POP MUSIC AND JAZZ REVIEWS : A ‘Choice’ Selection of Alternative Rock

Perhaps inspired by President Clinton’s flesh-pressing populism, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder bestowed his shiny, new Telecaster on a guy in the crowd after finishing his short solo set during the “Rock for Choice” benefit at the Hollywood Palladium on Saturday.

“Here’s my guitar; now learn to play it,” Vedder said to the stunned fan.

It was a night of instrument giving, not smashing, and stage sharing, not diving, as some alternative rockers celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision and the new President’s moves to expand abortion rights.

A kinder, gentler punk rock? Not exactly, with a bill featuring the angered Riot Grrrl rock of Seattle’s young 7 Year Bitch and the urban pressure-cooked hip-hop-metal of L.A.’s Rage Against the Machine.

In its Los Angeles debut, 7 Year Bitch connected with its almost innocent recycling of early punk ethos. The themes--alienation, greed, abuse--and do-it-yourself style come wholesale from such late-’70s punks as the Slits and the Damned, but these four young women sound like they mean it, man.

Rage stirred the crowd impressively, while Screaming Trees, Mary’s Danish and added guests Holy Water and Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano all turned in noteworthy appearances. But neither they nor emcee Exene Cervenka answered the political or musical question: What next now that what was once outside is in?