Pearl Jam: Can't find a better band

With or without juice, Pearl Jam puts on an electrifying show.

The Seattle quintet jettisoned the sludgy, effects-heavy guitars and toned down the driving percussion for an evening of acoustic music at Benaroya Hall last night.

The setting — Benaroya's S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium — is softly lit and plush, providing a sophisticated backdrop for Pearl Jam's rich and layered body of work.

The purpose behind the band's rare — and sold-out — acoustic concert was a good cause. Proceeds from the concert benefit Seattle YouthCare's Orion Center, a safe place for homeless and high-risk youth in the Puget Sound region.

Those fortunate enough to get one of the show's roughly 2,500 tickets were treated to a night of classic (circa the "Ten" years) Pearl Jam, along with a healthy dose of the band's more recent material.

On this night, there was no political grandstanding, no flash pots, no pompous displays. It was about the music and supporting a cause that is obviously close to the Pearl Jam family.

Concert-goers might have been caught off guard when Eddie Vedder ambled onto the stage, sporting bleached blonde locks. But aside from the hair color and the young man who midway through the show ran across the stage — before being politely shown to the nearest exit — it was a straightforward, no-frills kind of night. And judging from the gushing approval of the audience, Pearl Jam still has the luster.

With seven albums — bootleg recordings notwithstanding — to their credit, Pearl Jam has little trouble compiling a song list. The real test, however, is how the songs hold up when given the no-nonsense, bare-bones treatment.

The start of the show was heavier on the band's music post-"Ten," starting with the opener, the brooding "Low Light." With the auditorium's lights softly casting a glow over the band, Vedder sang with emotion without being effusive. Vedder's voice still has that intensity and an undercurrent of angst that connects again and again with audiences.

Sans the distortion and muddy effects, the music was fluid, clean and consistent. Whether the band was shifting from the more upbeat and casual tempo of "Off He Goes" to the slower timing of "Immortality" and later "Black," Vedder was on key, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready's guitar arrangements were taut, and the rhythm section of Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron was in sync.

The band unwrapped a few new songs, including "Fatal," which is soon to be released on an album of B-sides and rarities, and "Man of the Hour," a cut that will be featured in Tim Burton's movie "Big Fish."

"Man of the Hour," with its melancholy tale of a performer whose star is fading, was warmly embraced.

The encore provided some of the finest moments of the evening, from a bone-tingling version of Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary," which the band recorded for the "Sweet Relief" benefit album several years back, to the plaintive and plainly beautiful "Black." For the latter, Vedder turned the mike toward the audience, and with some 2,500 people singing along, it was dramatic and moving.

In an homage to the late Johnny Cash, the band delivered a roaring version of "25 Minutes To Go." Vedder sang it with a tinge of rebellion that would have made Johnny proud.

There were several local celebrities in the house, including actor Tom Skerritt, a YouthCare volunteer, who warmly thanked the audience for coming out and supporting YouthCare and the thousands of young people the organization serves each year.

Tina Potterf: 206-464-8214 or tpotterf@seattletimes.com