2014-10-01: Cincinnati, OH

[stip]

anyone here actually go the show?

[broken iris]

. I am very pro-2013 & 2014 concerts and set lists, but in my opinion, that set was poor on paper. It could still be a good performance.

Again, this.

[igotworms]

I think if every active band in the world were in my town tomorrow, there are probably at least fifty I'd go see before Pearl Jam.

As recently as nine years ago there would have been at most one I'd see over them.

I would be hard pressed to name one. Honestly. I would like to see your top ten.

The ten artists I'd most be excited to find out were playing in my town tonight at this second are probably...

Manic Street Preachers
PJ Harvey
Janelle Monae
Simple Minds
Jenny Lewis
Meg Myers
Outkast
Public Enemy
Little Boots
Jimmy Eat World

Purely out of interest, of the long list of artists you mention that you would prioritise over PJ, have you seen them all perform live before?

As much as I love PJ, if there was a clash I'd possibly prioritise a band that I really liked yet had never seen live before. (Though the reality is that post-gig I'd probably conclude that I would have had a better night at the PJ show).

Quite a few of the bands you mention I've seen on a number of occasions, and while some of them were good - especially the Manics, RATM, Stone Roses, Pulp - they still didn't compare to PJ.

At the other end of the spectrum, some of the others I've seen - such as Wombats, Spirtualized, The Naked & Famous - were just pieces of wank in comparison, so I'm guessing you haven't seen them before?

But even if you have, the world would be duller place if we all agreed, right?

(BTW I managed to get tickets to one the Manics' The Holy Bible shows in December - definitely one that would get the nod over a local Pearl Jam gig!)

[warehouse]

so this turned into the most RM thread ever

[vedder316]

anyone here actually go the show?

I went. Travelled from Pittsburgh to see it. 12th show, probably the best crowd I've seen at a show and I've seen shows in Pgh, DC, Philly and NY.

Figured there would be bitching about the setlist here. I really enjoyed the 1st encore specifically, Man of the Hour, Parachutes, ATY.

Love Boat Captain was intense, jammed on it for while, not my fav song but this version was good.

Can only remember Ed fucking up the lyrics to Lightning Bolt. He went into the crowd for Porch which was kind of cool.

I know many dont enjoy the "hits", but Black seemed like a very good version and this was the best Jeremy I've heard in at least 10 years maybe more.

[Will]

I'd agree with the crowd. It was actually really lively for a smaller market tour opener, but occasionally that happens. A show in DC could be a dud, but then a show in Charlottesville could have unreal intensity.

I drove 8 hours to hang with a few friends and see this one show. It was actually totally worth it.

[corduroy2121]

I think if every active band in the world were in my town tomorrow, there are probably at least fifty I'd go see before Pearl Jam.

As recently as nine years ago there would have been at most one I'd see over them.

I would be hard pressed to name one. Honestly. I would like to see your top ten.

The ten artists I'd most be excited to find out were playing in my town tonight at this second are probably...

Manic Street Preachers
PJ Harvey
Janelle Monae
Simple Minds
Jenny Lewis
Meg Myers
Outkast
Public Enemy
Little Boots
Jimmy Eat World

And at the risk of getting absolutely blasted here (which I'm sure I will), forty more...

Spoiler: show

Lykke Li
CHVRCHES
Prince
Kanye West
Primal Scream
The Night Terrors of 1927
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Public Image Limited
Robyn
The Wombats

Stevie Wonder
Morrissey
Spritualized
Ida Maria
David Garza
Bruce Springsteen
U2
Camper Van Beethoven
Jack White
Fleetwood Mac

Echo & the Bunnymen
The Cure
Depeche Mode
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
The Strokes
The Naked & Famous
Twin Shadow
M.I.A.
Sleigh Bells
Deep Cotton

Kyla La Grange
Purity Ring
Ellie Goulding
Blur
Pulp
The Stone Roses
The Jesus & Mary Chain
New Order
Rage Against the Machine (Do they still play live? It's hard to keep track...)
Whitey McTeeth

Like I said, that's great if Pearl Jam is your number 1. They were #2 for years for me. But for one reason or another, I'd probably go to see every one of these artists before I'd go to see them if the opportunities were similar. I've felt every Pearl Jam show I've seen has declined in quality from the one before since the 2006 tour started (with the exception of the PJ20 Festival), and the 2013 show I saw left me with no real desire to see them in the near future. I probably would still see them if they were in my town. But not if one of these artists were playing the same night. If you were to tell me I'd seen my last Pearl Jam show already, I wouldn't have any problem with that.

This is ridiculous to me. I mean if Pearl Jam is not one of your favorite bands any more, okay. Even if you truly believe that all of these bands are better than PJ these days. (nonsense) but what in the world are you spending your time on a PJ message board for then? 10,000 posts????

[Hatfield]

I think if every active band in the world were in my town tomorrow, there are probably at least fifty I'd go see before Pearl Jam.

As recently as nine years ago there would have been at most one I'd see over them.

I would be hard pressed to name one. Honestly. I would like to see your top ten.

The ten artists I'd most be excited to find out were playing in my town tonight at this second are probably...

Manic Street Preachers
PJ Harvey
Janelle Monae
Simple Minds
Jenny Lewis
Meg Myers
Outkast
Public Enemy
Little Boots
Jimmy Eat World

And at the risk of getting absolutely blasted here (which I'm sure I will), forty more...

Spoiler: show

Lykke Li
CHVRCHES
Prince
Kanye West
Primal Scream
The Night Terrors of 1927
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Public Image Limited
Robyn
The Wombats

Stevie Wonder
Morrissey
Spritualized
Ida Maria
David Garza
Bruce Springsteen
U2
Camper Van Beethoven
Jack White
Fleetwood Mac

Echo & the Bunnymen
The Cure
Depeche Mode
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
The Strokes
The Naked & Famous
Twin Shadow
M.I.A.
Sleigh Bells
Deep Cotton

Kyla La Grange
Purity Ring
Ellie Goulding
Blur
Pulp
The Stone Roses
The Jesus & Mary Chain
New Order
Rage Against the Machine (Do they still play live? It's hard to keep track...)
Whitey McTeeth

Like I said, that's great if Pearl Jam is your number 1. They were #2 for years for me. But for one reason or another, I'd probably go to see every one of these artists before I'd go to see them if the opportunities were similar. I've felt every Pearl Jam show I've seen has declined in quality from the one before since the 2006 tour started (with the exception of the PJ20 Festival), and the 2013 show I saw left me with no real desire to see them in the near future. I probably would still see them if they were in my town. But not if one of these artists were playing the same night. If you were to tell me I'd seen my last Pearl Jam show already, I wouldn't have any problem with that.

This is ridiculous to me. I mean if Pearl Jam is not one of your favorite bands any more, okay. Even if you truly believe that all of these bands are better than PJ these days. (nonsense) but what in the world are you spending your time on a PJ message board for then? 10,000 posts????

OUTKAST? (seen them live a couple of times and was less than impressed)
Jimmy Eats World?

[Will]

[Hatfield]

thank you!

[southp]

20. Sleeping By Myself
21. Man of the Hour
22. Parachutes
23. All Those Yesterdays

That's a great run right there.

[ItsOkay]

I was there. Good, solid show. For those that this was their first or second concert, I’m sure they said, “F yeah, that’s was amazing!”. For a 4th or 5th, “I’m glad I came, but I wish…”

The 1st encore gives me hope they could play great shows well into the next decade. The 2nd encore makes me picture them in Rolling Stones-ish high heels with Ed awkwardly strutting and Mike victoriously waving his arms above his head like each show was a battle won. Singing angry teenager songs while raising teenagers feels disingenuous.

