WEEKEND REVIEWS : Pop : 2 Sides of Punk Equation in Evidence at the Palace

How much respect is there for Mike Watt among punk and alternative-rock stars?

Well, for whom else would media-shy Eddie Vedder serve as a sideman, standing for two hours on stage at the Palace on Friday in front of a crowd of hooting fans and music industry schmoozers. Consider that Vedder’s own band, Pearl Jam, has steadfastly avoided performing in spotlight-intensive L.A. for nearly three years.

Watt is punk’s Man of the People, a San Pedro-based do-it-yourself icon whose thunderous bass prowess and ambitious musical scope are exceeded only by his reputation for a heart of gold.

Both sides of that equation were in entertaining evidence at the Palace, the penultimate show of a six-week tour headlined by Watt and also featuring Foo Fighters, the much-ballyhooed band fronted by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, and Hovercraft, a noisy ambient-grunge trio that includes Vedder’s wife, Beth Liebling.

The headliner’s musical and personal attraction was manifest in a wide-ranging set in which the former Minutemen and Firehose anchor was at various times accompanied by leading lights from both punk’s past (Germs co-founder Pat Smear and ex-Black Flag member--and Watt’s wife--Kira) and alternative’s present (Vedder, Grohl and Hole’s Eric Erlandson).

The no-frills tour was ostensibly mounted to show the younger musicians--especially Vedder and Grohl--how it was done in punk’s old days and at the same time give them a chance to escape the fish bowl that is their normal lives these days.

The problem was that the fish bowl came with them.

Offstage before his set, Watt expressed exasperation at all the media glare that the young stars’ presence had brought. Typically, he wasn’t upset that it had overshadowed his music, but that it had spoiled the fun for his friends.

The rewards of that loyalty, though, showed up on stage. With further support from such lesser-known but supremely talented guests as guitar whiz Nels Cline and Geraldine Fibbers’ charismatic singer Carla Bozulich, Watt was able to recreate both the sounds and the ego-less spirit of his recent “Ball-Hog or Tugboat?” solo debut.

Friday he and his accomplished accomplices moved from Who-like frenzy to jagged bop-punk to the pure popism of “Piss-Bottle Man,” Watt’s affectionate ode to his late truck-driving father.

The key moments, though, came when Kira joined Watt for two frisky encore bass duos. The pair embodied a sense of respect, community and--yes--love. And that’s the real spirit of Watt’s punk world.

Foo Fighters, previewing a debut album due next month, nearly lived up to the mountains of hype the band has already garnered. Grohl--a terrific guitarist, inventive writer and able vocalist, despite a lingering cold--and his mates (including Pat Smear, an auxiliary member of Nirvana in its latter days) offered a compelling set of tight, energetic songs mixing punk power with pop likability.

But don’t expect Foo Fighters to change the course of pop music or youth culture. Bands like that only come along once a musical generation--and Grohl was already in the one that did it for its time.

Expectations also played a role in Hovercraft’s rambling, but at times strangely magnetic half-hour. Many in the crowd seemed less interested in the music and more interested in trying to peer through the shadows that shrouded the trio to determine whether the drummer was or was not Vedder, who has sat in on some appearances.

It wasn’t.