Watch Eddie Vedder cover Pretenders' 'Precious' with Duff McKagan
Eddie Vedder resumed his ‘Earthling’ US tour this week, and his first show back saw him perform a cover of Pretenders‘ ‘Precious’ alongside Duff McKagan.
A couple of the Pearl Jam frontman’s tour dates in California were postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak, but on Monday (February 21) he got back on the road with his first show back taking place at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.
The setlist for the show was littered with covers, including Tom Petty’s ‘Room At The Top’, Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’, The Who‘s ‘I’m One’, George Harrison’s ‘Isn’t It A Pity’, and Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’.
There was also a cover of Pretenders’ 1980 record ‘Precious’, which Vedder performed with help from Guns N’ Roses bassist McKagan. You can see footage below.
Elsewhere in the show, Vedder performed several Pearl Jam classics – ‘Porch’, ‘Wishlist’, ‘Corduroy’, and ‘Dirty Frank’ – as well as some tracks from his new solo LP, ‘Earthling’.
His backing band, the Earthlings, is a musical supergroup consisting of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, and former Chili Peppers and current Pearl Jam touring guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. The band also includes Grammy-winning guitarist/producer Andrew Watt (who also produced ‘Earthling’) and guitarist Glen Hansard.
Vedder made the performance a family affair, bringing out his daughter Olivia for ‘My Father’s Daughter’ and ‘Try’, while his other daughter, Harper, joined him for ‘Long Way’.
You can see further footage from the show below:
Eddie Vedder’s setlist for Monday’s show at Benaroya Hall was as follows:
‘Society’ (Jerry Hannan cover) (with Glen Hansard)
‘Room at the Top’ (Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers cover)
‘I’ll Be Waiting’
‘The Dark’
‘Invincible’
‘Long Way’ (with Harper Vedder)
‘God Save The Queen’ (Sex Pistols cover)
‘Power Of Right’
‘Fallout Today’
‘Brother The Cloud’
‘Wishlist’ (Pearl Jam song)
‘My Father’s Daughter’ (Olivia Vedder cover) (with Olivia Vedder)
‘Try’ (with Olivia Vedder)
‘Chad-O’
‘Rose Of Jericho’
‘Mrs. Mills’
‘I’m One’ (The Who cover)
‘Porch’ (Pearl Jam song)
Encore:
‘Sleepless Nights’ (The Everly Brothers cover) (Ed & Glen)
‘Corduroy’ (Pearl Jam song)
‘Precious’ (Pretenders cover) (with Duff McKagan)
‘Dirty Frank’ (Pearl Jam song)
‘Isn’t It A Pity’ (George Harrison cover)
‘All Along The Watchtower’ (Bob Dylan cover)
A back and forth began in January, when Vedder dismissed Mötley Crüe as “vacuous”, saying in an interview with The New York Times Magazine: “‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ and Mötley Crüe. Fuck you. I hated it. I hated how it made the fellas look. I hated how it made the women look.”
Sixx then responded: “Made me laugh today reading how much the singer in Pearl Jam hated Mötley Crüe. Now considering that they’re one of the most boring bands in history, it’s kind of a compliment isn’t it?”
On stage earlier this month, Vedder appeared to make a further jab at Mötley Crüe’s stage theatrics, when he commented on a drum solo by drummer Chad Smith.
Gossard has now said that he was a fan of Mötley Crüe’s music, despite Vedder’s recent comments, and that he had purchased the band’s 1981 debut album ‘Too Fast For Love’ when it was still available only on the indie label Leathür Records.