The good:
-the opening 3, capped with Of the Girl
-Ed’s voice was solid, with very, very little of the screeching, whining, weird inflections. For higher parts, like in Parachutes, he’d sign them in a lower register or not sing them at all. This for me is WAY better than the up and down, breathy, “bouncy” thing he was trying. In Corduroy, I think for the bridge they didn’t scale up a key, but kept it low.
-Ed seemed really comfortable yet focused. It seemed like he’d heard some boots from last year and thought “I’m never going back there again”
-as someone said above, LBC was actually pretty great. Intense jam as an intro to it.
-The “butt rocker” 1st encore was the highlight. If it sucked, the show to me would have been a let down. But Sleeping, MOTH, Parachutes, ATY redeemed the night in terms of setlist.
-although I didn’t like Ten-era heavy set, Jeremy was grooving.
-when Stone had space to rip, he went after it (especially on RITFW)
-tagging YL with the Star-Spangled Banner made the 2nd encore bearable (along with the Real Me)


The bad:
-was there an anthem they didn’t play?
-this was a setlist for newbies..and repressed 50 year old men reflecting on their teenage angst by rocking to the ’92-93 heavy setlist.
-I’m no musician, but these seemed like their least technical songs. There were very few songs that demanded real musicianship (Of the Girl and the 1st encore being exceptions). Everything else seemed straightforward with long solos.
-nearly every song is turned into a sing-a-long (Porch, DTE, Betterman, LB, LBC to name a few)
-Mike’s timing seemed slightly off to me, esp. on Present Tense and GTF
-I don’t like the locked in pairings of Even Flow/Sirens, MYM/LB


Other notes:
-Ed smashed his electric after Betterman. He may have been pissed because his mic was off while trying to get the “runaway” back and forth going with the as the outro. It only came on for a minute at the end, but it definitely made for an awkward minute or two
-Porch included a long foray into the crowd for Ed
-during the 2nd encore Mike played his way up and down the lower bowl
-Ed dedicated a song to Pete Rose

So, overall glad I was there, but it was close to the worst setlist for me. Only 1 Binaural, no “deep tracks” from any album, too many anthems. But, was still a great night enjoying a great band.

[broken iris]

So, overall glad I was there, but it was close to the worst setlist for me. Only 1 Binaural, no “deep tracks” from any album, too many anthems. But, was still a great night enjoying a great band.

I'm glad to hear the generally positive reviews. I think the change up to longer shows with the butt-rocker encore one has really helped take the setlists that may frustrate veteran concert goers and turn them into shows everyone enjoy.

[bodysnatcher]

I mean if Pearl Jam is not one of your favorite bands any more, okay. Even if you truly believe that all of these bands are better than PJ these days. (nonsense) but what in the world are you spending your time on a PJ message board for then? 10,000 posts????

this is one of my favorite arguments

[Lament]

Purely out of interest, of the long list of artists you mention that you would prioritise over PJ, have you seen them all perform live before?

As much as I love PJ, if there was a clash I'd possibly prioritise a band that I really liked yet had never seen live before. (Though the reality is that post-gig I'd probably conclude that I would have had a better night at the PJ show).

Quite a few of the bands you mention I've seen on a number of occasions, and while some of them were good - especially the Manics, RATM, Stone Roses, Pulp - they still didn't compare to PJ.

At the other end of the spectrum, some of the others I've seen - such as Wombats, Spirtualized, The Naked & Famous - were just pieces of wank in comparison, so I'm guessing you haven't seen them before?

But even if you have, the world would be duller place if we all agreed, right?

(BTW I managed to get tickets to one the Manics' The Holy Bible shows in December - definitely one that would get the nod over a local Pearl Jam gig!)

It runs the range. Some are artists I've seen a lot but just flat out prefer at this point in time (U2, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Eat World, Morrissey). The Manics and PJ Harvey pretty much trump everyone with everything for me. Some are bands I've seen (often several times) and loved seeing, but haven't seen in many years (Spiritualized, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen, Primal Scream). Some are legacy artists who I've loved for years but have yet to see (Simple Minds, Outkast, Public Enemy, The Stone Roses). Some are artists who I've never seen who I'm just way more into for the past several years than I am Pearl Jam (The Wombats, Little Boots, Lykke Li, Robyn. TN&F). Some are artists I have seen who I just think were far better the past few times and I've had far much more fun seeing lately than Pearl Jam (CHVRCHES, Janelle Monae, Ellie Goulding).

I've seen Pearl Jam quite a bit (probably 30 times since 1995), and pretty consistently for the most part. I have no doubt this plays into it. I'm sure after I've gone several years without seeing them, they'll climb back up the ladder. If they put out a new record I genuinely like at some point, they'll climb up a lot higher too (U2 just did this for me).

