On Friday night, members of The Police and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers sat in with Eddie Vedder and the Earthlings at the Youtube Theater just outside of Los Angeles. The performance featured a plethora of covers and an epic seven-song encore.
The ensemble, which features guitarist/vocalist Glen Hansard, drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), guitarists Josh Klinghoffer and Andrew Watt, and bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction), kicked off the show with a cover of R.E.M.’s “Drive,” before contributor Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers) unleashed an electric piano prelude to Tom Petty’s “Room at the Top.”
Bentmont stuck around for the first of a fleet of originals off the 2022 LP, Earthling, which included “Long Way,” “Invincible,” “The Dark” and “Brother the Cloud.” Next, they broke out a cover of The Who’s “I’m One” off the 1973 LP, Quadrophenia.
The band returned to Earthling for a take on “Mrs. Mills,” followed by an ode to Vedder’s Pearl Jam roots with “Wishlist.” The group was then joined by the frontman’s daughter, Olivia Vedder, for “My Father’s Daughter.” The single set performance continued with “Try,” followed by a pairing of “Chad-O” and “Rose of Jericho,” and concluded with “Better Man” off the 1994 album Vitalogy, featuring Benmont Tench.
The seven-track encore began with a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It” with assistance from Nate Walcott, Sean Billings, Vikram Devasthali, and James King on horns, as well as Benmont Tench. The Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers keyboardist stuck around for his band’s own “The Waiting,” followed by a take on George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity,” in honor of the beloved Beatles' 79th birthday.
Pearl Jam tunes “Dirty Frank” and “Porch” came next before the ensemble was joined by Stewart Copeland of The Police on drums for the 1979 classic “Message in a Bottle” followed by a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” featuring Smith on guitar to end the night.
See the full setlist below.
Eddie Vedder
YouTube Theater – Inglewood, Calif.
February 25, 2022
Set I: Drive, Room at the Top, Long Way, Invincible, The Dark, Brother the Cloud, Tender Mercies, The Haves, I’m One, Mrs. Mills, Wishlist, My Father’s Daughter, Try, Chad-O, Rose of Jericho, Fallout Today, Better Man
Enc.: Baby Don’t You Do It, The Waiting, Isn’t It a Pity, Dirty Frank, Porch, Message in a Bottle, Rockin’ in the Free World
