Eddie Vedder pays tribute to music by presenting his new album

The first time that Pearl Jam played in London it was in a tiny room more than 30 years ago. At an event to present her new album, ‘Dark Matter’, which comes out this Thursday, Eddie Vedder He recalled the “emotion” of that trip, paying a heartfelt tribute to the music, “the best place on the planet.”

The charismatic leader of the revered Seattle band recently shared countless anecdotes with a small group of lucky people at Lafayette, a London venue located next to the King’s Cross train station.

There, a full listen to the eleven songs from the group’s twelfth studio work was carried out before its official launch on the 19th. “I feel very proud and grateful to be here,” said, between shots of tequila, the singer and guitarist of Pearl Jam.

He’s a great storyteller, and in a matter of seconds, Vedder became one of them, interacting with the audience, joking and pacing the stage while his songs played.

The night before the event, Vedder performed as a surprise guest with his “hero” Roger Daltrey (founder and frontman of ‘The Who’) at the Royal Albert Hall. There they performed ‘The Punk And The Godfather’ – from the album “Quadrophenia” (1973) – as part of a series of benefit concerts for the ‘Teenage Cancer Foundation’.

According to him, he has fresh memories of his first visit to the United Kingdom and that show that Pearl Jam gave in London in 1992 – on their first European tour – in the emblematic ‘Borderline’, a room of minimal dimensions located on the ground floor of a Mexican restaurant in Soho, which closed its doors a few years ago.

From that distant time in London, Vedder remembers a ride “on a scooter through Hyde Park listening to music with a walkman” and how, suddenly, he found himself in front of the Royal Albert Hall and was “overcome with emotion.”

“More than 30 years later, last night I was invited to play with my hero (Daltrey), and all for the music,” he commented.

He speaks with pride about his eldest daughter, Olivia, sitting in the audience, to whom, along with her younger sister, he dedicates ‘Something Special’, one of the eleven songs on the album, which includes revealing lyrics: ‘If you could see what I see/You have to know I’m so proud/The one I used to hold is, oh, so special.’

As a prelude to the new work, Vedder expands on how “lucky” he is to be able to dedicate himself to music, “the best place on the planet,” and extols the virtues of his “favorite art” to “create communities, help with social problems.” mental health and improving the lives of other people.”

He also denounces the “mass shootings” that frequently happen in the United States and that “nothing is done.”

Listening to the album, which inaugurates the power of the first of the songs, “Scared Of Fear”, a song full of energy, but with melancholic overtones in which Vedder highlights “the exceptionalism” of drummer Matt Cameron, is received with praise before Vedder’s questions, which probe the audience as to whether they are “liking it” or “want to turn it up more.”

They follow the sounds of ‘React, Respond’, where he addresses pain and internal conflict, ‘Wreckage’, and the guitar-driven ‘Dark Matter’ (which gives its name to the album and was the first single released).

The American rock group, formed in Seattle (Washington) in 1990, is one of the reference groups in the ‘grunge’ movement of the 90s and some of their works are part of rock classics. Their debut album, ‘Ten’ (1991), which remained on the best-seller list for almost five years, is one of the best-selling rock albums in history.

With information from EFE