History
Pearl Jam promoted its self-titled album with tours in North America, Europe, and Australia in 2006. As a warm-up for the tour, European fans were treated to a small show at the London Astoria in London, England on April 20, 2006, where Pearl Jam performed the new material and debuted live performances of "Marker in the Sand" and "Army Reserve". The first leg of the North American tour focused on the Northeastern United States. The band opened with a two-night stand in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre which featured rock band My Morning Jacket as the opening act. Pearl Jam concluded on June 3, 2006 in East Rutherford, New Jersey at Continental Airlines Arena. The band moved to the Midwest and the West Coast for the tour's second leg. The second leg began on June 23, 2006 with a show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Mellon Arena and ended with a two-night stand at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. This tour included three two-night stands opening for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on Petty's Highway Companion tour. Sonic Youth opened for Pearl Jam during a majority of the tour's second leg.
Pearl Jam went on to tour Europe for its first time in six years. The band began the 2006 tour with a show on August 23, 2006 in Dublin, Ireland at The Point. The concert gained wide radio play in the UK and Ireland. The band headlined the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2006, despite having vowed to never play at a festival again after Roskilde. In an interview in advance of the band's return to the festival circuit, guitarist Stone Gossard commented, "It seems like an era to trust that we're aware enough to get through those bigger shows. We have a heightened awareness of what needs to happen every night so people are as safe as they can possibly be." Vocalist Eddie Vedder started both concerts with an emotional plea to the crowd to look after each other. He commented during the Leeds set that the band's decision to play a festival for the first time after Roskilde had nothing to do with "guts" but with trust in the audience. Safety measures at the festivals included a second barrier in front of the main stage to prevent a crush at the front. The band continued on to the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and Croatia and concluded on September 30, 2006 in Athens, Greece at OAKA Sports Hall. On September 19, 2006, at the Torino, Italy show at Palaisozaki, Pearl Jam played Pearl Jam in its entirety in order mid-way through its set.
After Europe, the band headed to Australia in November 2006. The Australian tour began on November 7, 2006 in Sydney, before continuing through Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, and Adelaide, and concluding on November 25, 2006 in Perth at Subiaco Oval. Every city on this tour received at least two shows except for Newcastle and Perth; Sydney and Melbourne received three. Pearl Jam finished the year with two shows in Hawaii, headlining a show on December 2, 2006 at Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu and serving as the opening act for the last show of U2's Vertigo Tour at Aloha Stadium on December 9, 2006. Vedder and guitarist Mike McCready joined U2 at the concert for a performance of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World".
The official bootlegs on this tour were available via Pearl Jam's official website in MP3 and lossless FLAC formats. The band's shows at The Gorge Amphitheatre were released as part of the Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set. A DVD documenting the band's shows in Italy entitled Immagine in Cornice was released in 2007.
Read more about this topic: Pearl Jam 2006 World Tour
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