Pearl Jam review: On opening night at Hard Rock Live, a tour de force of rock ‘n’ roll ferocity and Florida memories

Iconic rock band Pearl Jam opened their 2025 Dark Matter Tour on Thursday in front of a packed and passionate crowd at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, delivering a tour de force of rock ’n’ roll ferocity, storytelling and tender memories of Florida giants Jimmy Buffett and Tom Petty.

The tour continues with another sold-out show at the intimate, 7,000-seat casino performance hall on Saturday. Here are some thoughts on what we saw and heard on Thursday and what it may mean on Saturday.

Welcome back: Pearl Jam spent most of 2024 playing around the globe on the Dark Matter Tour, and when they announced they would return in the middle of 2025 with stops in just five U.S. cities, their motivation was unclear. How invested would they be?

Pearl Jam unleashed the lion immediately, kicking off a set that ran more than two hours with the 34-year-old deep cut “Oceans,” a brooding tribute to the sea and surfing. Backlit by waves of shadowy light that would give way to Rothko-esque bands of color, it was the first of many allusions to the ocean greeted with wild reverence by the standing-room-only Florida crowd. It had been nearly a decade since Pearl Jam’s last South Florida concert.

“Oceans” and the diverse setlist that followed offered ample reminders that Pearl Jam remains one of rock’s great garage bands, a simple amalgam of guitar, drums, bass and vocal that connects to an elusive primal, human urge.

To take nothing away from the rest, but guitarist Mike McCready was an arsonist, beginning with his blistering solo on “Why Go” through punky new track “React, Respond” to “Crazy Mary,” near the end of the night, when he played the last few notes after tumbling onto his back.

The back-to-back pairing of fan-favorite anthem “Alive” and Pearl Jam’s incendiary cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” produced a moment of rock ‘n’ roll hysteria that will be hard for any other act to match in 2025. Other highlights included their cover of The Byrds’ “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” McCready’s duel with bassist Jeff Ament on the rumbling “Porch,” and a deafening sing-along for “Even Flow.”

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Matt Cameron, left, and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam perform during their Dark Matter Tour stop at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Michele Eve Sandberg/Contributor)

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The songs we missed: With more than 30 years of music, a Pearl Jam setlist is a dynamic document. They leaned into the new album, of course, playing a half-dozen songs from “Dark Matter,” the title track greeted by an undulating field of pumping fists.

Inevitably, someone will leave disappointed. So while Thursday night’s audience got “Alive,” “Corduroy” and “Even Flow,” they didn’t get “Black,” “Daughter” or  “Yellow Ledbetter.” Maybe those songs will be part of the Saturday show.

Pit stops: Hard Rock Live, already an intimate space for a band of Pearl Jam’s stadium-filling abilities, was configured with a large standing-room pit in front of the stage, a cauldron of essential, pogoing energy that radiated throughout the room. Amiable vocalist Eddie Vedder (in introducing the band, he said, “Call me Ed”) frequently reached into the crowd to interact with fans and grab items to sign. Twice he stopped the music to point out audience members who seemed to be having problems with heat or the close quarters. He waited to restart “Crazy Mary” only after getting a thumbs-up from one woman.

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam performs in concert during the Dark Matter Tour at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Hollywood, Florida. (Michele Eve Sandberg/Contributor)
Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder was a chatty and amiable host on Thursday night as Pearl Jam kicked off their 2025 Dark Matter Tour at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood. (Michele Eve Sandberg/Contributor)

Florida memories: Drawing from a corked bottle of wine through the night, Vedder seemed pleased to be back in Florida. (In offering many appreciative words for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Vedder noted that tribal leaders had been pushing for a Pearl Jam show at Hard Rock Live for years.) He reminisced about Pearl Jam’s first concert in the Sunshine State in 1992 (“Does anyone remember the Cameo Theater?” he asked), when he fell asleep on the beach with a book of poetry by Charles Bukowski and awoke with a memorable sunburn.

Dressed in a floral shirt, the 60-year-old Vedder looked down and said: “I didn’t realize I looked so much like Jimmy Buffett,” mentioning that the band had spent time with Buffett on several occasions. “Much love to Jimmy,” Vedder said to a wave of applause.

Seated alone on the stage, Vedder said the guitar he now had in his lap had been given to him by the late Tom Petty.

“I only take this guitar out for special occasions,” he said. “Even though he may be gone, it feels like he’s here.”

Gliding into a solo version of Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” the Florida crowd quickly rendered Vedder’s vocals unnecessary with one of the night’s most enthusiastic sing-alongs.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Pearl Jam in concert

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with Dead Pioneers opening; Pearl Jam went on at about 8:50 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood

COST: Concert is sold out, but some tickets (priced at about $1,000 each) are available through the Face Value Exchange Ticket at Ticketmaster.com

INFORMATION: MyHRL.com

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and X @BenCrandell.

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