After taking a break from recording its eighth studio album, the band embarked on a Canadian cross-country tour in September 2005, kicking off the tour with a fundraising concert on August 29, 2005 in
Missoula, Montana at the
University of Montana-Missoula's Adams Event Center for Democratic politician
Jon Tester, then playing
The Gorge Amphitheatre in
George, Washington on September 1, 2005 before crossing into Canada. For its Canadian cross-country tour, the band stopped in cities where it had never played before such as
Saskatoon,
Quebec City,
St. John's, and
Halifax. Pearl Jam's performance of "
Given to Fly" from Saskatoon was shown on the
ReAct Now: Music & Relief benefit concert. After touring Canada, Pearl Jam proceeded to open a
Rolling Stones concert on the band's
A Bigger Bang Tour on September 28, 2005 in
Pittsburgh at
PNC Park, then played two shows at the
Borgata casino in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, before closing the tour with a concert on October 3, 2005 in
Philadelphia at the
Wachovia Center. The song "
Gone" from Pearl Jam's 2006
self-titled album was debuted in a solo performance by vocalist
Eddie Vedder at Pearl Jam's October 1, 2005 concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Pearl Jam also played a
benefit concert to raise money for
Hurricane Katrina relief. The concert, which took place October 5, 2005, at the
House of Blues in
Chicago, also featured
Robert Plant of
Led Zeppelin fame. The concert proceeds were donated to
Habitat for Humanity, the
American Red Cross and the Jazz Foundation of America. On November 22, 2005, Pearl Jam began its first Latin American tour. The tour included two shows in
Santiago, Chile at
Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, two in
Buenos Aires,
Argentina at
Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium, and five in Brazil (
Porto Alegre at
Gigantinho Gymnasium,
Curitiba, two shows in
São Paulo at
Pacaembu, and
Rio de Janeiro at
Apoteose). The band finished off 2005 with three shows in
Mexico (
Monterrey at
Auditorio Coca-Cola and two shows in
Mexico City at
Palacio de los Deportes).
Mudhoney, one of the few other remaining bands of the Seattle grunge era, opened for Pearl Jam throughout this tour. During the tour, Vedder emphasized how much he missed
Johnny Ramone, his friend and guitarist of the
Ramones who died in 2004. As a tribute to Johnny, the band played the Ramones' song "I Believe In Miracles" at every show on the tour, including a performance with
Marky Ramone behind the drum kit at the Porto Alegre show. The
official bootlegs for the band's 2005 shows were distributed via Pearl Jam's official website in
MP3 form. The music downloads were accompanied by pictures from individual shows. The band's show at
The Gorge Amphitheatre was released as part of the
Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set. ==Tour dates==