MP3 Live: Pearl Jam, "Alive" and well
Veteran rockers put on a full-throttle guitar assault for its legions of Bay Area fans, blasting hits and showing off a sound that is still growing.
Pearl Jam
The pear-shaped fruit, the lone image on the much-mocked cover of Pearl Jam's recent self-titled album, serves as a fitting icon of sorts for the Seattle rockers' return to basics, a move that was on full display at a raucous show in San Francisco last night.
Gone are the artsy album cover images and experimental aural approaches of the band's albums since 1994's Vitalogy. In their place, the avocado and barrel-chested power rock have stepped to the fore, the latter of which was on full display last night at the 7,000-capacity Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
The final show of the band's three-night San Francisco stand was a celebration of what Pearl Jam does best in a live setting: bellowing, sincere lyrics over guitar-driven sonic assaults.
Frontman Eddie Vedder, 41, opened the show with a shrewd move: a solo acoustic version of "I Am Mine" from 2002's Riot Act. Vedder's conversational tone and the aggressive-yet-heartfelt song set an intimate tone for the night, one that would continue throughout the night. The song also immediately commanded the still-arriving crowd's attention in advance of the opening set by Sonic Youth.
When he finished, Vedder offered genuine praise for the openers, saying, "Have a great evening, and this may be the best part."
The NYC avant-garde veterans then launched into "Incinerate" from their new album, Rather Ripped, immediately showcasing their trademark sound, bounding from a typical rock song structure into a feedback fest and then changing direction again with a quick thrust. "Incinerate" was a catchy indie rock to start, with deft lyrical lines like, "I ripped your heart out from your chest/replaced it with a grenade blast," and was quickly overtaken by a wall of guitar nastiness. No one creates a soundscape quite like Sonic Youth.
After the band's 45-minute set and a brief break, Pearl Jam took the stage to an explosion of cheers, easing into the slow building rhythm of "Release." The track, from the band's 1991 debut Ten, was seemingly the perfect opener, full of power and emotion, and the crowd was primed.
From there, the band started a six-song, full-fledged guitar onslaught, including "Life Wasted" and "World Wide Suicide," the standout tracks from the new album.
Those songs showed that while Pearl Jam has long since answered the question of whether they could turn the unbridled hunger of their early years into a legitimate career, the band is still growing and getting better. In a world of quick flameouts and tired retreads, it's hard to imagine anything a veteran band could want more than that.
"Have we said hello yet?" Vedder asked, signifying the no-frills first half of the set.
A sped-up version of the popular "Even Flow" followed, with guitarist Mike McCready playing one of his many blistering solos on the night. The song also served as a stark example of the dichotomy of seeing Pearl Jam live.
While much of Vedder's early lyrics are steeped in introspective angst, the choruses incite unsolicited and elated sing-alongs from the crowd. Vedder didn't even approach the mic for one verse, and his 7,000 backup vocalists didn't let him down.
Instead of one set break in the two-plus-hour set, the band played two lengthy encores. The first was dominated by the organ playing of Kenneth "Boom" Gaspar, the band's occasional touring keyboardist. The interplay between McCready and Gaspar during "Crazy Mary" was astounding, pushing the band into full flight.
The first encore closed with "Alive," one of many moments during the night where the crowd's excitement seemed ready to blow the roof off the building, with fists pumping and voices screanming throughout the arena.
The second encore opened with the blazing "Last Exit" and "State of Love and Trust," but when the band was joined onstage by Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, an axe-wielding eruption was bound to ensue. The group tore into "All Along the Watchtower," the Bob Dylan song made famous by the scorching rendition by Jimi Hendrix.
The 10-minute shred-fest concluded with McCready throwing his guitar all over the stage, and Vedder decided to slide across the stage on top of it, tumbling over after just a few inches.
With a delirious crowd at its fingertips, the fan favorite "Yellow Ledbetter" closed the night, but not before McCready played a Hendrix-esque solo of the "Star-Spangled Banner."
Although this was a night that any rock fan could love, true devotees were in heaven. Although its commercial success has waned since the mid-1990s, Pearl Jam retains a cultishly devout following. Many of its Ten Club members, given the chance to enter the arena first and stake out a spot, even camped in front of the venue the night before to do so.
One of them, Sebastian Ross of Monterey, Calif., perhaps said it all: "They've stayed true to themselves every step of the way. I don't care what anyone says, I'd follow this band to the ends of the earth."
!
EXCELLENT MIKE MERCI 
