Hard-rocking Pearl Jam turns it up a notch

Pearl Jam, at the Tweeter Center, last night. Shows tonight and July 11.

``Is this going to be a Boston Tea Party?'' asked Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder early in last night's show.

He then raised a bottle to the sold-out crowd and asked, ``Or is this going to be a Boston drinking wine until you fall over party?''

It was that kind of night for Pearl Jam, where their upbeat, hard-rocking side was far stronger than their deep-thinking side. Vedder was in a loose and friendly mood throughout, chugging from the bottle and chatting with the crowd between songs. He even took some ungracious, but very funny, potshots at his label-mate Celine Dion.

The show opened with a barrage of rockers (``Oceans,'' ``Don't Go'' and ``Hail, Hail'') and closed with a great Neil Young song whose title we can't mention. Guitarist Mike McCready had a few chances to wail, taking extended solos on ``Even Flow'' and the set-closing ``Porch,'' both of which prompted audience singalongs.

The band calmed down only a few times, to do a semi-acoustic ``I Am Mine'' and a slow-building ``Present Tense.''

Vedder's topical side was also on display. After ``Grievance,'' he fired back at the Dixie Chick-style flak that he recently took for criticizing the Iraq war.

``A lot of the people who disagreed with us tried to cloak themselves in this,'' he said, while displaying an American flag. ``But to us, this flag means that I can stand on a rock 'n' roll stage and say whatever the hell I want.''

The song that caused the controversy, ``Bushleaguer,'' was played later as an encore.

More surreal than political, the song found Vedder wearing a George Bush mask and a gold jacket.

By the way, ticketholders for tonight and next week's Pearl Jam shows shouldn't expect to hear any of the above songs, as Vedder promised a completely different set each night.

Hits like ``Jeremy'' and ``Given to Fly'' are still waiting to be played.

Vedder also surprised the crowd by showing up at the beginning of the night and playing a solo ``Dead Man Walking.''

He then introduced the Buzzcocks, who did a stellar 45 minutes of punk classics, ``What Do I Get'' and ``Ever Fallen in Love,'' and similarly styled new songs.

We will be in luck if their contemporaries The Sex Pistols are anywhere near this good when they hit town next month.