Vedder & co. kick out the Jams
By JASON MacNEIL, Special To Sun Media
Pearl Jam's admiration for Neil Young is well-known and documented, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that their show at Toronto's sold-out Molson Amphitheatre started and ended with covers of Young's hits.
However, basically being your own support act is a tad out of the ordinary.
Openers Ted Leo & The Pharmacists were slated to open the show but Leo ended up stuck at the border, resulting in just The Pharmacists.
Hence, Pearl Jam helped the band out, with lead singer Eddie Vedder coming out to play Sugar Mountain and The Needle And The Damage Done alone acoustically to a loud ovation. From there Vedder introduced Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready who performed a pair. He then made way for guitarist Stone Gossard who covered Johnny Thunders' You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory before The Pharmacists did some songs.
It seemed to be the softer, melodic yin to what would be a roughly 140-minute headlining (and curfew-breaking) set of guitar-driving rock yang Pearl Jam thrived upon. From the big and beefy Severed Hand which McCready went to town on to Corduroy to the frantic Lukin that had Vedder sounding like a man possessed, the group sounded crisp, loud and at times beautifully brash.
One thing they weren't too keen on was performing much from their upcoming album Backspacer. The two numbers they tested - the catchy, summery lead single The Fixer and the high-paced Got Some - are more concentrated bursts of rock compared to earlier, looser material. But a slower, deliberate but extremely effective track like Amongst The Waves will have to wait.
As polished as Pearl Jam is, the group is steered by the enigmatic Vedder, who occasionally took swigs from a wine bottle when not belting out foot-stomping nuggets like the powerful Not For You which shined thanks to the rhythm section of bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron. He also tossed in some Pete Townshend-esque jumps and windmills during Betterman.
Vedder also took some time during the show to mention how he played Massey Hall last year, how Toronto Island seemed like a "mirage" to him and how Canadians must be viewing the current hot topic of health care in the "country that is below you....geographically."
Other highlights included the almost obligatory Even Flow from the band's debut (and recently reissued) Ten. Alive and a searing rendition of Porch that McCready steamrolled through were also tracks off the same album the band delivered in the encore, one that primarily acts as a half-show of sometimes 8, sometimes 10 additional songs.
With no gimmicks other than a simple backdrop of waves, Pearl Jam thanked the fans for sticking with the band through some rough patches. And while Yellow Ledbetter, the mellow show closer which sees them leave one by one, was on the setlist, Pearl Jam opted to leave in fine rock style with the joyous Rockin' In The Free World.
Neil would be proud.
RATING: 4.5 out of 5
