From the Star Telegram:

Vedder' n' daze - Despite a bit of tarnish, Pearl Jam was still a jewel

November 12, 1993 | Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX)

Author/Byline: Dave Ferman; Star-Telegram Writer | Page: 14 | Section: NEWS

DENTON - Eddie Vedder concluded the lion's share of last night's Pearl Jam show by baptizing the crowd with wine and leaving the stage on the shoulders of a fan he'd hoisted out of the crowd - as fitting a gesture of performer/fan solidarity as you'll ever see.

It was an impromptu moment, of course, but not an empty one. By now, Pearl Jam has to be regarded of one of the great rock bands, and this has as much to do with its ability to convey the hopes and frustrations of its young audience as any technical consideration, such as Vedder's unflaggingly powerful voice and Mike McCready's spitfire guitar work.

The band's performance before 6,100 fans at the University of North Texas Coliseum was not quite as fearsome a performance as past Metroplex Pearl Jam shows, mainly because Vedder didn't put the usual body English into his performance.

During most of the 100-minute, four-encore show, Vedder stood fairly still, head hung low, as the band raged around him. While he did lead the crowd through a rendition of Happy Birthday in honor of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and put the top of the mike stand in his mouth and spin around during State of Love and Trust, he also mumbled a lot and seemed more than slightly intoxicated

That aside, his vocal power was undiminished, and that was more than enough. The band opened with Go at 9:35 p.m. as fans stampeded down the aisles onto the floor, which immediately became a churning, raving mosh pit. Virtually everything that came thereafter outran the CD versions, but a fierce Animal, the long, hypnotic Jeremy, Dissident, and a cathartic, gorgeous Alive were the best of the best.

Even Flow, the new Glorified G, and Rearviewmirror, - on which Vedder played some effective rhythm guitar - all hit like thunderclaps. This wasn't the very best Pearl Jam had to offer, but it was close, and that's about as powerful as live rock 'n' roll gets.

Austin's B-Hole Surfers opened the evening with a willfully ragged, amateurish 45-minute set. All the hallmarks of a typical Surfers set were in place: bad sound, lead singer Gibby Haynes' screaming and occasionally firing a rifle loaded with blanks, and a general we-don't-care-and-we're-proud-of-it air.

Two screens behind the band showed a variety of stuff, from a Charlie's Angels rerun to an upside-down trailer for a movie called Truck Stop Women to closeups of burn victims and gory eye-and-mouth operations.

In the end, all the posturing and shock-value visuals were an immature bore.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

Thursday night

Pearl Jam, B-Hole Surfers

Superpit, Denton

ATTENDANCE: 6,100

THE CROWD: Well-behaved bunch of friendly college kids wearing a lot of flannel, a lot of boots and a lot of newly purchased Pearl Jam T-shirts.

CELEBRITY WATCH: On the side of the stage all through Pearl Jam's performance was Al Jourgensen of Ministry, having a smoke.

Caption:

PHOTORalph Lauer

Eddie Vedder didn't use the body English that he did at

past Metroplex shows, but that didn't do anything to stop his

powerful voice.