NEW YORK CITY — Legendary rock band Pearl Jam took their latest album “Gigaton” to an otherworldly level with a performance at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem on Saturday (Sept. 10).
Pearl Jam’s lead singer Eddie Vedder is no stranger to space, having recently collaborated with NASA on a music video inspired by the Artemis program of lunar exploration. But the band went far beyond the moon. In addition to classic Pearl Jam songs like “Even Flow,” “Spin the Black Circle,” “Porch” and more, they played seven songs from “Gigaton (opens in new tab),” which includes two space-inspired numbers.
One of the songs, called “Quick Escape,” features an imaginative trip to Mars, according to singer Eddie Vedder’s lyrics, “And here we are, the Red Planet/ Craters across the skyline.”
Related: Space.com’s full review of “Gigaton”
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Another “Gigaton” tune they rocked was “Retrograde,” which takes me to celestial heights with the lyrics, “Stars align they say when/ Things are better than right now/ Feel the retrograde spin us round, round.” The song’s climax certainly got my heart pumping.
The show was part of SiriusXM’s Small Stage series that has featured artists including Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Brandi Carlile, Coldplay and Dave Matthews.
#PearlJam on the Red Planet! “Quick Escape” @ApolloTheater was phenomenal! Thanks @SIRIUSXM for an awesome evening! More about Gigaton on @SPACEdotcom https://t.co/hnWIehr02L pic.twitter.com/EXB1Jr4sxoSeptember 11, 2022
For those not able to attend the show in person, SiriusXM delivered many stunning images from the star-studded event and a recap video featuring Pearl Jam performing their classic “Better Man,” seen above. Many celebrities and sports legends were seen at the show, including Heidi Klum, John McEnroe, Bode Miller, Megyn Kelly, Robin Quivers and more.
Several fans, as well as the band, took to Twitter and Youtube to share highlights, including a tweet from NASA astrophysicist Amber Straughn (opens in new tab), who was also in attendance.
What an evening! Thank you, @ApolloTheater and @SIRIUSXM! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/kKUivW10pDSeptember 11, 2022
“Gigaton” isn’t the only evidence that Eddie Vedder has jumped head first into space-enthusiast waters. In addition to the recent collaboration with NASA, he called the international Space Station for an Earth Day chat.
The band’s string of U.S. tour dates (opens in new tab) in support of Gigaton continues through late September.
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