Pearl Jam pays tribute to Tom Petty and Chris Cornell during Seattle homecoming shows 

By Sam Barsanti  |  August 12, 2018 | 9:00pm
Aux Features Music
Pearl Jam pays tribute to Tom Petty and Chris Cornell during Seattle homecoming shows 

As reported by Consequence Of Sound, Pearl Jam took a moment during its homecoming shows at Seattle’s Safeco Field to honor some loved ones and influential artists who have recently died. First was a cover of Chris Cornell’s “Missing,” a track from Cornell’s 1992 EP Poncier that Consequence considers an “ultra-deep cut.” You can see a fan-recorded version of it below:

Cornell was a longtime friend and frequent collaborator with Pearl Jam, with both bands coming up in Seattle’s ‘90s grunge scene. Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder was on a solo tour in Europe at the time of Cornell’s death last year, and before working up the nerve to address Cornell’s death directly onstage, he performed tweaked versions of songs like Neil Young’s “The Needle And The Damage Done” and Cat Stevens’ “Trouble” that reflected his grieving process.

During the Safeco show on Friday, Vedder kicked off of the first encore by returning to the stage by himself and singing Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” solo. Clearly choked up, Vedder noted that the last time he had seen Petty perform live was at Safeco Field, so he asked the audience to sing along and shine the lights from their phones so he could try and “get [Petty’s] attention and tell him I miss him.”

 
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