The obvious differences between Pearl Jam and Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers weren’t all that apparent at their Sunday night Pepsi Center concert, especially when both artists delivered such impassioned, feel- good sets.
Sure, Petty may be celebrating his 30th anniversary while Pearl Jam is only half that age. Pearl Jam is associated with grunge and Petty with laid-back, melodic rock. And no one would mistake the volatile Pearl Jam for a chill, classic rock act.
But the kinship between bands grew as they swapped members for select songs and repeatedly gave each other props through the show – the first of two hotly anticipated, back-to-back Pepsi Center appearances.
Pearl Jam kicked off its lengthy set with “World Wide Suicide,” with the audience immediately coming to life with raised fists. Eddie Vedder and Co. looked nearly the same as they did in the early ’90s when grunge was a buzzword and “Alive” and “Evenflow” ruled the radio.
Fortunately, the Seattle band also sounded at least as tight as it did then, if a bit more willing to engage in jam-band histrionics (drum solos, anyone?) and Christ-like stage poses for the crowd.
The group’s new self-titled album didn’t stop it from delving into the expected hits from “Ten,” “Vs.” and “Vitalogy,” to the audience’s lighter-waving delight.
“Corduroy” sounded great with the addition of Heartbreakers keyboard player Benmont Tench, and “Evenflow” resonated as Vedder introduced it as “a song written by a homeless friend of ours from back home.”
An encore – in which Vedder poured red wine into the front- row audience members’ cups – primed the screaming throng for the rock god they were there to see, Petty.
Although he has a new album, “Highway Companion,” due July 25, it’s a good bet no one was salivating to hear tracks from it, as rife with longstanding hits as Petty’s catalog is.
At press time, the set had just begun, opening with “Listen to Her Heart,” a jangly, Byrds-esque rocker that immediately reinforced all of Petty’s nasal goodness.
“You Don’t Know How It Feels,” one of Petty’s bigger hits from the 1994 album “Wildflowers,” incited an audience-wide clap-along in the filled-to-capacity venue.
“Saving Grace,” the leadoff track from Petty’s forthcoming disc, erupted with bluesy chords that recalled Chris Isaak’s “Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing,” and before it, the countless blues progressions that song appropriated. Mike Campbell’s slide-guitar work was lacerating, accented by insistent piano notes and Petty’s heavily inflected vocals.
“Free-Fallin,”‘ from the 1989 monster success “Full Moon Fever,” was note-perfect from start to finish, Petty’s thinning but resonant voice getting ample help from an audience that seemed to know every word to every song.
