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On Wednesday at the Gibson Amphitheater, four songs through the Pearl Jam performance, Eddie Vedder shifted from one foot to the next like he was trying to keep his balance on a fast moving object. Mike McCready, guitarist, leaned back while Stone Gossard, who was on rhythm guitar, leaned forward. Jeff Ament, bassist, had his head down like he was holding onto a mooring line. The storm’s eye, as he pounded out his steady drum notes with a calm face and straight back, was Matt Cameron.
After hundreds of shows and almost two decades, alternative rock’s most resilient band has transformed at its core into simply a surf band.
It isn’t to the extreme that Vedder isn’t able to resist all the water metaphors. Although on Wednesday, as a long time beach bum, he did acknowledge his propensity to do so. He said that the reason there were so many ocean references was because they were near the shore. It is healing, he quipped. Of course Pearl Jam doesn’t sound anything like those high treble instrumentals of the Surfaris or Dick Dale.
Pearl Jam creates surf music more in a philosophical sense. The set builds through arcs. Some of their songs quickly peak and then crash. Others gradually take shape. In order to negotiate all the tricky changes in the music each of the players has to exercise some serious muscle control. Stop to pose and you might collapse.
The band started off clean and fast on Wednesday, drawing on the lively spirit of their new album Backspacer. It is the first of the band’s albums to top the charts in over a decade. Vedder stated that they didn’t really care about it but did admit it would be kind of sweet to be able to let their children know that Daddy is No. 1. At first it seemed like it was going to be more of a punk show, as the rhythm section let out their punishing beats.
“Force of Nature” had a metal flavor, “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” was hymn-like and helped to broaden the tone of the show, giving McCready the chance to stretch a solo out and the crowd their turn to sing along. Finally a pretty love song, “Amongst the Waves” which actually ended up being a lot more complex played lived than it seems to be on “Backspacer,” gave Pearl jam all the space they needed for being- to borrow a phrase from Jane’s Addiction- ocean-sized.
Gibson Amphitheater helped with Pearl Jam getting bigger. The acoustics were first rate, with all the details crackling and crisp. A medium capacity of a little over 6,000 allowed the band and fans to connect while at the same time not having the feeling of being cramped.
Connection relates to how Pearl Jam really isn’t a surf band. Although surfing is basically a solo pursuit, which gives the grace-filled, contemplative moments that Vedder describes quite frequently in his song lyrics, fundamentally Pearl Jam is a team. Although Vedder is charismatic he doesn’t ham it up, and at the age of 44 still likes throwing himself around like he’s a kid in a club instead of preening like he was some sort of demigod or sex symbol. While in concert, Vedder positions himself alongside his band mates, who mostly are attending to each other and working together to smooth out all the transitions.
During Pearl Jam shows the straightforward attitude contributes to the strong communal feeling. The audience for the band is pleasant and enthusiastic without being too overly aggressive. It’s all raised arms and smiles. On Wednesday night the fans seemed a bit more subdued than they usually do. Maybe it was because it was the first show of four at the theater before the band headed for Texas to be the headliners at the festival for Austin City Limits, and then back to the Gibson for shows on Tuesday as well as Wednesday.
The loudest cheers came for the sleazy “Rats,” and older rare material such as “Tremor Christ,” although the new material got a good reception as well.
There were a few guests helping the band out. Ben Harper’s Relentless 7 was the show opener, with Ben adding some sting to the show with “Red Mosquito.” On “The End” and “Just Breathe”, two new ballads, there was a string section sweetening the sound, and Kenneth “Boom” Gaspar, keyboardist, added detail and texture to several of the songs.
During the band’s second encore, a young kid that Vedder pulled up onto the stage turned out to be the most charming guest that night. The young man shouted a verse out with the singer and then positioned himself right in front of Mike McCready. While the guitarist was on his solo, the kid shook like he was a piece of seaweed being tossed around. He seemed quite overwhelmed, but he still rode the wave.
