By Ed Spinelli<\/p>\n
Chicago music lovers were treated like royalty on Wednesday night when Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder kicked off his two night stay at the glorious Auditorium Theatre. Since 2013 fans haven\u2019t seen Vedder play anywhere smaller than Wrigley Field. The Auditorium is definitely the best sounding venue in the city and maybe even the world.<\/p>\n
The grunge rock god\u2019s current solo band, The Earthlings, is pretty much a supergroup, including drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot), keyboardist\/guitarist\/vocalist Josh Klinghoffer (RHCP), bassist Chris Chaney (Jane\u2019s Addiction), guitarist\/vocalist\/opening act Glen Hansard (The Swell Season, The Frames) and guitarist Andrew Watt (California Breed supergroup, Ozzy Osbourne producer).<\/p>\n
Eddie and Earthlings, who are performing a very limited amount of dates together, ripped through a preview of Vedder\u2019s aptly titled \u201cEarthling\u201d album (out today, February 11, featuring guests such as Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr and many of the aforementioned), along with a sample of the recently released \u201cFlag Day\u201d soundtrack that highlights the headliner, Hansard and other indie rockers such as Cat Power and Eddie\u2019s daughter Olivia Vedder.<\/p>\n
There were also several familiar moments amongst the multitude of debuts, including covers of R.E.M.\u2019s \u201cDrive,\u201d The Beatles\u2019 \u201cHere Comes The Sun,\u201d Pretenders\u2019 \u201cPrecious,\u201d The Who\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m One,\u201d all of which could\u2019ve easily been this band\u2019s own given everyone\u2019s immersive interpretations.<\/p>\n
He even dedicated Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers\u2019 \u201cRoom At Top\u201d to the fan in the very last row by the pole, which was his exact seat at the very same venue seeing Bruce Springsteen as a kid.<\/p>\n
Fans were probably questioning how much, if any, Pearl Jam would make it into his extensive set list, and thankfully, a few favorites were strategically slid in.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot For You\u201d and \u201cBetter Man\u201d had everyone proudly singing along, the obscure B Side \u201cDirty Frank\u201d was an unexpected mind-blowing thrill, plus \u201cPorch\u201d found the perfect way to end this perfect concert. Eddie always has a huge place in his heart for Chicago and the feelings have always been mutual. Fingers crossed that he returns to Chicago this summer with his pals from Seattle.<\/p>\n