Hours after the president’s Truth Social tantrum aimed at E Street rocker, Eddie Vedder performs The Rising track at Pittsburgh concert
On the same day Donald Trump unleashed a social media tirade aimed at Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam showed solidarity with the E Street rocker with a cover of “My City of Ruins” during the band’s concert Friday in Pittsburgh.
The encore portion of Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter Tour shows typically opens with Eddie Vedder performing solo and acoustic, and hours after Trump lashed out at Springsteen following that singer’s politically charged comments at a Manchester, England concert, Vedder whipped out his rendition of The Rising track for only the second time ever:
While Vedder didn’t mention to the Springsteen/Trump situation prior to the performance, the crowd was keenly aware of the president’s Truth Social tantrum, chanting “Bruuuuuuce!” when the song ended.
“My City of Ruins” has been a staple at Springsteen’s current run of concerts, with the singer using his introduction to the track to deliver his biting remarks on the state of America: “There’s some very weird, strange, and dangerous shit going on out there,” he told the Manchester crowd. “In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.”
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Trump, informed of Springsteen’s comments, turned to Truth Social to call the rocker “Highly Overrated” and “not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK,” as well as seemingly threaten Springsteen’s ability to reenter America upon the European tour’s conclusion. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) later issued a statement defending Springsteen (and Taylor Swift), with Pearl Jam providing additional support via the Pittsburgh stage.
Pearl Jam’s concert at PPG Paints Arena on Friday was also noteworthy because it featured the first time the band has played all three of its “Hand”-titled songs — “Sleight of Hand,” “Severed Hand,” and “Upper Hand” — together during one show. The group also performed the Binaural track “Grievance” for the first time since 2016, by fan request:
