Pearl Jam Close Outside Lands With Tribute to Neil Young

Posted on Aug 29th 2009 9:10AM by Benjy Eisen
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Pearl Jam closed out the first night of Outside Lands on Friday, but three songs into the set ('Why Go,' 'Animal,' 'The Fixer') -- frontman Eddie Vedder checked in on the audience, making sure fans were settled, "safe and sound" and making friends with their neighbors. After advising everyone to take care of themselves and others, he gave a command that referenced another famous three-day festival: "I've been told to tell you not to eat the brown acid," he joked. Forty years after the original Woodstock, kids have finally learned that lesson.

Towards the end of the set, which included obligatory rockers such as 'Even Flow' and 'Daughter,' Vedder shared a personal memory with the crowd, saying that playing in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park reminded him of a situation 15 years ago when the band had to pull out of a San Fran show because Vedder had a severe case of food poisoning. Neil Young was brought in as the pinch hitter. "I'd like to thank him for putting himself in harms way, in the service of rock 'n' roll," said Vedder. As if in tribute (even though they often do this), the band closed their second encore with a pair of Young covers -- 'Throw Your Hatred Down' and 'Rockin' in the Free World.'

That was awfully nice of Young to fill in for them. Too bad Tenacious D wasn't a band back then, or else they would've volunteered as well (Tenacious D will perform at Outside Lands on Sunday, filling in for the Beastie Boys, who cancelled due to illness.)

For both Pearl Jam as well as Incubus (who played the main stage directly before them), their sets didn't just represent the end of Day One for Outside Lands -- it also functioned as both bands' tour closer.