Mother of pearl
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 25, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 BRIDGET O’BRIEN/ Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam performed at the Greek
Theater Tuesday night.
By Chris Moriates
Daily Bruin Contributor
It felt like the middle of a magical forest: the trees
stretching into the dark sky, lit by a few stars, and the mountains
filling in the background. The blue lights on the stage were mellow
and dreamy; the music began softly, easing the crowd into the
intense experience that lay ahead.
It’s been two years since Pearl Jam has played anywhere in
Los Angeles ““ two years for the anticipation to swell, but
Pearl Jam returned to Los Angeles Tuesday night in a sold-out show
at the intimate 6,100-seat Greek Theatre in Griffith Park.
As one of the few bands left standing from the days of the
Seattle grunge scene, 10-year veteran Pearl Jam took to the stage
and every single person was on their feet.
Very different from the standard rock ‘n’ roll
concert “hit them over the head” opening song, Pearl
Jam characteristically chose to slide the crowd into it by opening
with a calm version of “Sometimes” and then breaking
out into an energized version of “Corduroy” ““
complete with a soaring guitar solo from Mike McCready.
The two-hour performance included songs from all six of Pearl
Jam’s full-length releases. As the band’s members
seared through 17 songs during its first set, they barely stopped
to take a breath, and returned for seven more during their two
encores.
 BRIDGET O’BRIEN/ Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Mike McCready jammed during the Pearl Jam concert.
“It feels like we’re in somebody’s
backyard,” lead singer Eddie Vedder said about the atmosphere
of the Greek, before introducing the song “Light
Years.” Vedder was right. Even from the back row bench seats,
it felt very much like a small backyard show.
Then Vedder led the crowd, assisted by McCready’s gentle
lead guitar work, into a sort of mellow trance, with the tranquil
but powerful “Nothing As It Seems,” followed by
“Wishlist” and an extended version of
“Daughter.” But the band was quick to snap the crowd
out of it with a frenzied break into “Lukin,” which
masterfully transformed into the Vitalogy album anthem “Not
For You.”
Pearl Jam, which built its popularity on its reputation as an
amazing live band during the early ’90s, has definitely
matured over the past few years. The days of Vedder’s
high-rise climbing, crowd-surfing antics are long gone and the band
now puts on a much more reserved performance. Despite that fact,
Pearl Jam has actually become a better live band than it ever was
in the past.
Following a crowd favorite, “Even Flow,” Vedder, who
is an avid supporter of Green Party presidential candidate Ralph
Nader, used the platform to discuss his views on corporations.
Vedder explained that the Greek Theatre usually features two
huge car company signs on either side of the stage. “We
didn’t want to be a two-hour commercial for Dodge,” he
said, “so we asked them to take them down.”
The venue wouldn’t remove the signs at first, but
eventually agreed to Pearl Jam’s request (most likely, as
Vedder later hinted, because the band threatened to cancel the show
due to a stipulation in its contract that says it won’t play
at venues with corporate advertisements).
The protest with Greek Theatre management provided the only
comedic moment of the night when Vedder quipped, “Well, I
guess we could be a commercial for Dodge,” and then proceeded
to quickly sing a parody of Pearl Jam’s popular song
“Better Man,” with the words, “can’t buy a
better van.”
“I’m just glad that we could play the Greek while it
is still the Greek Theatre and not the Firestone Theatre or
something,” Vedder said.
During the beginning of “Black,” the crowd was a sea
of light as everyone busted out their lighters. However, people
either realized that waving a lighter in the air is no longer the
hip thing to do at a rock concert or all ran out of lighter fluid
because the lighters quickly disappeared, leaving just a few in the
air.
The highlight of the night was definitely toward the end of the
first set, with the absolutely astonishing rendition of
“Rearview Mirror.” Every member of the band was at the
peak of his performance, and they gave the audience an
unforgettable version of this emotional song.
The band masterfully brought the song down to a simmer,
disappeared into silence and then built the song back up, until the
pulsing music, joined by the intense strobe lights, reached the
climactic part of the show.
Apparently, unknown to the vast majority of the crowd, the real
cause for the silent break in the song was that the PA went out for
10 seconds during the extended interlude. But this just goes to
show the skillful control the band has over its music, even in the
face of unexpected technical difficulties.
The first set was an amazing roller coaster ride through more
than an hour of music, but the real magic happened during the two
encores. The band became more animated as Vedder tossed a
microphone stand during “Do The Evolution,” and rhythm
guitarist Stone Gossard broke into a solo. The encores also
featured rare songs such as “State of Love and Trust”
and “Crazy Mary.”
Taking the stage for the third and final time, Vedder admitted
that he woke up that morning “sick as a dog.” Although
his sickness and discomfort may have been somewhat apparent, it
didn’t affect the show. He then thanked the crowd for
“coming to this backyard today” and acknowledging that
“(this type of venue) are the best shows.”
Vedder performed the new song “Soon Forget” on
stage, alone with his ukulele and then the house lights came up as
the band finished off the night with the crowd favorite
“Yellow Leadbetter.”
The night ended with complete crowd participation in the closing
song and it was no longer Pearl Jam performing for 6,100 fans;
instead, 6,100 fans performed the song with Pearl Jam. As McCready
finished off the closing notes, Vedder stepped back admiring the
guitar work of his bandmate and gently smoked a cigarette. As he
stood there calmly relishing the moment, he seemingly reflected on
the night’s events, as many of those lucky to be in the crowd
will be doing for a long time to come.
