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Pearl Jam at the Vic Theatre (8/2)


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August 03, 2007,

Rarities Dominate At Pearl Jam's Lolla Warm-Up

Josh Klein, Chicago

 

Shaking off the rust from a month-long break between shows, Pearl Jam treated a fan club-only crowd to a rarities-packed set last night (Aug. 2) at Chicago's intimate Vic Theatre. The gig served as a warm-up for the band's headlining set on Sunday at Lollapalooza in the city's Grant Park.

 

Frontman Eddie Vedder opened the show solo with covers of Cat Stevens' "Trouble" and Tom Waits' "Picture in a Frame," plus Pearl Jam's "Dead Man" and a made-up ditty about the Chicago Cubs, a dedication that drew equal parts cheers and boos from supporters and White Sox fans, respectively (Vedder will sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" today during the Cubs/Mets game at Wrigley Field).

 

From there, Pearl Jam launched into a 24-song set that went heavy on obscurities and included just two hits, "Wishlist" and "World Wide Suicide." The show opened with the rarely performed "All or None" and the B-side "Education" and went on to feature uncommon songs like "Undone," "Low Light," "I'm Open" and "Rats."

 

"Forgive us," mumbled Vedder about a third of the way in. "But most of these songs we decided to play about 4:30 this afternoon." Later, drummer Matt Cameron took the mic for a cover of Kiss' "Black Diamond," and for the finale, Ben Harper joined the band for the hushed "Indifference."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pearl Jam's never been a particularly radical band, but there is one thing that increasingly sets the group apart from its peers: they're one of the few American acts not just able to pack arenas but are comfortable doing so. In fact, it's safe to say that Pearl Jam is nearly unique in its tendency to perform proportional to the size of the crowd. Oftentimes the bigger the audience, the better the show.

 

The reason is simple and goes well beyond skill or the band's impressively diverse back catalog: Pearl Jam cares. It's one of the main reasons they built up and maintained one of the most loyal and dedicated fan bases in the world, a mutually reciprocal relationship the group never fails to acknowledge.

 

So while tens of thousands of fans readied themselves for Pearl Jam's Lollapalooza performance on Sunday, around 1300 or so of the most lucky fans got to catch the band playing a special warm up club show at the cozy Vic Theatre. And given that those on hand were among the most hardcore of the hardcore, Pearl Jam gave them a set brimming with rarely played songs and hardly a hit among them.

 

Eddie Vedder served as the night's opening act, his solo set typically modest in delivery. But, despite a somber shout-out to the West Memphis Three, it was also surprisingly jovial. The Evanston, Ill., native even debuted a song written for his beloved Cubs, a dedication that drew equal parts cheers and boos from supporters and White Sox fans, respectively.

 

Considering that aforementioned back catalog, Pearl Jam sets can go in almost any direction: angry, reflective, soft, loud, fast, slow. This night the group chose to dig deep. "Forgive us," mumbled Vedder about a third of the way in. "But most of these songs we decided to play about 4:30 this afternoon." But of course no one seemed to care when the band performed tracks like "In Hiding," "Low Light," "Sad" and "Rats," with less than obvious hooks and quirky arrangements.

 

Among the few set standards, Pearl Jam mostly stuck to ballads like "Off He Goes" and "Wishlist," though a midpoint turn toward rock evinced the likes of "World Wide Suicide" and an aggressively rearranged "Why Go." Then things, already a touch loose, got a little giddy, culminating in an encore performance of the Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" and, later, Kiss's "Black Diamond" (sung by drummer Matt Cameron) and the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer," a longtime Pearl Jam cover favorite.

 

After one last brief pause, the band brought out friend and fan Ben Harper for "Indifference," sending everyone home on a mellow note. Maybe that's not what one necessarily expects from Pearl Jam. But maybe the set list hints at things to come, imminently, when the band takes a much bigger stage: all the hits and hard rock.

 

Here is Pearl Jam's set list:

 

"All or None"

"Education"

"Sad"

"In Hiding"

"Parachutes"

"I'm Open"

"Wishlist"

"Down"

"Undone"

"Off He Goes"

"Hard To Imagine"

"Gods' Dice"

"World Wide Suicide"

"Rats"

"Gone"

"Why Go"

 

Encore 1:

"No More"

"Inside Job"

"Low Light"

"Love Reign O'er Me"

 

Encore 2:

"Comatose"

"Black Diamond"

"Sonic Reducer"

"Indifference" (w/ Ben Harper)

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The real question is who does the superior version of "Black Diamond," The Replacements or PJ?

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