Pearl Jam honoured the victims of the 9/11 tragedy during their New York gig at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night (September 11).
The bandโs โGigatonโ arena tour hit the Big Apple on the 21st anniversary of the tragedy. Frontman Eddie Vedder took time during the gig to pay tribute to a host of first responders from 9/11 who attended the gig.
Between songs, Vedder told the story of a man named Mike who told him that he left the city on 9/11 due to traumatic memories of the event but that this year he โthought it would be a good idea to be here tonight with youโ.
Discussing how 9/11 led to greater unity in the United States, Vedder added: โThere was a time we supported each other. Thatโs the part we cannot forget. Let those lessons be remembered as our solidarity to come together and keep this country straight.โ
Later in the show, the singer and guitarist for the Seattle-formed band said: โThis is the 37th time this band has played in New York City. I think weโve only played Seattle 50. Hereโs the thing โ I donโt remember half of those fucking Seattle shows. I just donโt. But I feel like we remember every Manhattan show.
โThis potentially has the chance to be the most memorable of them all. We are quite honoured to be spending this important date with you.โ
Last week (September 8) Pearl Jam covered The Beatlesโ โHer Majestyโ in Toronto to honour Queen Elizabeth II.
While performing at Torontoโs Scotiabank Arena hours after the news of the Queenโs death broke, Pearl Jam took a moment to pay tribute to the monarch. Before the band launched into their own song โAll Those Yesterdaysโ, frontman Eddie Vedder performed a short rendition of โHer Majestyโ.
โThis is just one Iโm gonna from Paul McCartney,โ Vedder said before playing the Abbey Road secret track solo.
The band returned to the stage in July after cancelling three recent shows due to Vedder suffering from vocal issues. Earlier that month, the group scrapped a scheduled performance in Vienna after the frontmanโs throat was damaged by the โheat, dust, and smoke from the firesโ at Lollapalooza Paris on July 17. (NME)