Eddie Vedder took a moment last night (Aug. 26) during Pearl Jam‘s sold-out show outside Indianapolis to salute an ailing longtime fan with a performance in tandem with opening act Glen Hansard of the latter’s “Song of Good Hope.” The song had never been played before at a Pearl Jam gig.
“From everything we hear, this woman is quite incredible,” Vedder said of Michele Mintz Menke, an active member of the Pearl Jam fan community. “She’s been given some challenges and she’s been battling. Not just battling, but battling with courage.”
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“Song of Good Hope” was originally released on Hansard’s 2012 solo album Rhythm and Repose. Although it has never appeared at a Pearl Jam show prior to tonight, Vedder played it on numerous occasions at his solo concerts between 2017-19.
Tonight’s show was the second of the second leg of Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter tour in support of their 2024 album of the same name, and featured seven songs from it. Beyond “Good Hope,” another nice rarity was the title track to 2013’s Lightning Bolt, which was played for just the third time since 2018.
The band planned to perform at the Ruoff Music Center in September 2023 but postponed the show hours before start time due to an illness. As such, Pearl Jam had not visited the venue, forever known locally as Deer Creek despite numerous corporate naming rights deals, since 2010.
The band next moves on to Chicago’s fabled Wrigley Field for shows on Aug. 29 and 31.
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