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Pearl Jam: Live on Ten Legs

Monkeywrench

The music documented on Live on Ten Legs cements Pearl Jam’s reputation as one of the best live acts of a generation. As the group moves into its second decade together, its members can successfully balance intensity, a torrid rhythmic pace and a relaxed camaraderie with its fans into an evening’s worth of celebratory, us-against-the-world rock and roll. The buoyant “The Fixer” and the meditative “Just Breathe” exemplify the band’s knack for facing adulthood while maintaining a youthful spirit. Compiling performances from 2003 through 2007, the group tears through a setlist that blends fan favorites like “Rearview Mirror” and “Yellow Ledbetter” while embracing its biggest hits—“Jeremy” and “Alive”—and schooling the crowd with a couple of choice covers. One of them, “Arms Aloft,” comes from Joe Strummer’s solo catalog and—as the 17 other tracks unfold—Pearl Jam, in the words of The Clash, makes music that matters.