Pearl Jam treat fans to covers and rarities set as support act pulls out

Pearl Jam treated fans to a bonus set of covers and rare songs at their Molson Amphitheatre gig in Toronto on Friday (August 21).

The band chose to effectively support themselves after their scheduled opening act, Ted Leo, got delayed at the border. Rather than leave fans waiting, Pearl Jam played a set of covers and jams before their normal headline appearance, reports Chartattack.com.

Despite the venue not being full when they started playing, Eddie Vedder performed solo covers of Neil Young's 'Sugar Mountain' and 'The Needle And The Damage Done', before rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard played a version of Johnny Thunders' 'You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory'.

Lead guitarist Mike McCready also played several of his own songs, before Vedder returned to the stage to play Pearl Jam rarity 'Bee Girl'.

Vedder and McCready later covered The Stooges' 'Raw Power'.

Leo's touring band – who were not held up – also jammed several songs, including a cover of the Ramones' 'Blitzkreig Bop'.

Pearl Jam's recent London O2 Arena gigs saw them joined onstage by Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood to cover Bob Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower'.