THE BEAST

Eddie Vedder kicked off a European solo tour in Amsterdam on Saturday night. Reeling from the death of his longtime friend and collaborator Chris Cornell, the performance was said to be an emotional one, with Vedder playing several songs in tribute to the Soundgarden singer.

In his opening performance of Pearl Jam’s “Long Road”, Vedder changed the lyrics to “Without you/ something is missing.” A cover of Cat Stevens’ “Trouble” followed. Vedder than played Pearl Jam’s “Sometimes” during which he cried out, “Where were you, dear God?” Other notable performances included his own composition “Without You”, a cover of Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done” (a song about heroin addiction), and Pearl Jam’s “Immortality”. He opened the first encore with a cover of Fugazi’s “I’m So Tired”, which features lyrics like, “Out here/ Barely see my breath/ Surrounded by jealousy and death/ I can’t be reached/ Only had one call/ Dragged underneath Separate from you all/ You all.”

At one point during the concert, a fan yelled out, “I love you!”, to which Vedder responded, “Thank you. I need it – we all need it. I’m thinking of a lot of people tonight. And some in particular and their families. And I just know that healing takes time, if it ever happens. It takes time, and that means you have to start somewhere. So let it be music. Let it be love and togetherness. And let it be Amsterdam.”