Jam Sessions

Halfway through the first set of Pearl Jam's Aug. 29 Boston show, Eddie Vedder took a short break between songs to examine the audience and concluded it was the "liveliest crowd since Europe." But he added the audience would have to "check the bootlegs to be sure." \n Pearl Jam certainly seems to match the crowd's energy with its own dynamic performance, though the energy seems to peak during the first set and isn't met again until the end of the show. A minute of thunderous applause ensues before Pearl Jam launches into "Of the Girl," with another minute of thick electric guitar riffs until Vedder's deep voice takes over. The song has a lot of electric energy with even more elongated guitar jams interwoven in the opening song.\nThe explosive combination of intense rhythm and conviction of Vedder's lyrics produced a jammed-out, fun "Corduroy." Also standing out was an in-your-face "Evenflow," the craziness of Pearl Jam's stage presence is felt through the show. \nAn emotionally undulating "Given to Fly" best represented Vedder's observation of the crowd size, as the high-intensity song resulted in huge applause, a definite approval of the audience. The show slowed for an untitled track, the short melodic song containing high emotion certainly worthy of a title. "Betterman" began with a sluggish sound, but the band picked up vigor as the audience's sing-along erupted with the increased volume of the song.\nThe second set, all-round more rough and prickly, began with a dark ominous "Insignificance" that just didn't carry as much "oomph" as the first 16 songs. Vedder took a break to use his microphone to inform his fans of his support for Ralph Nader. His speech led into a tender, velvety version of "Patriot," which complemented his speech by involving the subject of nationalism.\nFinally, Pearl Jam concluded its Boston show with a seven-minute, intensely jammed-out "Rearviewmirror." The band continuously gained momentum throughout the song and didn't seem to want to end.\nBut the crowd expected the usual ending of "Yellow Ledbetter," and after four minutes of applause, the expectations were met with a supercharged encore of the classic song. Pearl Jam wasn't ready to end the show just there and played a second encore of "Fuckin' Up," the harmonizing lyrics and abrasive guitar riffs ending the show on an exciting, brisk note. And although the song asked Why do I keep fuckin' up?, in relation to its concert, Pearl Jam couldn't have been more off target with that question.