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The return of Pearl Jam; Guitars blaze in concert; new album on the way
By Greg Kot, TRIBUNE MUSIC CRITIC
25 August 2009
Chicago Tribune
TRIB
Chicagoland Final
1
Eddie Vedder has a way of telescoping even sprawling stadium shows into intimate moments. At Pearl Jam's sold-out concert Sunday at the United Center, Vedder opened the second encore alone onstage, with a guitar and a story.
He related how, as a 6-year-old growing up in Evanston he would listen to his older siblings play records in the basement. One band in particular fascinated him -- The Jackson 5.
"The lead singer was only three or four years older than me," he said, and then delivered a haunting, finger-picked version of Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" in tribute to the late Michael Jackson.
In a career-spanning 27-song, 2 1/2 hour set, Vedder took fans from his childhood to the future, introducing three songs from the band's forthcoming studio album, "Backspacer." The album opens a new chapter in Pearl Jam's career, its first independent release at a time when the music industry is racked by economic woes.
Perhaps for that reason the band played like something more was at stake than just another sold-out concert in a career full of them.
In the past, there were times when Pearl Jam's arena-rock obsessions got the best of it; long solos and flabby improvisation aren't the band's strong suit. At the United Center, the Seattle quintet sprinkled its set with references to Led Zeppelin (the guitar riffs in "Given To Fly" and "In Hiding") and The Who (overwrought covers of not one but two songs from Vedder's sacred text, "Quadrophenia").
But these moments were tips of the hat to the setting, a chance for the audience to sing along. The bulk of the concert was devoted to terse, tactile assaults built on a bed of as many as three rhythm guitars. After the moody invitation to explore, "Long Road," the tone was set emphatically by "Corduroy," "Why Go" and the tangled guitars of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready on "God's Dice."
Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament frequently huddled in front of Matt Cameron's drum riser, as if to ensure that the rhythm would stay hard and fast. Vedder punctuated the attack with leaping spins, his right hand a blur as he pummeled his guitar. His rafter-climbing days may be over, but he didn't so much sing the songs as detonate them. The new material fit the evening's urgent mode.
Pearl Jam's earliest songs were embittered confessions, informed by confusion and anger. Its latest are declarations of resolve. As Vedder sang in "The Fixer," "When something's gone, I wanna fight to get it back again." Sunday night was the sound of Pearl Jam getting back in the ring.
- - -
Tracks from 'Backspacer'
Unreleased songs can be momentum-stoppers at arena concerts. Not so Sunday, when Pearl Jam introduced three tunes from "Backspacer," its ninth studio album, due out Sept. 20. The new songs had a few things going for them, including their relative brevity and urgent pacing. These were almost pop-punk tunes, and they were in keeping with the fast tempos of vintage songs the band played Sunday, such as "Corduroy," "Spin the Black Circle" and "Save You."
"The Fixer": Written by drummer Matt Cameron and released as an advance single, this one already had many of the fans singing along. It's a quick, catchy, propulsive rocker with a bunch of crowd-pleasing "yeah-yeah-yeahs," while Eddie Vedder vows to fix what ails ya.
"Got Some": A more furious rendition of the song the quintet debuted on national television a few months ago. Jeff Ament's bass bursts into a lead role, a la The Who's John Entwistle.
"Supersonic": Heavy guitar riffing with a '60s garage-rock flavor, then a shift into a bluesy, psychedelic midsection.
-- G.K.
- - -
Sunday's set list at United Center
1. "Long Road"
2. "Corduroy"
3. "Why Go"
4. "God's Dice"
5. "Dissident"
6. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"
7. "Sad"
8. "The Fixer"
9. "Given To Fly"
10. "Happy Birthday/Come Back"
11. "Even Flow"
12. "Save You"
13. "In Hiding"
14. "Man of the Hour"
15. "Insignificance"
16. "Got Some"
17. "Spin the Black Circle"
First encore
18. "Love Reign O'er Me" (Who cover)
19. "Life Wasted"
20. "The Real Me" (Who cover)
21. "Alive"
Second encore
22. "The Needle and the Damage Done" (Neil Young cover)
23. "Rats"
24. "Supersonic"
25. "Smile"
26. "Rearviewmirror"
27. "Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner"
The return of Pearl Jam; Guitars blaze in concert; new album on the way
By Greg Kot, TRIBUNE MUSIC CRITIC
25 August 2009
Chicago Tribune
TRIB
Chicagoland Final
1
Eddie Vedder has a way of telescoping even sprawling stadium shows into intimate moments. At Pearl Jam's sold-out concert Sunday at the United Center, Vedder opened the second encore alone onstage, with a guitar and a story.