That's very cool that you've got tickets for one of the THB gigs in December. That's my single favorite album of all-time. I hope you enjoy the living hell out of that show.

Jimmy Eats World?

Like I said before though, I'm not trying to convince anyone else to feel this way. That's awesome if seeing Pearl Jam in 2014 is literally the best way you can spend your time. I happened to see Pearl Jam and Jimmy Eat World last year within a month of each other. The Jimmy Eat World one was one of the most thoroughly enjoyable shows I'd seen in a long time and showed them to be getting tighter and better with age. The Pearl Jam one was not. It's really as simple as that.

This is ridiculous to me. I mean if Pearl Jam is not one of your favorite bands any more, okay. Even if you truly believe that all of these bands are better than PJ these days. (nonsense) but what in the world are you spending your time on a PJ message board for then? 10,000 posts????

I apologize to those who are thoroughly offended at the thought that there's enough music out there in the world for me to prefer to see anyone to Pearl Jam, let alone fifty acts. I have a very music-centric job. This gives me more than enough time to care about/enjoy/be interested all of these bands. Sorry I have too many posts here for your liking. If it makes you feel better, the vast majority of them have nothing to do with Pearl Jam. There happen to be a number of really great people and super intelligent and interesting music fans here. They could official change this to a Jason Mraz board tomorrow and I'd still visit every day to interact with these people.

[BurtReynolds]

This is a Ryan Adams board now.

[LetMeSleep]

This is a Ryan Adams board now.

We are RA'ers now.

[Norah]

I think if every active band in the world were in my town tomorrow, there are probably at least fifty I'd go see before Pearl Jam.

As recently as nine years ago there would have been at most one I'd see over them.

I would be hard pressed to name one. Honestly. I would like to see your top ten.

The ten artists I'd most be excited to find out were playing in my town tonight at this second are probably...

Manic Street Preachers
PJ Harvey
Janelle Monae
Simple Minds
Jenny Lewis
Meg Myers
Outkast
Public Enemy
Little Boots
Jimmy Eat World

And at the risk of getting absolutely blasted here (which I'm sure I will), forty more...

Spoiler: show

Lykke Li
CHVRCHES
Prince
Kanye West
Primal Scream
The Night Terrors of 1927
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Public Image Limited
Robyn
The Wombats

Stevie Wonder
Morrissey
Spritualized
Ida Maria
David Garza
Bruce Springsteen
U2
Camper Van Beethoven
Jack White
Fleetwood Mac

Echo & the Bunnymen
The Cure
Depeche Mode
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
The Strokes
The Naked & Famous
Twin Shadow
M.I.A.
Sleigh Bells
Deep Cotton

Kyla La Grange
Purity Ring
Ellie Goulding
Blur
Pulp
The Stone Roses
The Jesus & Mary Chain
New Order
Rage Against the Machine (Do they still play live? It's hard to keep track...)
Whitey McTeeth

Like I said, that's great if Pearl Jam is your number 1. They were #2 for years for me. But for one reason or another, I'd probably go to see every one of these artists before I'd go to see them if the opportunities were similar. I've felt every Pearl Jam show I've seen has declined in quality from the one before since the 2006 tour started (with the exception of the PJ20 Festival), and the 2013 show I saw left me with no real desire to see them in the near future. I probably would still see them if they were in my town. But not if one of these artists were playing the same night. If you were to tell me I'd seen my last Pearl Jam show already, I wouldn't have any problem with that.

This is ridiculous to me. I mean if Pearl Jam is not one of your favorite bands any more, okay. Even if you truly believe that all of these bands are better than PJ these days. (nonsense) but what in the world are you spending your time on a PJ message board for then? 10,000 posts????

In case you haven't noticed, people talk about more than just Pearl Jam here. And the people who don't like modern day Pearl Jam still talk about/listen to the stuff from when the band was good. Also, people start posting here when they like the band, form bonds with the community, and don't want to break those bands just because musical tastes have changed.

[warehouse]

can we get a vid of lbc/jumpin jack flash? am i the only person who cares about this?

[BurtReynolds]

can we get a vid of lbc/jumpin jack flash? am i the only person who cares about this?

thats a safe bet.