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Beat Street

By Todd S. Inoue

Seattle Sonics:
Pearl Jam enters the big arena

Last Saturday, Pearl Jam proved that unadorned arena rock is alive in the 9-to-5. The show at San Jose State University's Spartan Stadium (rescheduled from the aborted Polo Grounds in San Francisco over the summer) had little in the way of hedonistic trappings--a huge chandelier swiped from The Addams Family set was the only extravagance; the sole flashpot was a temperamental barbecue that flared up occasionally behind the drum riser. Eddie Vedder came out first, performing a new song and reassuring the throng that he felt fine this time.

It was a trifle strange watching Seattle pop-punk delights the Fastbacks entertain a festival-sized crowd in the opening slot. Guitarist Kurt Bloch, proud owner of the two ugliest legs in rock, enjoyed his shot at the 50-foot stage to the fullest, leaping about, raising his guitar heavenward, peeling off licks and living out his most repressed Richie Blackmore fantasies. The band was good; too bad most of the crowd didn't take to it. Ben Harper, up next, was his enigmatic self. His covers of "Superstition" and "Voodoo Chile" got better response than his originals.

Then the time came for the Seattle Sonics. The subdued opening chords of "Release" led into "Evenflow," the roiling song that launched a thousand cover bands. Three pits exploded, and security was fishing folks out of it all night. Vedder lied about his health; he looked sick as a dog. His reluctant-hero stance manifested itself in the form of a hunched-over position that he maintained most of the night. His poisoned voice quavered in and out of bounds. The gastric juice lent sickly credence to the moody tone of such songs as "Deep," "Dissident" and "Not for You." His virus dissipated in time for plaintive readings of "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" and "Daughter," which interpolated "W.M.A." and the Who's "Young Man Blues."

Bassist Jeff Ament was the sole Pearl Jammer with a working pulse. Anyone else notice that guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready switched axes almost every song? McCready worked some magic into the solos of "Go," but otherwise, the sound rarely escaped the python stronghold. Vedder complimented the crowd for its patience during the whole ticketing/cancellation ordeal, but his push to praise San Jose was unjustified. A couple of oranges and middle fingers flew at the Fastbacks during their set, and Harper stopped midsong to chastise a clutch of troublemakers up front. Some people were more interested in the beach balls than the music. According to Vedder, this was a great crowd? The ultimate thank you came during "Black," Vedder's tale of personal turmoil that the band pulls out for special occasions such as this one. Pearl Jam played it with intense conviction, the "doo-doo-doo-doo-do's" wafting out Spartan Stadium like thick grill smoke.

With the stadium tour, Pearl Jam is in danger of entering "classic rock" territory before its time. Its songs fit in surprisingly well with their big, booming openings, heavy power chords, chanted choruses, prickly solos--all the stylistic techniques now copied by Candlebox, Collective Soul and their ilk. But for the true fans who gathered to blast out their pipes during "Alive," nothing else matter. Saturday was about Pearl Jam and no one else.

Rocks and Salsa

819 Records is putting together an all-ages show for Saturday (Nov. 11) with Soda, 4-Banger and Clay Wheels. The show happens at Cielito Lindo restaurant (195 E. Taylor St., San Jose) and the $4 tickets price will benefit radio station KFJC (89.7FM).

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