Pearl Jam kicks off Dark Matter tour down under

Grunge legends Pearl Jam have kicked off the Australian leg of their Dark Matter tour, returning down under for the first time in a decade.

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The band played Carrara Stadium on Queensland's Gold Coast on Wednesday night, but their appearance was delayed by over an hour due to lightning strikes in the area.

The stage was wrapped up and punters were unable to enter the stadium as a front crossed the southeast of the state.

The concert, supported by indie rockers The Pixies, is one of Eddie Vedder and co's first since the US election. 

During the campaign, Vedder and bassist Jeff Ament hosted Vice President Kamala Harris's partner Doug Emhoff on the band's streaming radio channel.

With Vedder well known for his progressive views on issues such as abortion rights, the election result really is a dark matter for the Seattle rockers. 

Yet Pearl Jam is nothing if not defiant - the band has sold in excess of 85 million albums and has been playing live for more than 30 years.

It's a different world since the band was last in Australia, headlining the final Big Day Out run of festivals in 2014.

The current tour, which started in Canada in May, follows the release of their 12th studio album Dark Matter, the band's first since 2020's Gigaton.

Dark Matter was produced by Andrew Watt, who has worked with Post Malone and Justin Bieber, and also produced Eddie Vedder's 2022 album Earthling.

After the Gold Coast concert the band will play two dates at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium followed by two more at Engie Stadium in Sydney.

Australian Associated Press

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