Not long after Trent Reznor launched an attack on the ‘Taylor Swifts of the world’ for not addressing politics, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder has dedicated a performance of the group’s track “Love Boat Captain’ to controversial US President Donald Trump.
Performing in London on Monday night – one day before the group were forced to cancel their second show following Edder Vedder’s vocal problems – Pearl Jam delivered a marathon 34-song set to their English fans.
As it turned out though, this performance happened to coincide with the recent revelations that the US government is keeping young migrant children in makeshift shelters as part of President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy. As a result, Pearl Jam decided to address the issue while on stage.
“I would like to send this one out to the guy who is in the White House back in the United States,” Eddie Vedder stated while playing the intro to ‘Love Boat Captain’, a song that features a strong message of love.
“I would like him to hear it, but he doesn’t listen to music, he doesn’t read books,” he continued. “Can someone Tweet this to him or something? For moms and dads and children being separated at the border in the United State of America. That isn’t the country I remember.”
Eddie Vedder soon urged guitarist Mike McCready to raise the volume a bit while leading the crowd in a chant of “fuck you”.
Rather fittingly, the track was followed by a performance of the group’s most recent single, ‘Can’t Deny Me’, which is itself a rather strong protest song aimed towards Donald Trump.
As Alternative Nation reports, Vedder again referenced Trump while playing the song ‘Daughter’, stating, “When you think about the border and think about the states and they make it seem normal I hope they remember that next time it could be them.”
“Fuck, I am still thinking about that. This is a love song from a mother to her child.”
Pearl Jam have reportedly been gearing up to start recording their eleventh studio album, stating back in May that they’ve got “a bunch of stuff that’s sort of partly written”. As for when we’ll hear the new record, well 2019 is looking possible, but it’s really anyone’s guess at this point.
Check out Pearl Jam’s ‘Can’t Deny Me’:
Pearl Jam @ The 02 Arena, London, England 18/06/18 Setlist
‘Of The Girl’
‘Low Light’
‘Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town’
‘Animal’
‘Brain Of J.’
‘Even Flow’
‘Wishlist’
‘Deep’
‘Severed Hand’
‘Love Boat Captain’
‘Can’t Deny Me’
‘Do The Evolution’
‘Down’
‘Daughter’
‘You Are’
‘Parting Ways’
‘Porch’
Encore:
‘Off He Goes’
‘Sleeping By Myself’
‘Footsteps’
‘Mind Your Manners’
‘Why Go’
‘Better Man’
‘Last Kiss’ (Wayne Cochran Cover)
‘Black’
‘Alive’
‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ (Neil Young Cover)
