Pearl Jam makes a case for No. 1

"This is the greatest band in the world," Ben Harper announced matter-of-factly, during a guest appearance Tuesday night at the first of two Pearl Jam concerts at Madison Square Garden.

He didn't - couldn't - offer evidence. From a scientific point of view, the idea is unprovable. From the audience point of view - a sold-out crowd that was hanging on every word, every note, every nuance of Eddie Vedder and company - it was self-evident.

Say this. Seattle's longest-lived grunge outfit put on a show so energetic, so polished, and so musically exciting that the question arises: If this isn't the greatest band in the world, what is?

In 13 years, the band has outlasted critics who called it Nirvana-lite, survived battles with Ticketmaster over inflated prices, and weathered controversies over Vedder's political grandstanding ("Bushleaguer," his cutting take on the current administration, wasn't part of Tuesday's set).

If Pearl Jam can't prove Harper's claims on its behalf, it at least offered strong circumstantial evidence with Tuesday's roof-raising show.

Consider the following:

1. Bang for the buck. Tuesday's show was long. Very long. Four hours, not counting the opening act, veteran British punk-rockers The Buzzcocks. When Pearl Jam took the stage, the band performed more than 30 songs. It's the kind of monumental evening that Bruce Springsteen, in his more strenuous days, used to glory in - climax after climax until the audience is beside itself.

2. Polish. It's hard to believe that Pearl Jam changes its set almost completely from night to night, so smoothly did the sequence run on Tuesday. Vedder tweaked his own lyric from "Love Boat Captain" by one word - "let the games begin" became "let the show begin" - and, voilà, a made-to-order set opener.

For the rest of the night, he mixed songs from the most recent - excellent - studio album "Riot Act" with tunes from earlier albums: "Wishlist," "Breath," "Betterman," "Crazy Mary," among others. The juxtaposition of songs was canny. Lots of variety here: from the weirdly loping rhythms of "Cropduster" (the verse is in 7/4 time), to the pedal-to-the-metal classic "Even Flow," to the trancy "I Am Mine" within the space of a few songs. Plenty of stuff for the headbangers here, but also lots of melodic pop anthems to hold up your cigarette lighter to.

3. Vedder. The man has one of the great voices in the business. Period.

4. Musicianship. Bassist Jeff Ament, guitarist Stone Gossard, and drummer Matt Cameron are all great. But guitarist Mike McCready - think Jimi Hendrix after 100 cups of coffee - is a force of nature. His solo Tuesday on "Even Flow" was terrifying, apocalyptic, brilliant. And it went on and on.

5. Good taste. No smoke here, and only one mirror - a small one, held up by Vedder to catch the spotlight and shine it into the audience like a lighthouse beam. A simple, elegant effect. And that's about the extent of the gimmickry. This band doesn't need effects to put on a show. The music is the show.

6. Respect for tradition. Like most of the great rock stars, Vedder knows his history. Whether jamming with The Buzzcocks on "Why Can't I Touch It?" or covering tunes by John Lennon ("Gimme Some Truth") and The Who ("Baba O'Reilly"), or bringing up Harper for a big revival-meeting showpiece ("With My Own Two Hands"), Vedder proves that no band is an island, each one is part of the rock-and-roll main.

7. They rock. Put it this way: Madison Square Garden has a concrete floor. And - swear to God - it was shaking.

***

Pearl Jam performs at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel. Tickets, available at the box office and through Ticketmaster, are $38.25 to $42.25.

Email: beckerman@northjersey.com