Pearl Jam @ Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Special contribution by Jamie Ford

A show two years in the making (rescheduled due to the pandemic from the previously announced April 6, 2020 date), Pearl Jam took over the Paycom Center, formerly the Chesapeake Energy Arena back in 2020, to an anxious and eager crowd who has patiently waited for this show. The packed house was treated to a set that included songs from the entirety of the band's catalog, which now spans more than thirty years, which is a testament to the career of the band, a band that shows no signs of slowing. The initial tour was set alongside of the release of their 2020 album, Gigaton, a well-received release and one of the main contributors to the show's setlist.

Appearing to a near blacked-out stage, the band emerged sitting at their respective stage placement to an almost Unplugged presentation and kicked off the show with "Garden" and "Alright". Front man Eddie Vedder acknowledged the Oklahoma crowd and the time it took to have this show, but he also acknowledged that there would be a couple more mellow songs before things kicked up. True to their word, by their fifth song, the unseated band jumped into "Hail, Hail" and turned up the volume by ten fold. Eddie, in his Soundgarden shirt, commanded the stage and proved why he and his Seattleites are, after a thirty-year career, are still one of the best rock bands to grace the stage today.

As mentioned earlier the set spanned the entirety of the band's thirty-plus year career in a two-hour plus show that included a staggering 23 songs. While the band's music will always be the forefront of their shows, Vedder's candor to speak of the city's unfortunate and immensely comical sex toy spill that made national headlines, segued into a pro-choice speech regarding a woman's right to choose. Vedder and company have not been one to be silent in times of discourse, so to speak of their position in the deeply red state of Oklahoma, only shows that even to this day, they remain unafraid of speaking their mind and will speak it to whoever is front of them. The show was a masterclass and, as mentioned earlier, a testament to one of the finest rock bands to ever exist. From classics like "Alive" from Ten or Vitalogy's "Corduroy", to the four songs off of 2020's Gigaton and the show's closing cover of "Rockin' in the Free World", the show was absolutely worth the more than two years worth of waiting.

Photos of the show are below: