NEW YORK — Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder isn’t a typical rock star, but he’s willing to take advantage of one perquisite of the job. When he has an opportunity to make music with his heroes, he jumps at it.

In 1993, he performed with the three surviving members of The Doors at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and in 1995,

REVIEW Pearl Jam’s long-running association with Neil Young culminated in their joint "Mirror Ball" album. Wednesday night at the Supper Club, he joined Pete Townshend of The Who at an invitation-only show promoting an upcoming Townshend live album. Sporting a new, blonde look, he took the stage about halfway through the 75-minute show and stuck around for the rest of it.

His presence was vital to the show, because Townshend was not having a great night.

The show started strongly enough. Backed with just his own guitar, Townshend played one of The Who’s signature songs, "Won’t Get Fooled Again." Peppering it with bursts of fast strumming, he made up for the lack of a rhythm section, and even drew cheers with a few of his trademark windmill moves — showy, circular

PHOTO BY ED CURRY Peter Townshend performs at the Supper Club, New York City, in a concert that was given a big boost by the presence of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.

arm motions that make power chords more powerful than usual.

"Behind Blue Eyes" and "Drowned" followed a similar pattern, with Townshend singing plaintively but playing his guitar fiercely. But the show hit a rough spot when he moved to the piano for "Cut My Hair," "Slit Skirts" and a growling "I Put a Spell On You."

Townshend rarely plays piano in public and seemed uncomfortable there, hunching his shoulders and contorting his body to strike certain chords, and flubbing notes on occasion. His voice strained to hit the high notes on "Slit Skirts," a song he introduced with the foreboding words, "This is a really hard one, but I’ll do my best."

Things went even further downhill when he returned to his guitar, since his lack of vocal power made the pleas of "Let My Love Open the Door" sound forlorn.

Once Vedder arrived, the show snapped back into shape. His voice, booming yet yearning, was perfectly suited for the ballads "Sheraton Gibson" and "Heart To Hang Onto," and he and Townshend treated "Magic Bus" and "Let’s See Action" as joint adventures. Townshend reasserted himself as a guitarist, dancing around Vedder’s vocals when he wasn’t trading call-and-response lyrics with him.

After singing a sublimely soulful version of Pearl Jam’s "Better Man" — introduced with the words "If you were to take the title literally, I’d like to dedicate it to Pete" — Vedder leaped, drawing his knees close to his chest, just the way Townshend used to. Townshend grinned broadly in response.

They closed with The Who’s "I’m One"; Vedder sang it while Townshend played a gently rolling guitar figure behind him. Townshend returned alone for the encore, singing just a verse of the same song himself, ad-libbing "I’m a loser, too, just like Eddie" after the line "I’m a loser, no chance to win."

This was an odd show that drew an odd response from the packed audience. People chattered throughout the songs yet burst into wild applause after them, as if they couldn’t decide whether they were bored or enthused. The house lights were left on all night, making the event seem more like a record-release party than a concert.

It was both, of course, even though the album, "Pete Townshend Live: A Benefit For Maryville Academy" (featuring two songs by Townshend and Vedder together) won’t come out until Sept. 21. The show was originally scheduled to coincide with the release of the album, and took place as scheduled after the release was delayed.

"That’s my fault," said Townshend sheepishly, with no further explanation.