He related how, as a 6-year-old growing up in Evanston he would listen to his older siblings play records in the basement. One band in particular fascinated him -- The Jackson 5.
"The lead singer was only three or four years older than me," he said, and then delivered a haunting, finger-picked version of Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" in tribute to the late Michael Jackson.
In a career-spanning 27-song, 2 1/2 hour set, Vedder took fans from his childhood to the future, introducing three songs from the band's forthcoming studio album, "Backspacer." The album opens a new chapter in Pearl Jam's career, its first independent release at a time when the music industry is racked by economic woes.
Perhaps for that reason the band played like something more was at stake than just another sold-out concert in a career full of them.
In the past, there were times when Pearl Jam's arena-rock obsessions got the best of it; long solos and flabby improvisation aren't the band's strong suit. At the United Center, the Seattle quintet sprinkled its set with references to Led Zeppelin (the guitar riffs in "Given To Fly" and "In Hiding") and The Who (overwrought covers of not one but two songs from Vedder's sacred text, "Quadrophenia").
But these moments were tips of the hat to the setting, a chance for the audience to sing along. The bulk of the concert was devoted to terse, tactile assaults built on a bed of as many as three rhythm guitars. After the moody invitation to explore, "Long Road," the tone was set emphatically by "Corduroy," "Why Go" and the tangled guitars of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready on "God's Dice."
Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament frequently huddled in front of Matt Cameron's drum riser, as if to ensure that the rhythm would stay hard and fast. Vedder punctuated the attack with leaping spins, his right hand a blur as he pummeled his guitar. His rafter-climbing days may be over, but he didn't so much sing the songs as detonate them. The new material fit the evening's urgent mode.
Pearl Jam's earliest songs were embittered confessions, informed by confusion and anger. Its latest are declarations of resolve. As Vedder sang in "The Fixer," "When something's gone, I wanna fight to get it back again." Sunday night was the sound of Pearl Jam getting back in the ring.
- - -
Tracks from 'Backspacer'
Unreleased songs can be momentum-stoppers at arena concerts. Not so Sunday, when Pearl Jam introduced three tunes from "Backspacer," its ninth studio album, due out Sept. 20. The new songs had a few things going for them, including their relative brevity and urgent pacing. These were almost pop-punk tunes, and they were in keeping with the fast tempos of vintage songs the band played Sunday, such as "Corduroy," "Spin the Black Circle" and "Save You."
"The Fixer": Written by drummer Matt Cameron and released as an advance single, this one already had many of the fans singing along. It's a quick, catchy, propulsive rocker with a bunch of crowd-pleasing "yeah-yeah-yeahs," while Eddie Vedder vows to fix what ails ya.
"Got Some": A more furious rendition of the song the quintet debuted on national television a few months ago. Jeff Ament's bass bursts into a lead role, a la The Who's John Entwistle.
"Supersonic": Heavy guitar riffing with a '60s garage-rock flavor, then a shift into a bluesy, psychedelic midsection.
-- G.K.
- - -
Sunday's set list at United Center
1. "Long Road"
2. "Corduroy"
3. "Why Go"
4. "God's Dice"
5. "Dissident"
6. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"
7. "Sad"
8. "The Fixer"
9. "Given To Fly"
10. "Happy Birthday/Come Back"
11. "Even Flow"
12. "Save You"
13. "In Hiding"
14. "Man of the Hour"
15. "Insignificance"
16. "Got Some"
17. "Spin the Black Circle"
First encore
18. "Love Reign O'er Me" (Who cover)
19. "Life Wasted"
20. "The Real Me" (Who cover)
21. "Alive"
Second encore
22. "The Needle and the Damage Done" (Neil Young cover)
23. "Rats"
24. "Supersonic"
25. "Smile"
26. "Rearviewmirror"
27. "Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner"
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
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