Pearl Jam played live for the first time in two years on Wednesday (June 24th) as part of “All In WA: A Concert For COVID-19 Relief,” a musical benefit broadcast locally in Washington state and livestreamed online. The full show is also available at Amazon Prime.
The band's new song “Dance Of The Clairvoyants,” from its latest LP Gigaton, made its concert debut as the band performed from their homes. Reflecting the song's spirit of experimentation, guitarist Stone Gossard picked up the bass, while bassist Jeff Ament got behind the keyboard and also donned a guitar.
Even playing apart from each other, Pearl Jam is one of the most consistent live acts around. Guitarist Mike McCready explained a while back why he thinks that is: “The sure-fire thing is just a confidence in our band, and I know that we've done that before and we'll do it again, because we are a really good, tight live band. And a lot of that is non-spoken because we've played together for so long. It's an interesting thing. I don't know if there's a sure-fire way of doing it, but I think we hit it pretty well most times we do it.”
The bill also included Ben Gibbard, Macklemore, Dave Matthews, Brandi Carlile, Ciara, the Black Tones, Sir Mix-A-Lot, actor Joel McHale, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Russell Wilson and more.
“All In WA” is a coordinated statewide relief effort powered by public officials, companies, philanthropic leaders, community foundations, United Way organizations, community leaders, frontline nonprofits, and individuals to provide immediate emergency support for workers and families most affected across Washington State.
Pearl Jam released Gigaton, its first album in seven years, this past March. The band was slated to begin a world tour that same month but those plans were scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.