Vedder Gets 'Em Rockin'

Pearl Jam, Seaweed, Cypress Hill and others in a free concert yesterday afternoon at Magnuson Park. ---------------------------

Eddie Vedder is rock 'n' roll's Monkey Man.

His penchant for climbing things reached new heights yesterday at Pearl Jam's free show in Magnuson Park. When he tossed his microphone way up high and its wire got tangled in the superstructure of the canopy over the stage, he shinned up a support pole, swung hand over hand to the mike, and finished the song while hanging there, dangling his legs. Then he slid down the wire and went on with the show.

That moment turned around what had been a strangely subdued event. It electrified the audience and unified it with the band, ultimately sending the big crowd home with good feelings and something to remember.

Before that, the event - certainly one of the highlights of a great year for local rock - seemed to lack the enthusiasm that should have accompanied such a big, free show, the first thank-you to faithful Seattle fans from one of the superstars of the Seattle scene.

Maybe it was the threatening weather, and the few sprinkles early on, that dampened the spirits of the 30,000 or so lucky enough to get free tickets.

Perhaps the rigmarole of getting there - everyone had to take special buses from the University of Washington campus several miles away - had something to do with it. Certainly the constant haranguing by master of ceremonies Jim Rose, who treated the crowd like naughty children about to get out of hand at any moment, took its toll.

Even the other members of Pearl Jam seemed to be mostly going through the motions before Vedder's daredevil feat. They've seen him climb things before - he's done similar stunts at previous shows here, and elsewhere - but probably not so dangerously, because the canopy didn't look that sturdy. They must've been as glad to see him get out of it in one piece as the audience was.

Vedder was full of energy the moment he hit the stage. His great strength is the emotion he puts out in his singing, and it was there for every song. He writes the passionate, poetic lyrics for the band's tunes, which often have to do with feelings of inadequacy and loneliness, and like a fine actor makes those words feel real at every performance.

"Alive," the band's big smash, was fresh and celebratory, "Jeremy" was full of foreboding and pent-up anger, "State of Love and Trust," from the "Singles" soundtrack, was a vigorous workout, in contrast to slower songs like "Why Go" and "Garden."

Also on the bill were the funky rap band Cypress Hill and Seattle grunge/punkers Seaweed, as well as several speakers on politics and the environment.

Although complicated, the shuttle-bus system to and from the site worked fine.

If city officials were looking to this event as a test for future such concerts, it passed with flying colors.