Watch Eddie Vedder Cover Talking Heads, Rolling Stones at Boston Benefit
While fans watched Pearl Jam‘s induction into the Rock Hall on HBO, Eddie Vedder performed a covers-filled set featuring tracks by Talking Heads, the Rolling Stones and the Who – as well as familiar renditions of Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd and Neil Young songs – at the annual Hot Stove Cool Music benefit concert at Boston’s Paradise Club.
Vedder’s set opened with three Pearl Jam songs – “Corduroy,” “Not for You” and “Elderly Woman” – before launching into a marathon of covers that included a pair of Who tracks (“The Kids Are Alright,” ” I Can’t Explain”), Talking Heads’ “Love -> Building on Fire,” the Stones’ “Waiting on a Friend” and Squeeze’s “Another Nail in My Heart,” to name a few.
Covers that sometimes pop up on Pearl Jam setlists – Springsteen’s “Bobby Jean,” Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” and Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” – also made the cut.
For the concert, Vedder played alongside a band that boasted members of Letters to Cleo, Buffalo Tom and Belly. Near the tail end of the concert, Vedder performed Pearl Jam’s “Wishlist” alongside baseball analyst Peter Gammons:
Cubs president and former Red Sox curse-breaker Theo Epstein, a friend of Vedder’s, spearheads the Hot Stove Cool Music gig, which benefits his Foundation to Be Named Later. The Hot Stove shows are held annually in Boston and Chicago; Vedder also played at the 2016 all-star benefit.
Vedder is a lifelong Cubs fan, penning an anthem for the team and even appearing in a commercial with the Cubs’ Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Still, at one point during the Boston concert, the singer swapped his beloved Cubs cap for a Red Sox hat.