A few songs into the 2hr 20+ minute set, Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder commented to the ravenous audience that this was the band's 27th appearance in "the area." Long time fans are well aware of the relationship the Seattle-based band has with Boston, and as past shows have been quite memorable, the band lived up to all expectations on this one-night-only visit to Boston.
Opening with a low-lit stage, "Release" from Pearl Jam's debut Ten echoed through the rafters. Hands were up, audience vocals were soaring, and without missing a beat, the band ripped right in to "Animal." Vedder, who is awfully fun to watch, pranced around the stage. Still, the sight to behold all evening was Mike McCready, who paced like a caged tiger. He'd go to the lip of the stage, point, rush to the back of the stage, run back and toss a handful of guitar picks. Bassist Jeff Ament (who also played acoustic and electric guitar) held down a rock solid bass line, and drummer Matt Cameron impressed, keeping everyone on task, all the while providing a strong and smooth back beat. Stone Gossard flashed his guitar prowess, as well, and offered the occasional backing vocal to fill out the sound.
Since it was a one-night deal, the band dug deep in their back catalog and "not often played" lists. During the encore, right before they started "Crown of Thorns" (a track done by pre-Pearl Jam band Mother Love Bone), Vedder said that in 26 other appearances they had never played this track. The mix of tracks might have been met with confused faces, but all one needed to do was look left or right to see someone realizing that this was a special moment.
The variety of the set was appealing, but the one issue I had was with the cover tunes. Were they good? Sure. "Love, Reign O'er Me" was quite strong, but the band called an audible and the whole show ended with "Rockin in the Free World" rather than the planned "Yellowledbetter." This caused a slight brick walling with the bass and drums, but that might have been due to my proximity to the PA stacks. The adjustments were made on the fly, so I realize I'm being nit picky.
Vedder works the stage like those all too familiar videos from the early days of grunge. He'd wave to fans, dip into his notebook, then toss back a long swig from his bottle of wine, and name check a local fan who was unable to make it to the show. Before tossing a tambourine to the audience during "Rockin' in the Free World," he pointed to a lucky person, and made sure that person got the prize. He stared down any of the "thugs" the item was not intended for.
Offering everything from "Alive" (with teases of "Heaven and Hell" in tribute to Ronnie James Dio) to "Evenflow" to "Undone" to "Pilate," there was little the band could do wrong. Throughout the 32-song set, the band kept the stage lighting low key and really focused their energy on the live performance, truly knocking it out of the park.
Melophobe favorites Band of Horses opened the show by touching upon each of their studio albums, as well as giving the few that wanted to pay attention, songs from their new LP Infinite Arms (released the next day). Keeping their set tightly focused, the band quickly played a handful of songs before saying a few words to the audience. They did thank Pearl Jam for the great chance to play and said they were terrific tour mates. A haunting blue bathed Ben Bridwell for the start of "Is there a Ghost," and "Funeral" from the band's debut soared late in the set. But it was a walk-on from Vedder at the end of their set that got the few who arrived early to their feet. The ovation was both polite and strong - it seemed like the band could have won over some new fans.
Set List (from Pearl Jam forum w/teases):
Release, Animal, The Fixer, In My Tree, Small Town, Force Of Nature, Given To Fly, Sad, Unthought Known, Pilate, Hail Hail, Push Me, Pull Me, Even Flow, Undone (played in memory of Howard Zinn), Not For You/Modern Girl (Sleater Kinney), Red Mosquito, Got Some, State Of Love And Trust, Why Go
1st encore: Bee Girl, Just Breathe (dedicated to "T, Marie and their boy Jack"), Love, Reign O'er Me (Townshend), Rival, Save You, Rearviewmirror
2nd encore: Smile (dedicated to "Jen"), Wasted Reprise, Better Man/Save It For Later (Charley, Cox, Morton, Steele, Wakeling), Soldier Of Love (Cason, Moon) [Stone discusses "Partners In Health"], Crown Of Thorns (Mother Love Bone, A. Wood), Alive (w/Heaven & Hell riffs at end for Dio), Rockin' In The Free World (Young)
