambourines to the audience, and a truly transcendent "Yellow Ledbetter."

It was the perfect ending to a night that found one of the most beloved rock acts of the past three decades reconnecting with their fans after being sidelined for two years by the pandemic.

As Vedder noted early in the set, "My friend Tom Petty used to say, 'The waiting is the hardest part.' Thank God the waiting is over."

Pearl Jam's Phoenix setlist

"Wash"

"Given to Fly"

"Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"

"Corduroy"

"Quick Escape"

"Why Go"

"Superblood Wolfmoon"

"Alright"

"Even Flow"

"Dance of the Clairvoyants"

"Black" (with "We Belong Together" tag)

"I Got Id"

"Red Mosquito"

"Sleeping by Myself" (Eddie Vedder song)

"Daughter" (with "W.M.A." tag)

"Porch"

Encore

"Smile"

"Eruption" (Van Halen cover)

"Do the Evolution"

"Better Man"

"Leaving Here" (Eddie Holland cover)

"Alive"

"Yellow Ledbetter"

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pearl Jam 2022: They just delivered the concert we all needed