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Backspacer Tour
Tour by Pearl Jam
Location	Europe; North America; Oceania;
Associated album	Backspacer
Start date	August 13, 2009
End date	July 10, 2010
Legs	6
No. of shows	33 in North America; 16 in Europe; 7 in Oceania; 56 in total;
Pearl Jam concert chronology
	; 2008 United States Tour; (2008); ; Backspacer Tour; (2009–10); ; Pearl Jam Twenty Tour; (2011);

The Backspacer Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Pearl Jam to support its ninth studio album, Backspacer (2009). Fifty-six shows were played, across North America, Europe and Oceania.

History

Pearl Jam promoted Backspacer with tours in Europe, North America and Oceania in 2009^[1] and further legs in North America and Europe in 2010.

In August 2009, Pearl Jam headlined the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival,^[2] which was preceded by five shows in Europe and three in North America.^[3]^[4]^[5] This tour preceded the release of Pearl Jam's 2009 album, Backspacer. On August 11, 2009, the band played an intimate show at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. The band was joined onstage by The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood to play a cover of "All Along the Watchtower".^[6] Later that night the band was joined by Simon Townshend, younger brother of Pete Townshend, to perform The Who's "The Real Me".^[6]

On August 21, 2009, the band played in Toronto. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were scheduled to be the support band, but Leo was unable to attend, after being stuck at the border.^[7] This resulted in vocalist Eddie Vedder taking to the stage to cover Neil Young's "Sugar Mountain" and "The Needle and the Damage Done".^[7] Guitarist Mike McCready then played two songs, followed by guitarist Stone Gossard covering "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" by Johnny Thunders, before The Pharmacists played their set.^[7]

In October 2009, Pearl Jam headlined the Austin City Limits Music Festival.^[8] The Austin City Limits appearance took place amidst the fourteen-date North American leg of the tour.^[1] On October 6, 2009, the band played in Los Angeles at the Gibson Amphitheatre. They were joined onstage by former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell to perform the Temple of the Dog song "Hunger Strike".^[9] This was followed with an appearance by Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell on "Alive".^[9]

Pearl Jam was the final band that performed at the Wachovia Spectrum with four shows that took place on October 27–28 and October 30–31. At the final show at the Spectrum, the band played the song "Bugs" from their 1994 album Vitalogy for the first time.^[10] The band also performed a cover of Devo's "Whip It" in full costume.^[11] An additional leg consisting of a tour of Oceania took place afterward.^[12] The band played at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 1, 2010.^[13] They then played twelve dates in America in the same month^[14]^[15] and completed a second European leg in July 2010.^[16]

While most shows on the 2010 US leg were met with positive reviews,^[17]^[18]^[19] Dan Aquilante of the New York Post commenting on the first night at Madison Square Garden, said the lyrics were "mostly indiscernible" and "were little more than garbled jibber-jabber".^[20] At the show at the O₂ in Dublin, a fan broke his arm in three places, after he jumped off the balcony and landed on the canopy above the mixing desk.^[21]

Official bootlegs are available for this tour through the band's official website in FLAC, MP3, and CD formats.^[22]

Opening acts

Gomez — 2009 European leg (excluding August 11)
The Pharmacists — August 21, 2009
Bad Religion — August 23 & 24, 2009 and October 30 & 31, 2009
Ben Harper and Relentless7 — September 21, 2009 – October 9, 2009 (excluding October 4), Oceania, 2010 European tour (excluding festival dates)
Social Distortion — October 27 & 28, 2009
Liam Finn — Oceania
Band of Horses — 2010 North America leg (excluding May 20)
The Black Keys — May 20, 2010

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Europe
August 11, 2009	London	England	O₂ Shepherd's Bush Empire
August 13, 2009	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Rotterdam Ahoy
August 15, 2009	Berlin	Germany	Wuhlheide
August 17, 2009	Manchester	England	Manchester Evening News Arena
August 18, 2009	London	England	The O₂ Arena
North America
August 21, 2009	Toronto	Canada	Molson Amphitheatre
August 23, 2009	Chicago	United States	United Center
August 24, 2009	Chicago		United Center
August 28, 2009^[A]	San Francisco		Golden Gate Park
September 21, 2009	Seattle		KeyArena
September 22, 2009	Seattle		KeyArena
September 25, 2009	Vancouver	Canada	General Motors Place
September 26, 2009	Ridgefield	United States	The Amphitheater at Clark County
September 28, 2009	West Valley City		E-Center
September 30, 2009	Los Angeles		Gibson Amphitheatre
October 1, 2009	Los Angeles		Gibson Amphitheatre
October 4, 2009^[B]	Austin		Zilker Park
October 6, 2009	Los Angeles		Gibson Amphitheatre
October 7, 2009	Los Angeles		Gibson Amphitheatre
October 9, 2009	San Diego		Viejas Arena
October 27, 2009	Philadelphia		Wachovia Spectrum
October 28, 2009
October 30, 2009
October 31, 2009
Oceania
November 14, 2009	Perth	Australia	Members Equity Stadium
November 17, 2009	Adelaide		Adelaide Oval
November 20, 2009	Melbourne		Etihad Stadium
November 22, 2009	Sydney		Sydney Football Stadium
November 25, 2009	Brisbane		Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
November 27, 2009	Auckland	New Zealand	Mt Smart Stadium
November 29, 2009	Christchurch	New Zealand	AMI Stadium
North America
May 1, 2010^[C]	New Orleans	United States	Fair Grounds Race Course
May 3, 2010	Kansas City		Sprint Center
May 4, 2010	St. Louis		Scottrade Center
May 6, 2010	Columbus		Nationwide Arena
May 7, 2010	Noblesville		Verizon Wireless Music Center
May 9, 2010	Cleveland		Quicken Loans Arena
May 10, 2010	Buffalo		HSBC Arena
May 13, 2010	Bristow		Jiffy Lube Live
May 15, 2010	Hartford		XL Center
May 17, 2010	Boston		TD Garden
May 18, 2010	Newark		Prudential Center
May 20, 2010	New York City		Madison Square Garden
May 21, 2010	New York City		Madison Square Garden
Europe
June 22, 2010	Dublin	Ireland	The O₂
June 23, 2010	Belfast	Northern Ireland	Odyssey Arena
June 25, 2010^[D]	London	England	Hyde Park
June 27, 2010^[E]	Nijmegen	Netherlands	Goffertpark
June 30, 2010	Berlin	Germany	Wuhlheide
July 1, 2010^[F]	Gdynia	Poland	Lotnisko Gdynia-Kosakowo
July 3, 2010^[G]	Arras	France	Citadelle Vauban
July 4, 2010^[H]	Werchter	Belgium	Werchter Festival Grounds
July 6, 2010^[I]	Venice	Italy	Parco San Giuliano
July 9, 2010^[J]	Bilbao	Spain	Mount Cobetas
July 10, 2010^[K]	Oeiras	Portugal	Passeio Marítimo de Alges

Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

^A This concert was a part of "Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival"
^B This concert was a part of "Austin City Limits Music Festival"
^C This concert was a part of "New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival"
^D This concert was a part of "Hard Rock Calling"
^E This concert was a part of "Rock In Park Festival"
^F This concert was a part of "Open'er Festival"
^G This concert was a part of "Main Square Festival"
^H This concert was a part of "Rock Werchter"
^I This concert was a part of "Heineken Jammin' Festival"
^J This concert was a part of "BBK Live Festival"
^K This concert was a part of "Optimus Alive!"

Band members

Pearl Jam

Additional musicians

Boom Gaspar – Hammond B3 and keyboards

Gallery

Pearl Jam fans outside the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, England on August 11, 2009
Pearl Jam in London, England on August 11, 2009
Pearl Jam in London, England on August 11, 2009
Pearl Jam, with Ronnie Wood, performing "All Along the Watchtower" in London, England on August 11, 2009
Pearl Jam in Manchester, England on August 17, 2009
Pearl Jam in Manchester, England on August 17, 2009
Pearl Jam in Manchester, England on August 17, 2009
Pearl Jam in Manchester, England on August 17, 2009
Pearl Jam in Adelaide, Australia on November 17, 2009
Pearl Jam in Adelaide, Australia on November 17, 2009
Pearl Jam in Melbourne, Australia on November 20, 2009
Eddie Vedder in Melbourne, Australia on November 20, 2009
Ben Harper and Eddie Vedder covering "Under Pressure" in Sydney, Australia on November 22, 2009
Eddie Vedder in Sydney, Australia on November 22, 2009
Ben Harper and Eddie Vedder covering "Under Pressure" in Brisbane, Australia on November 25, 2009
Pearl Jam in Brisbane, Australia on November 25, 2009
Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden on May 20, 2010
Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden on May 20, 2010
Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden on May 21, 2010
Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden on May 21, 2010

References

^ ^a ^b "Pearl Jam Announces North American Tour Dates in Support of Their New Studio Album, Backspacer". pearljam.com. July 9, 2009. Archived from the original on July 11, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
^ "Pearl Jam to appear at Outside Lands Festival". Pearljam.com. April 13, 2009. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
^ "Pearl Jam European Tour Dates". Pearljam.com. April 27, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
^ "Two More Pearl Jam Tour Dates Added". Pearljam.com. May 4, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
^ "And Another One ..." Pearljam.com. May 7, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "NME.com: Pearl Jam and Rolling Stones star unite onstage at intimate gig". NME.com. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c "canoe.ca: Concert Review: Pearl Jam". Canadian Online Explorer. August 21, 2009. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "The 2009 Line-up". 2009.aclfestival.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Two Feet Thick: LA3: Cornell & Cantrell". Two Feet Thick. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "Ten Club: Bugs". pearljam.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
^ "Pearl Jam Setlist, Last Night of the Spectrum". philly.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
^ Cohen, Jonathan (July 31, 2007). "Pearl Jam: 'Back' to the Future". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 2, 2009. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
^ "Pearl Jam kicked out the jams at the New Orleans Jazz Fest". nola.com. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
^ "The Announcement". Tenclub. Archived from the original on March 14, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
^ "Pearl Jam adds US dates to international tour". independent.co.uk. London. March 13, 2010. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
^ "2010 European Tour Announced". pearljam.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
^ "Concert Review: Pearl Jam at the Q". clevescene.com. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
^ "Pearl Jam renews social pact with fans". buffalonews.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
^ "Band rocks for 2 hours; happy crowd sings along". dispatch.com. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
^ Aquilante, Dan (May 22, 2010). "Limp show could have been Vedder". nypost.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
^ "Fan survives balcony leap at Pearl Jam". herald.ie. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
^ "Pearl Jam and the Ten Club announce Bootleg program for 2009". pearljam.com. August 8, 2009. Archived from the original on August 10, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2009.