Pearl Jam benefit raises $3 million to fight poverty

Pearl Jam recently raised $3 million for the fight against poverty with a benefit concert in New York City.

The Seattle rockers played a private show on Tuesday (July 1) at NYC’s Beacon Theater to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation’s poverty fighting initiatives. Ticket prices were steep (up to $2,250 for floor-level seats), but the band rewarded concert goers with an eclectic 26-song set list. Frontman Eddie Vedder led the band through hits including “Crazy Mary” and “Alive,” rarities such as “Lowlight,” and covers of Bob Dylan, The Who and Neil Young.

No Pearl Jam show would be complete without a little political commentary, and this one was no exception. Vedder bashed the Bush administration’s funding of the ongoing war in Iraq, and told the audience that a new president would be in the White House the next time his band played in New York.

The benefit show wrapped up Pearl Jam’s mini-tour of the

U.S.

The band will take a break from touring for a while to start work on a new studio album, reportedly with longtime producer Brendan O’Brien. In the meantime, Vedder will kick off a month of solo concert dates Aug. 1 in Boston. The venerable rocker has been moonlighting as a composer these days, and won Golden Globe and Grammy accolades earlier this year for his work on the Into the Wild soundtrack with Kaki King. He even appeared in front of the camera in the rock ‘n’ roll biopic spoof Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story as grunge-era legend… Eddie Vedder.

Dates:

August

1-2 - Boston, Mass. @ Opera House

4-5 - New York, N.Y. @ United Palace Theatre

7 - Newark, N.J. @ NJ Performing Arts Center

9-10 - Montreal, Quebec @ Salle Wilfrid Place

12-13 - Toronto, Ontario @ Massey Hall

16-17 - Washington, D.C. @ Warner Theatre

19 - Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Riverside Theatre

21-22 - Chicago, Ill. @ Auditorium Theatre

Related links:

PearlJam.com