Pop Talk by George Varga

Pearl Jam delivered so many rousing anthems at its marathon, 32-song concert last Friday night at San Diego State University's Viejas Arena that it almost seemed anti-climactic when the show concluded with guitarist Mike McCready's Jimi Hendrix-inspired solo version of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Then again, little short of a cameo by the ghost of Hendrix, who died in 1970, could have topped what was perhaps Pearl Jam's most memorable San Diego concert in the band's 19-year history.

Memorable not just because it included such rarely performed songs — at least on this leg of the tour — as the lilting, Beatles-flavored 2006 ballad "Parachutes" and the doo-wop-tinged "Last Kiss," a 1962 Wayne Cochran chestnut that the band played while facing its fans seated behind the arena stage.

And memorable not just because of Pearl Jam's galvanizing renditions of such early favorites as "Alive" and "Better Man," which were matched by similarly impassioned versions of "Got Some," "The End" and five other songs from its new album, "Backspacer." Lead singer Eddie Vedder performed "The End" by himself, gently intoning such tender lyrics as: I wanted to grow old / Just want to grow old.

No, what made this concert really stand out was the all-enveloping sense of communal spirit among the audience, the band and the band's extended family.

Of course, it's a given that many fans will sing along with gusto at every Pearl Jam concert. But this show, which drew a crowd of 11,500, boasted enough unique moments to make you regret the absence of film director Cameron Crowe ("Almost Famous," "Jerry Maguire"), who is working on a documentary to commemorate Pearl Jam's 20th anniversary next year.

The first came when Vedder brought on stage Lulu Wismar and her dad, Keith (a veteran Pearl Jam road crew member who now works for Ben Harper, the show's opening act).

After recalling how he'd cradled Lulu in his arms when she was not yet two days old, Vedder had the crowd sing "Happy Birthday," then had Lulu blow out the candles on her birthday cake.

Sentimental? No doubt. But can you name another major rock band that would devote time, mid-concert, to honor the child of one of its former roadies?

Eight songs later, Vedder gave props to his former guitar teacher, Bud Whitcomb, and to percussionist Jon Szanto, who was Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron's teacher when Cameron was a teenager.

Another band might have left it at that. But not Pearl Jam, which had Szanto and Whitcomb join in to perform Hendrix's blues-drenched "Little Wing." Cameron happily turned over his drums to Szanto, who played with poise and precision, while Whitcomb and Pearl Jam's McCready traded tart licks.

Equally moving was Vedder's nostalgic introduction to Pearl Jam's spirited version of The Byrds' 1967 gem, "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star." Grinning broadly, he recalled the time he was promoted to "chief of post-midnight security and gas pump detail."

What followed was a delightful recounting of how Vedder implored his then-boss to let him get a Mohawk haircut — the better to realize his budding dreams of punk-rock stardom. "This job now," he concluded, "I'm never going to (expletive) quit!"

Vedder, 44, has been a rock star nearly half his life. His group has weathered the years longer and better than any other band to emerge from Seattle's grunge-rock scene of the early 1990s. This triumphant concert suggested Pearl Jam has the potential to endure for another 20 years.

To find out more about George Varga and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.