IN REVIEW: PEARL JAM AT THE NATIONAL BOWL

For three hours last night (Friday), Pearl Jam owned Milton Keynes Bowl, putting on one of the most impressive gigs seen on the stage in  a very long time. Total MK was there...   No flashy extravaganza and no gimmicks.  Pearl Jam have never been about that.  They don't need it. Ironic then, that tonight The Bowl is adorned with large projecting screens and all manner of wow-factor staging ahead of the Electric Daisy Carnival that will follow in the morning. But this is a carnival of sorts, a PJ carnival of sounds courtesy of five Seattle stalwarts who let music lead the way. When the band takes the stage at 7.45pm it's Pendulum that swings in first, then Wash, Nothingman and Black, all in quick succession. The band are on fire musically, but it takes a little while to bed in the performance - like being at a party where no-one knows each other...but with a hell of a soundtrack on the stereo! Just as we saw Pearl Jam do at the now-defunct Astoria a few years back, their music unites and carries you on their wave.  When Go (lifted from the quintet's second album Vs) kicks in, the mellowness is replaced by craziness. It's a good journey, and tonight - the last date of a European tour - Pearl Jam are stunning and superb.  Turns out we're making them feel at home too: 'Earlier the weather was like a typical day in Seattle," Vedder - sporting a shirt of support band Off! - says, giving a nod to the earlier downpours. "...now it could be like the nicest day in Seattle!" he laughs. "Twenty pounds for four beers with a carrier?" he asks his crowd, observing a sign  for the woefully over priced beer. "You get a carrier who brings it to wherever you are?" he toys, "This is a posh gig!" They raise a toast to one-time Pretender Chrissie Hynde, tell occasional jokes and anecdotes and give The Bowl a real feeling of intimacy - in a venue this size, that's no easy [gallery link="file" ids="3015,3014,3013,3016,3017"] (main pic: Al Hunter) feat, but then these guys are masters of their crowd, all the while asking that everyone  keeps an eye on each other, "and look out for the women first," Vedder says. Seattle women must be a more fragile bunch than the Keynesian lasses! Nothing As it Seems, Sirens, Even Flow, Spin the Black Circle, Rearviewmirror...it's a deliciously heady combination Pearl Jam are feeding us, and we are enjoying being spoon-fed. "We have no need for expensive watches," Vedder says, signalling to the man at the kit, "We have the best timekeeper in the world., Matt Cameron." There's a sharpness and a focus to guitarist Mike McReady too, who is doing his own bit for inter-bill support, rocking a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club shirt. Guests are brought out from the wings: Simon Townshend, brother of The Who's Pete - joins Eddie up front for I'm The Answer, a brilliant, emotive eighties Townshend track, while Dhani Harrison - son of George - also shows up on stage for a cover of The Beatles' Rain. But there is a slew of material in-between - Chloe Dancer, Better Man, Jeremy, Lukin, the band are relentless. There is a message too, and Eddie, bottle of wine in close proximity - gives an impassioned rant about how we are killing people; 'Not too far from here, bombs are being dropped... but we are all the same', he spits with venom, before breaking into the Edwin Starr anthem 'War.' The curfew of 10.30pm is being spanked, and frankly no-one cares - if Pearl Jam want to play their Alive anthem and then encourage us all to start Rockin' in the Free World, we'll take it, thanks very much. So the curtain doesn't come down on this show - and the tour entire - until 10.55pm...something like 35 songs since they first took the stage. You can only do that if you've got stamina and a truckload of terrific material - PJ have both in abundance, as do their thousands of devotees, who have been on track and in the moment for the whole three hours, and the band appreciates it.  After more than 20 years of playing, they still seem genuinely humbled: "It's not lost on us..." "Thanks for all that energy, use your power for good.." Vedder says by way of a parting shot. "Maybe we'll do it again some time..." Just give us the nod.   Sammy Jones