Eddie Vedder adds charm to his assets at the Tower

In his now 20-year role as Pearl Jam's vocalist and lyricist, Eddie Vedder has been regarded as brooding, obtuse, intelligent, and intense. What he has probably never been thought of, until now, is charming. It is through his new solo efforts, the live Water on the Road Blu-ray and the sweet and aptly titled Ukulele Songs, that his levels of gracefulness have become apparent.

During his sold-out solo show Saturday at the Tower Theater, with opener Glen Hansard and a few special guests, the elegant manner in which Vedder embraced songs old, new, borrowed, and blue was mesmerizing in a way that bested even his weightier performances with Pearl Jam.

For all this allure and panache, Vedder never lacked for aggression. Starting with a long set of Ukulele Songs, his baritone vocals moved fluidly from low and impassioned to whispery and curious as his ukulele's strum went from ticklish to hard. This dynamic drew the listener closer to the hurt heart of the melodically hokey "Sleeping by Myself" and the sad one-two punch of "Broken Heart" and "Light Today," leaving Vedder to joke, "If you don't relate to these songs, I'm happy for you."

Vedder's chattiness was a large part of the night's enchantment, as was his exquisite instrumental prowess. Before a plucky version of Pearl Jam's "Better Man," he reminisced about closing down the Spectrum and welcomed a former employee, Charles DeFabio, to the stage for his 90th birthday.

Vedder also talked about the lingering sorrow he felt visiting Manhattan's Strawberry Fields, and that anguish fueled his version of Beatle John Lennon's "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away."

And when he mentioned the passing of saxophonist Clarence Clemons, Vedder was joined by Hansard and Clemons' nephew, Jake Clemons, who wowed the audience with his sax solo through a haunting version of Springsteen's "Drive All Night."

While Vedder partnered with the Swell Season's Hansard for a tenderly shimmering version of their "Falling Slowly," and duetted with that same ensemble's Markéta Irglova for the Tin Pan Alley standard "Tonight You Belong to Me," he saved his best for cuts from his 2007 soundtrack album, Into the Wild, such as the clipped "Society" and a swampy but rollicking "Hard Sun."