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Whether you’re a fan of Pearl Jam’s latest, Backspacer, is immaterial; if you’re seeing the band, you’re likely to get swept into the guaranteed three-hour communal freakout that is a rite of attendance. These are fans that battle the band for decibel supremacy. As Matthew Fluxblog wrote in reviewing PJ’s stop at MSG last year, the “unanimity of enthusiasm for Pearl Jam was remarkable, and on par with only a handful of acts that I’ve seen in much smaller rooms.” But this is a tour in support of a new album, and this was its kickoff, so new songs were played (and uproariously approved): “Gonna See My Friend,” “”Got Some,” “Amongst The Waves,” “Unthought Known,” “The Fixer,” “Johnny Guitar,” and “Just Breathe” with a string section featuring Matt Cameron’s wife April on viola. Many of those were getting their live debuts — not “The Fixer,” of course, because that was already taped live for a Target commercial. (Vedder told the crowd he went to his local big box behemoth to buy the vinyl that day, before suggesting they carry record players to seal the one-stop-shopping deal.) Also Eddie weighed in on the Kanye nontroversey, telling the band’s hometown crowd, “We, too, think Kanye West is a jackass.” Vedder concurring with Obama. Imagine. Check these photos by photographer Christopher Nelson, and here’s a peek at PJ’s 27 song setlist:

SELTIST (via setlist.fm)
01 “Long Road”
02 “Corduroy”
03 “Gonna See My Friend”
04 “Got Some”
05 “Hail Hail”
06 “Amongst The Waves”
07 “Daughter”
08 “Even Flow”
09 “Johnny Guitar”
10 “Unthought Known”
11 “World Wide Suicide”
12 “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town”
13 “Off He Goes”
14 “Down”
15 “Save You”
16 “The Fixer”
17 “Life Wasted”
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18 “Just Breathe”
19 “The End”
20 “Inside Job”
21 “Rearviewmirror”
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22 “Given To Fly”
23 “Do The Evolution”
24 “Better Man”
25 “The Real Me” (The Who cover)
26 “Indifference”
27 “Alive”