Whether you're a fan or not, Pearl Jam deserves credit for one thing: Only a handful of artists play as long and as hard and compose their set lists as thoughtfully as the Seattle quintet.
Thursday night's wide-ranging, often transporting 2 1/2-hour-plus show at TD Banknorth Garden was no exception. If every song didn't reach the heights of rock concert nirvana, at least Pearl Jam can't be accused of phoning it in, especially after the previous night's performance, which still had fans raving.
Members of the band, especially amped up guitarist Mike McCready, clearly still had plenty of energy and love for Boston, which frontman Eddie Vedder proclaimed frequently, with hoists of his wine bottle.
The set list featured some overlap from Wednesday, including a big chunk of their strong new album, but also a few rarely heard oldies that had the sold-out house roaring with joy.
Playing without pretense, the band ripped through a 30-song set that circuitously covered its hard rocking 15-year history. Unlikely but welcome returns came from the punky ``State of Love and Trust " and the scorching kiss-off ``Leash ."
There were a few fallow periods during which the less compelling tunes or the erratic sound quality -- McCready's solos were oddly muted in the mix -- deflated the energy.
But the peaks were so high, the crowd could have used a Sherpa.
On a magnificent encore version of ``Alive " the band transformed its first, exceedingly familiar hit into a communal bloodletting. It ended with Vedder throwing himself about with such abandon that he stumbled, knocked over his microphone stand, and collapsed in a satisfied heap as McCready sprinted around the stage as if trying to keep up with his own frenzied solo.
Vedder also chatted with the crowd throughout, thanking Red Sox GM Theo Epstein for his matching donation to the band's local charity beneficiary, and saluting the armed forces. The statements weren't meant to be political, said Vedder. After experiencing such a beautiful day, he said, ``I thought it was only right to include them in our thoughts."
Epstein also joined the band for a spirited version of Neil Young's ``Rockin' in the Free World. "
Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com.