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As Sonic Youth, the ultimate thinking-person's modern alternative influence, drove walls of blissful feedback through the drizzly port city evening before a home-spun backdrop of candid street and subway videos, it struck me that having the veteran '80's noise-rock superheros open up for Pearl Jam was a little like having, say, Bob Dylan open up for Tom Petty-- it's pretty obvious who's been influencing who. Of course, there's no shame in being small but omnipotent.

Pearl Jam didn't quite burst onstage-- there was a slightly demoralized trudge to their entrance, recuperating as they were from June 30th's Roskilde Festival tragedy in Denmark (nine dead by squishing-- imagine the sad mess that must have been). But there was no need for trepidation-- the Va. Beach audience was wholly composed of seriously reverent devotees, and it didn't take but two tunes for band and audience to reach full gel with Vitalogy's "Corduroy."

Nonetheless, it remained clear that lead-singer Eddie Vedder-- a natural protagonist and yet archetypical anti-rockstar if ever there was one-- wasn't about to tempt the fates by whipping the crowd into a dangerous frenzy. He stayed well behind the stage monitors, played guitar much of the time and delivered his usual brand of beautifully earnest lead vocalizing, peaking late in the first set with a poignant audience call and response of "It's O.K." during the extended outro of their own seminal "Daughter." No mosh-pit developed. The audience ate every note like a last meal with a divine prince and were regularly moved to chime in during the band's most beloved singles.

If the Roskilde audience performed unholy ritual sacrifice at the dark altar of rock, then the Va. Beach audience reverently recited from their hymnals at a blissful service of true devotion to these, the original fire-walking gods of grunge. Here and forever more, Amen.
--Cripsy Duck ........................................................................................... up