Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament hinted that the band’s postponed Canadian tour dates could be rescheduled for early next year.
“Hopefully we can be smart enough that we can just turn the corner and by March we’re rocking and everybody can feel good about traveling and getting 20,000 people into a space,” he said on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast.
“If we turn a corner, then hopefully we hit late winter, early spring with a tour, or a leg, at least. We’re jonesing to do it.”
Pearl Jam announced in March 2020 that due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was postponing its North American tour, which was set to kick off that month in Toronto followed by shows in Ottawa, Quebec City and Hamilton.
While the band set new dates for the European leg of the tour – beginning next June – there has been no announcement about new dates for the U.S. or Canada. Ament’s mention of March is perhaps a clue.
In April, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard optimistically suggested getting back on the road this year. “My hope is that we'll start playing some shows in the fall or early winter,” he said on Audio Ink Radio. “I don't know what they're gonna be or when they're gonna be, but that's my hope. And after that, we've got a lot of makeup shows to do. We've got a lot of work to do.”
Ament, though, seems less anxious to get back on stage if it means having to verify the vaccination status of Pearl Jam fans. (Foo Fighters have resumed doing indoor shows for fully-vaccinated audiences.)
“Most of the shows that we have to make up for – the two legs: the European leg and the US leg – most of those shows, they’re indoors,” he said. “I just don’t know if I want to go out and do 30 shows where you’re checking vaccination cards.”