People thought I was certifiable by walking away unimpressed by Pearl Jam's opening US show in Chicago a few weeks back. Yes, it was well performed and featured a bevy of hits and treasures, but it did not connect with me. Just because Pearl Jam pulls from an enormous pool of songs nightly doesn't make the show dazzling just because it's rare. I look for themes, structures and musical performances that lift the crowd to another realm. The first show was quite good, but in my modest opinion, it didn't attain the level of altitude I know this band is capable of. So what about night two in the Windy City? It was nothing short of incendiary. Opening with "Hard to Imagine", the band felt more alert and unwavering than the previous night. Pearl Jam is one of the few acts who can hit the stage with a hush and yet send quivers throughout an arena, let alone with a rarity from their Lost Dogs compilation. The melancholy of the song hit the sweetest of spots in a flawless performance. Right at the song's conclusion, the opening chords to "Corduroy" rippled throughout the crowd and by the time guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard unleashed their vicious six-string licks, the crowd reacted with a ardent wail making a proclamation that this would be a more embryonic and euphoric evening that the night before.

Followed in succession by the No Code track, "In My Tree" the crowd's mood ascended to an entirely different plateau. As the six members on stage (including Boom Gaspar on keyboards and organ), this one song immediately set notice that the band was here to woo the crowd with their personal tales from within. It wasn't so much about the reactions of the crowd as it was how it made them feel. The eternal optimism of this song fused the band to sum up their astonishing powers in a performance nothing short of revelatory. Here's a song, much like "Present Tense" (which would appear later in the show) that came from an album that for all intent purposes was a financial disappointment, but they perform it with the intertwining drive of their latest creation. A decade onward here is a band that isn't here to just give the crowd a greatest hits set but is repetitively shining misconstrued material in a innovative light, thereby breathing new life into it. Matt Cameron's drums splintered with vivacity on "Last Exit" while the band churned against one another in an enticing nostalgic salute. The "Whipping"/"Not For You" twofer is another example of how this set list appeared to be better constructed pulling themes and embracing their punk lineage. "Daughter" featured a snippet of "Another Brick in the Wall", often deemed the ultimate version of the song and this performance didn't disappoint. "Gone" proved to be especially poignant with a rebellious vocal by Vedder; his voice ascended to empathetic heights as the audience swelled in elation. Even in the rafters the fans rose to their feet, raised their hands to the air and yelped throughout not just the chorus but the entire song. This one performance is a testament to their self-titled 2006 release proving it was the band's most consistent record since Vs. was released in 1993. The passionate B-side "All Night" was raw, "The Fixer" was dangerously alive, "Brother" was uncharacteristic but exotic while "Even Flow" and "Do the Evolution" were primordial in their deliverance despite being nightly staples. There was something here for everyone with the band executing them all with not just precision but potency as well.

The encores balanced beseeching rockers with more somber ballads. "Grievance" and "Comatose" bestowed a primal one-two pounding while "The Real Me" and "Porch" were liberating confessionals. "Black" was drenched in emotional vulnerability while "No More" was fueled by realism. The song was a request by Nathan Young who was attendance. Nathan is brother of Thomas Young who was featured extensively in the Body of War documentary from a few years back. Thomas was there as well. Last year as Vedder closed out his solo tour in Chicago, he pulled Thomas on stage, sung to him and got on his knees and hugged him. This evening's performance was a compelling mix of brutal reality and faith for a better tomorrow that struck the perfect note.

The overall structure of the show was more challenging and could have gone awry if the band wasn't up to the task, but they were infusing it with intensity no one will soon forget. I put Pearl Jam into an entirely separate category as live performers because of their tenacity to not play by the rules. On the evening's penultimate song, "f***in' Up", a Neil Young cover, the band underpinned themselves into never ending foot-stop jam where Vedder put on a wig thrown on stage as he danced the night away. Drummer Matt Cameron destroyed his drums as the rest of the band followed in jolting accompaniment. The high-spirited and ferocious muscle of the band built and built until the crowd could take no more as they were teetering on exhaustion. Pearl Jam did more than just up their game or outdid themselves from the night before, but they played out of their skins reminding those in attendance that there is more to a show than a varied set list. Pearl Jam at their best is an arena rock band who creates anthems to be sung and screamed with tens of thousands of other fans. Through the towering crowd and visceral reactions, we discover unheralded gems, hear favorites in an entirely distinctive light and if we're really lucky, the music will propel us forward towards a better tomorrow. We all need reminders that our lives are more than mundane existences but truly revelatory and existential experiences we need to be more aware of. The feeling of twenty-thousand people singing along to an explosive "Better Man" or a reverberating "Alive" are indescribable and for that reason, Pearl Jam makes the ante of life feel that much more crucial.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.