Pearl Jam comes alive in Albany
ALBANY -- One of rock's most electrifying live acts made a rare appearance Friday in Albany and lived up to its reputation.
Pearl Jam is one of the few bands that survived the Seattle boom of the 1990s and certainly is the only one still thriving. Despite the band's indifference to fame and fortune and an idealism almost to a fault, Pearl Jam is still doing things their way. The band members are out supporting a new album that surprisingly rocks harder than any they have had in years. In many ways, it returns to the place where they started.
At the Pepsi, singer Eddie Vedder came out to a spare set free of trimmings, big backdrops and flashing screens. All they needed was guitars, drums and an array of amps (OK, there were some green lasers). He started "Life Wasted" by himself, the others -- Stone Gossard and Mike McCready on guitars, Jeff Ament on bass and Matt Cameron on drums -- jumped in on the second verse. A manic version of new single "World Wide Suicide" followed, and the crowd simply went ballistic.
"How have ya been?" asked Vedder, who then took a long swig from a bottle of wine while toasting the River Rats. He invited the crowd to sing along during "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town" and turned the giant arena into a corner pub. They pulverized "Evenflow" in an expansive jam, "Army Reserve" was more low-key, but still held conviction.
As the long set continued, "Daughter" was gorgeous, and the evocative "Jeremy" showed Vedder's strength and grace of voice.
Whether falling backward in circles or hoisting his guitar in the air, Vedder controlled the ebb and flow of the show with his unassuming yet powerful presence, and expressive, vibrato laden voice, which held just the right increments of richness and rawness.
Vedder did "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" alone with acoustic guitar, soon the whole band turned around and faced the seats behind the stage as they did "Last Kiss" and "Alive." Two hours, 40 minutes and two encores later, it ended. Surely one of the best live acts out this year (or any year), Pearl Jam is just a great American band.
Quietly, and without much fanfare, Pearl Jam donated $1 from each ticket to Albany's nonprofit Grand Street Community Arts.
Hailing from Kentucky, My Morning Jacket offered a molten set of passionate playing and grinding guitars under lush vocals and harmonies. Most songs were stretched out, pushed and pulled to their limits.
David Malachowski is a local freelance writer from Woodstock and a regular contributor to the Times Union.
CONCERT REVIEW
PEARL JAM, My Morning Jacket
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Pepsi Arena, South Pearl Street, Albany
Length: Pearl Jam, two hours and 40 minutes; My Morning Jacket, 50 minutes
The crowd: Plenty of people (sold-out), but not many flannel shirts
Highlights: Pearl Jam's "World Wide Suicide," "Daughter," "Jeremy," "Evenflow" and "Alive"
un premier encore inédit et inatendu !
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