Jam Sessions

Some artists might find 23 shows in a month difficult, but as Pearl Jam completed the first leg of its tour in Pittsburgh, it showed no sign of exhaustion. Opening with an extended version of "Evenflow" and rampaging on until the fan-favorite finale, "Baba 'o Riley," Pearl Jam gave Pittsburgh a high-energy show with a diverse and exciting set list.\n Pearl Jam followed up the opener with "Hail, Hail" off of No Code, an album virtually ignored on the tour save for the Aug. 25, Jones Beach, N.Y., show. Not until the seventh song, "Nothing As It Seems," does the band slow down the pace from a series of grinding rock tracks.\nAfter a lengthy version of "Daughter," Eddie Vedder introduces the next song as "This one's a b-side which even I don't have a copy of." The band then pounds into a brief but exciting rendition of "Leatherman" off the "Give To Fly" single. Afterward, the band lashed through an extended "Betterman."\nJudging by the set list scan on the inside of the case, Pearl Jam called a few audibles on stage, dropping such tracks as "Last Kiss" and "Do The Evolution" in favor of more obscure tracks like "Crazy Mary" and "Wash."\nWhile hardly on par with such jam bands as the Grateful Dead and Phish, Pearl Jam took the time to play out several of its songs with guitar solos and new bridges. On the second disc, the band takes "Black" to new heights with a solo courtesy of lead guitarist Mike McCready.\n"We have the list," guitarist Stone Gossard said after the encore break, an obvious reference to the fact that the set list was scrapped. Vedder spoke momentarily on the last nights of a tour.\nAfter several songs including old tracks like "Once" and "Go" and newer ones like "Insignificance" and "Breakerfall," the band took a short break. Soon after the band reappeared as Vedder introduced two members to opening act Sonic Youth who helped finish the show with "Baba 'o Riley."\nWhile the band still had an entire second leg of its tour to look forward to, Pittsburgh ended an already intense first half and gave a glimpse of even more exciting things to come.