Irish post-punk band The Murder Capital start the evening with a theatrically moody performance. Lead singer, James McGovern, sports a leopard print buzz cut and wields a tambourine much like Manchester’s own Liam Gallagher (who will also grace the same stage this week). They gallop through their set, debuting new music and making a few thousand new friends along the way.
Seattle grunge legends Pearl Jam enter the arena, vocalist Eddie Vedder’s signature trucker hat placed firmly on his head. True, he doesn’t dangle from the rafters anymore, but although Vedder and his bandmates are perilously close to collecting their bus passes, they’re almost – almost – as energetic as ever.
They peak through the silhouetted lighting of the first two songs, ‘Of the Girl’ and ‘Present Tense’, only spotlighted when Vedder, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready practically shred the strings from their guitars.
Pearl Jam are notorious for mixing up their setlist. Sure, they’ll play some of the hits, with ‘Daughter’, ‘Given to Fly’ and ‘Even Flow’ all aired alongside tour debuts of ‘All Night’ and ‘I Got Id’. They even lob in a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Fuckin Up’ – they were Young’s backing band on his 1995 ‘Mirrorball’ album – but there’s no ‘Jeremy’, no ‘Spin the Black Circle’, no ‘Rearviewmirror’.
In truth, they don’t need them. Unlike the Smashing Pumpkins, who floundered with their deep cuts when they played here a couple of weeks ago, the back lanes and alleyways of Pearl Jam’s catalogue are as strong as their bankers. Then again, with a dozen albums under their belt, including their new ‘Dark Matter’ release still bedding in, they have ample material to choose from.
Vedder struggles with his voice throughout after picking up a dose of the lurgy, but the crowd help guide him through the curfew-baiting 23-song set. The extended encore features a triple-whammy of ‘Do the Evolution’, ‘Black’ and ‘Alive’, with an added dash of ‘Crown of Thorns’ from Gossard and Ament’s old band, Mother Love Bone – albeit shorn of its ‘Chloe Dancer’ prelude.
We are seeking submissions from talented student writers, artists, illustrators, graphic designers, photographers, filmmakers and more to showcase their work as part of the Lights Up exhibition, a unique event celebrating cycling and women’s empowerment and representation on our roads. This exhibition will follow the Lights Up night-time bike ride, an inspiring community event promoting…
As part of the annual Manchester Literature Festival, HOME hosts Carol Ann Duffy and John Sampson to read from ‘Earth Prayers’. The festival celebrates ‘imagination, ideas, stories and voices’ from across the globe, bringing together people with a passion for language. In her latest works, Duffy collates ‘encounters with poetry in the natural world’, a…
Featured image: Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Met is joining the global UN Women 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign with a powerful festival of events designed to inspire change through poetry and literature. The campaign will run from 25th November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to 10th December, Human…
Featured image: Sara Hills The QuietManDave Prize, honouring theatre critic and writer Dave Murray, is now open for entries for its 2024 edition, encouraging submissions in all forms of writing. Writers are invited to submit flash fiction and non-fiction entries until Friday 25th October, 2024. The prize aims to encourage short-form writing with no limitations on…
Leave a reply