Pearl Jam enthralls 15,000

It was Pearl Jam karaoke night at the United Center Wednesday as almost 15,000 people stood for more than two hours belting out the songs of their favorite Seattle band.

What made it different from any night at the corner bar was the fact that the favorite Seattle band itself -- rather than a machine -- provided the accompaniment. At times the ruckus grew so loud that lead singer Eddie Vedder gave up trying to fight it and handed the vocal duties over to the stadium crowd, which proved time after time that it was happy to oblige.

Fan-band love is easily manufactured, but it would be hardened cynicism to think any moment of the crowd's enthusiasm was less than genuine.

After all, this is a band long past its glory years of hit singles and platinum sales, yet it's still filling stadiums across the world -- a feat now a distant memory for the other working bands left from the early '90s alternative era, including Mudhoney and Billy Corgan's Zwan.

With zero production value -- no video, backdrop, props or fog -- the only thing rousing the Pearl Jam crowds was song power.

While the biggest response came when the band played songs off its first three albums, the more recent songs on the play list took a different direction. Songs like "Given To Fly" sounded less like the hard rock anthems of Pearl Jam's early days and more like the uplifting stadium spirituals of U2.

Although Vedder is the face of this band, in concert lead guitarist Mike McCready demands equal billing. Long-time band signatures like "Even Flow" have now become platforms for his extended stretches of hard-funk soloing. He frequently traded lines with newcomer Boom Gaspar, the band's sometime organ player who helped add a new dimension to the band's recent album, "Riot Act" (Epic).

With "Off He Goes," tribute was paid to Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley, who died of an overdose last year. And by throwing up the house lights and playing "Rockin' in the Free World," the group also nodded its head to punk godfather Neil Young.

At this stage, Pearl Jam has the luxury of a long and complicated 12-year history while at the same time facing a future that, in the steps of their boomer rock heroes, has many chapters ahead.

Pearl Jam plays Saturday night at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wis.