Spinning The Black Circle Of Life
Frampton joins Pearl Jam Onstage for the Second Night in Nashville
My story starts on August 23rd, 1992 –my Pearl Jam story that is. That is when I first saw the band live at Lollapalooza in Orlando, FL at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. I want to say I was there to see Ministry and Cypress Hill, but when I caught a glimpse of what was going on in the Seattle “Grunge” scene, everything changed for me. Soundgarden and Pearl Jam created a musical shift that I have yet to outgrow. These boys from the Pacific Northwest had me hooked after that day. I was already into Nirvana for sure, but I had yet to take a deeper dive into that genre until this festival. Here was the line-up (that I can remember and find online):
Main Stage – RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS * MINISTRY * ICE CUBE * SOUNDGARDEN * JESUS AND MARY CHAIN * PEARL JAM * LUSH *
2nd Stage – ARCHIE BELL * ARSON GARDEN * THE AUTHORITY * BASEHEAD * BOO-YAA T.R.I.B.E. * CAFÉ TACUBA * CYPRESS HILL * HOUSE OF PAIN * JIM ROSE CIRCUS * THE LOOK PEOPLE * PORNO FOR PYROS * RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE * SAMBA HELL * SEAM * SEAWEED * SHARKBAIT * SKREW * STONE TEMPLE PILOTS * SWEATY * NIPPLES * TRIBE * TRULY * VULGAR BOATMEN * GENITORTURES
I didn’t know then that I was witnessing music history that day. Not only was the music blowing us away, but that was the same weekend that Hurricane Andrew (CAT 5) would make landfall with the state via Miami. It was a memorable time.
Now fast-forward to May 8th, 2025, where I would see Pearl Jam for only the second time in my life. In 2012 I moved from Florida to Seattle (who saw that coming), and yet, I would constantly miss the band playing during my 11-year tenure in Washington. It wasn’t until I relocated to Nashville, TN that I would bring my musical journey full circle and catch another brilliant show.
The band was about midway through their “Dark Matter” tour when they landed in Middle Tennessee for two nights on 5/6 & 5/8/25. Dark Matter is their most recent studio album release, and I am proud to say that I had a hand in pressing this record while working as the Quality Assurance Manager at Nashville Record Pressing. The band played on for two and a half hours and jammed 25 songs in front of the sold-out house. The big story of the night came just 7 songs into the setlist. After playing ‘Once’, from the iconic Ten album, lead singer Eddie Vedder took a moment.
“We have a very special guest … This gentleman was someone we looked up to before the Ramones. Some of our first guitar heroes – Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend – he was right up there. It was one of the reasons why we loved live records, and later we decided to release bootlegs because of his influence. He’s such an incredible human being on top of it.
“It is our honor because at this point, he’s become a good friend to the group. He’s recorded with Mike [McCready] and Matt Cameron, and we get to play with him tonight, and we’re very, very honored to welcome Mr. Peter Frampton!
“This is the first time we’ve gotten to do this, and who knows how long we’ll keep touring? This might be the only time. Once again, thank you Peter, for being here.
“Something most people do not know: this song was named after the color of his famous Les Paul guitar.”
As the words spilled out, brains began to explode. Really?! Is this happening?!! Peter fucking Frampton was about to sit in with Pearl Jam? Unbelievable. They then played the grunge ballad ‘Black’, also from Pearl Jam’s classic 1991 debut album Ten, with Frampton adding some signature shreds as the band bled into a short riff from Pete’s 1973 track ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’.
This was a bit of a test go for Frampton I assume, as he prepares on a North American tour later this month, despite announcing a farewell tour six years ago. Frampton suffers from a condition known as inclusion body myositis, yet he still appeared to be able to perform extremely well. He recently said it was “humbling to feel their special love for me” when discussing his fans and he referred to them as “pretty incredible.” Frampton is a resident of Nashville and got to the stage with the assistance of the band members and a cane. They then brought a chair out for him, as Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and McCready also sat in solidarity of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. It was an other-worldly moment that I am still in shock about. Frampton is currently at work on a new album that he is cowriting and coproducing with his musician son, Julian.
Thirty-three years ago, when I was 18, I was awe-struck by a Pearl Jam performance and here I was at age 50 still enamored by the groups power. The arena seemed to be shifted into a grunge filled nostalgic sanctuary on this night. I felt like that naive teenager discovering new music, yet it was that same group who had been in my life and my heart for three decades just sharing more of their brilliance.
To boot I had my good friend and concert buddy Andrea with me. You’ll hear about her in many of the articles that I write about. We often surprise each other with concert tickets and albums throughout the year. She is my concert going ride or die. We met in Seattle a decade ago and it seemed appropriate that we went to this specific show together.
Despite Pearl Jam’s lifelong feud with Ticketmaster– that’s exactly where I got my tickets from. Overpriced? Maybe. Although it is hard to put a price on an immeasurable memory (but it should be way less). The band sounded fantastic, despite the rap that Bridgestone Arena doesn’t have the greatest acoustics. It’s true that they are not the best venue for elite reverberations, but you can still tell that Pearl Jam was as tight as ever.
I was beyond thrilled that I was in the right place at the right time to complete this journey of mine. I still have my Lollapalooza ticket from 1992 and I was sure to get an actual ticket from this show as well (it’s in the mail-hopefully). I write about many shows, as I go to a lot of concerts, but this one rang special. I do not know if I will ever see the band live again, but I got to see them when they were just starting out and now, I have visited them as one of the biggest bands in the world. I am glad we all got to live this long and navigate this floating rock together.
During Thursday’s encore, Vedder brought out guitarist Mike McCready’s wife Ashley McCready and drummer Matt Cameron’s wife April Cameron as an early Mother’s Day celebration before playing “State Of Love And Trust.” The second to last song of the night was Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ with openers Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers joining in the performance. ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ closed out Pearl Jam’s visit to Music City.
Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter tour hits Raleigh, North Carolina, for two nights, May 11 and 13, before wrapping in Pittsburgh May 16 and 18.
