Who saw Pearl Jam this week? With three sold out shows at Bill Graham Civic Center, at least a few of you must have been there. We braved the packed, sweaty, drunken crowd on Sunday night to remind ourselves why we’re really no fan of large venues. It was hard to see from any vantage point on the floor if you weren’t over six feet tall, and even if you found yourself a decent sight line to the stage, you were inevitably bumped, tripped over or in the worst cases groped every few minutes as people either lumbered toward the stage or away from it. We thought the band’s performance was great; Eddie Vedder has one of the strongest, most distinctive voices of our generation and he sounds fantastic both live and on record. A highlight to the nearly three-hour set was when Eddie and Stone talked about some of the old punk songs they’d been covering because the political messages were still current and meaningful. They called Penelope and Greg up from The Avengers to play their song "The American in Me" with the band. We found this photo of Eddie and Penelope from Phil H's site, but it's also part of the show download from the official Pearl Jam bootleg site. If you went to any of the shows, please tell us about your show experience in the comments!

We don’t have a giveaway this week, but we do have show recommendations. Tonight, fans of world music, Burning Man, performance art and the didgeridoo should see Kan Nal’s aural and visual extravaganza at the Independent. Our best friend from high school, Teresita, will be adding her fire dancing and spoken word to the shamanic rock. Those of you who enjoy a good mashup should check out turntablist Z-Trip at Ruby Skye. He’s not afraid to mix easy listening with hip-hop; head to his website to read his thoughts about recently leaving a major label. Camera Obscura and Georgie James bring their quirky female-fronted indie pop to Great American. Freedy Johnston plays his thoughtful folk at Slim’s. At Boca, Golem plays their blend of gypsy, klezmer, and punk when they open up for Extra Action Marching Band.

On Friday, Ween fans will be going wild at the Independent and The Avengers are hoping some of that enormous Pearl Jam crowd will come see them at Cafe Du Nord. On Saturday, Oneida is at 12 Galaxies, The Album Leaf is at Café Du Nord, and The Raconteurs play the first of two nights at the Warfield with opener Kelley Stoltz.

On Sunday afternoon, Mavis Staples and Jackie Greene take over the Stern Grove Music Festival for some gospel songs in the sunshine. We’ll be seeing the Raconteurs and Kelley Stoltz that night.

We didn't see much on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday that grabbed our attention, so if you have a show to recommend on those days, please tell us in the comments.

Photo of Eddie and Penelope by Kerensa Wight.