Los Angeles' Gibson Amphitheater may be a good 15 miles from the Pacific, but don't tell that to Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. At the first of four shows at the 6,000-seat venue, the Seattle band's lead singer declared that he was taking the enthusiastic audience on a little surfing safari.

"We're playing almost all of the ocean songs," he said, "because we're so close to the shore." Vedder, an avid surfer, stayed true to his promise, performing such tunes as 'Big Wave,' 'Amongst the Waves' and several others that qualify as Pearl Jam's rough-and-tumble equivalent of sea shanties.

The band played plenty of hits but also indulged the hardcore fans with semi-rare performances of 'Tremor Christ' and 'Rats,' the latter prefaced with the opening from 'Ben.' Whether playing rarities or now-classics like 'Black' from 'Ten,' the band's 1991 debut, Pearl Jam displayed a rawness and intensity from the moment it hit the stage with 'Why Go' that never let up through the two-hour-plus show. The quintet's virtuosity and ferociousness were surpassed only by the fervency that Vedder and company brought to nearly every song. Even an old chestnut like 'Even Flow,' which the band rushed through at first, rang anew due to Mike McCready's astonishingly nimble guitar work, much of it performed with his guitar behind his head.

McCready played like a man possessed throughout much of the evening, but his potency was matched note for note by bassist Jeff Ament, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard and drummer Matt Cameron, especially when they bulldozed through electrifying set closer 'Porch.' As for Vedder, after all this time, he still clutches the microphone with both hands as if it were his lifeline. But there's a deft lightness in his approach to the audience that wasn't always there in the early years that balances out the pain, suffering and downright desolation conveyed in most of his lyrics.

The show occurred on the same day that 'Backspacer,' the band's new album, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the group's first chart topper in 13 years. But Pearl Jam came to play, not to rest on their laurels.

"By the way, we got news today that the album we put out is No. 1," Vedder said more than an hour into the concert. "We had a couple of those a while ago. Back then, we just didn't give a s---. All these years later, we still don't give a s---. But a few of us have kids. We're not going to explain what it means, but your dad's f---ing No. 1 ... and don't you forget it!"

After igniting the nearly exhausted crowd with a potent 'Alive' during the second encore, Vedder took off his shirt to reveal a USMC t-shirt. He emotionally talked about Col. John McCullough, an officer he'd come to know, as well as McCullough's children. "John and his battalion are leaving in a few days to do another nine months in the Middle East." As he tapped his chest, Vedder said, "I just wanted to feel his presence." With that, Pearl Jam ripped into a spirited version of Neil Young's 'Rockin' in the Free World' as a sendoff for McCullough and a feral benediction to close the evening.