Pearl Jam warmed up for their Sunday night headlining Austin City Limits set with their debut appearance on the long-running television show of the same name. Some 400 fans were treated to an intimate two-hour set, a considerably smaller crowd than the 65,000 expected to show at the band's closing set at the fest. The episode, which will air Nov. 21, included a guest spot from Ben Harper, frontman Eddie Vedder suggesting a name for a pregnant audience member (Matilda if it's a girl) and a lot of jokes before Pearl Jam's second encore.

"I was not offered a beer on the way in, so I had to bring my own,' Vedder said with a nod to his bottle of wine. Alongside bassist Jeff Ament the frontman started things off with the cover 'Walking the Cow' by his favorite Austin, Texas artist Daniel Johnston. The rest of Pearl Jam and a four-piece string section would join Vedder a couple songs in, not afraid to try out the new 'Backspacer' tracks 'The Fixer' and 'Johnny Guitar.'

Vedder story-booked throughout the set, letting fans in on the dreams that wake him up in the middle of the night, phone conversations with his five-year old daughter and a recent gig with the Police's drummer Stewart Copeland. "It was like cooking for the king," Vedder confessed to the crowd before playing the second cover of the evening, the Police's 'Driven to Tears.' Ben Harper chimed in with his slide guitar on 'Red Mosquito.' Vedder introduced his pal and current touring partner with a bit of trivia -- Harper's first of four ACL tapings was filmed when he was just 20 and playing in Taj Mahal's band.

Even when the rest of Pearl Jam amped it up, Vedder managed to keep it intimate, singling out audience members who asked for a swig from his wine bottle. Calling the room the "ACL Choir," Vedder then asked for some background vocals on the 'Vitalogy' ballad 'Better Man.' The room barely let the frontman sing his own lyrics. 'Evolution,' 'Army Reserve' and 'Porch,' among other Pearl Jam favorites, rounded out the set before the stage emptied aside for guitarist Mike McCready, who finally ended the special evening with his own Jimi Hendrix-like rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'