2014-10-17: Moline, IL

[BigRedLedbetter]

Daft Twat is playing at my house........

Get up here, bigred. I live less than 10 minutes from the st. Paul venue. You can ride down to the show with me and my 7 year old, going to his first show.

Raincheck for sure. My 5 year old would have to tag along. She jams out to Alive like it's nobody's business and asks for "Jam" a lot.

I love Minnesota and most the people I have met from there. With my joy of hockey, fish and cold weather I think I was born in Minnesota or Wisconsin in another life. I do need to get back to the Twin cities though and it's a crime I have not hit Target Field yet. There is a plan in the works for my buddies and I go head up there next year when my Skers play the Gophers. You guys have a ridiculous amount of big breasted blonde haired blue eyed Swedish girls.

[Lament]

lol yes im the one who is butthurt. and dmb is awesome.

Obviously you are, since you feel the need to constantly bring it up. This is what, the third different thread you've brought it up in?

Weird thing. Not all of us picked our 2 favorite bands in 1994 and thought "Y'know what...I'm good. There probably won't be anything else good coming along." Some of us have expanded our horizons.

I made my statement. I explained my reasoning behind it. I didn't try to force it on anyone. I didn't suggest that anyone should feel the same way I do, and made it clear that I had no problem with people who felt differently. I know you have a history of doing poorly when you have to deal with coherent, reasonable posters, so maybe you should have your own private forum where you can perpetually be a 13 year old.

[Kevin Davis]

Spoiler: show

COOL.


Starting with "Small Town" is a bit of a headscratcher though

Most likely it was a way of putting a familiar song out there as sensitivity to the general-interest folks who were unknowingly waiting to be subjected to a full 13 song record of non-hits. I've never really understood "Elderly Woman" as an opener but in person it doesn't feel as weird as it does on bootlegs, favor though I do the subtler show openers.

The "No Code" thing felt like a dream -- somehow it managed to feel less and less believable the clearer it became that they were actually doing it. I would have been overcome sufficiently with emotion just to have heard "Who You Are," a song that during the critical years of my PJ fandom it was genuinely believed would never be played again. And up until that point it felt like they may have just been employing tactful sequencing, but once they started "In My Tree" there definitely seemed to be a collective sense of, "Oh shit, they are really doing this." Before the show I was talking with one of the guys in my section and I asked him if there was anything he was hoping to hear, and he said, "Anything off 'No Code' would be awesome -- it's my favorite album. And 'In Hiding.'" This man was in pure ecstasy all night. It's easy to knock the vacuity of the "high-fiving your bros in the bleachers" thing (and God knows I have) but there is definitely enjoyment to be had in seeing other people enjoy a special moment, provided they're not obnoxious about it.

The "No Code" stuff was really well-performed too -- this is definitely the niche of material that 50 year-old Eddie's voice is most suited to, and Mike's guitar playing -- especially on "Off He Goes," "Red Mosquito," and "Around the Bend" -- was melodic and soulful. It takes a relatively shred-free program of material to make you remember what a great guitarist he can be, coming up with lines that are cohesive and tactful rather than just flashy and fast. Eddie had a few momentary slip-ups that were quickly righted (I think we got a "call man's your neighbor/call it behavior" during "RM"), but no blank spots. He couldn't remember the first line to "Around the Bend," so he discreetly scanned the audience until someone prompted him, and then proceeded to deliver a flawless version. In fact, I might go so far as to say that this "Around the Bend" was the single best Pearl Jam performance that I have witnessed in person. The band played it just how I like them best -- loose, but in the pocket, with committed phrasing from Eddie, restrained drumming from Matt, and tasteful soloing from Mike. I hope it sounds as good on the recording.

Other highlights for me were "Brain of J," "In Hiding," "Bee Girl," and "Fuckin' Up," probably my favorite of the late-set Young/Who covers. "Gone" always pleasantly surprises me in its live incarnation -- great singing from Ed, right in the sweet spot of his range. And I didn't think "Infallible" dragged at all -- the guitars pack a lot more wallop when stripped of their studio polish. Again, the low point for me was "Imagine" -- just an insipid cover choice, especially with the projector cameras zooming in on all the weepy-faced girls singing along and crying. And though the gesture was nice, I was ambivalent about the Moline song.

But really, this night was about "No Code"; everything else was lagniappe. If the St. Louis show was a wild night of partying and vandalizing your neighborhood with your closest friends, this was the night where you and those same people stay up until 4am and tell each other your most intimate secrets. The decision to do "No Code" -- the record that essentially signaled the moment at which fans decided they were going to stick with or ditch the band -- felt like a very deliberate gesture of gratitude, and it wasn't garish or sentimental. It was just the band's very best music being played for a room full of people who knew it was special.

Spoiler: show

Was this the most Kevin Davis post of all time?

You should go through them all and decide. It's about time someone chronicled all my RM posts anyway.

[@SkitchP]

You should go through them all and decide. It's about time someone chronicled all my RM posts anyway.

Spoiler: show

Kevin Davis Post Chronicling Progress:

4%

[warehouse]

lol yes im the one who is butthurt. and dmb is awesome.

Obviously you are, since you feel the need to constantly bring it up. This is what, the third different thread you've brought it up in?

Weird thing. Not all of us picked our 2 favorite bands in 1994 and thought "Y'know what...I'm good. There probably won't be anything else good coming along." Some of us have expanded our horizons.

I made my statement. I explained my reasoning behind it. I didn't try to force it on anyone. I didn't suggest that anyone should feel the same way I do, and made it clear that I had no problem with people who felt differently. I know you have a history of doing poorly when you have to deal with coherent, reasonable posters, so maybe you should have your own private forum where you can perpetually be a 13 year old.

wow, did i touch a nerve here or what? remember when you said i was butthurt? lol. the point you made has been made dozens of times here by other posters through out the years, there was absolutely nothing original about it and thats why i made fun of you for it. its like people try to prove they have some sort of elevated taste in music when they bring up tens of other bands they'd rather see than pearl jam. its just weird to me, and its not like your post was the first time ive seen it on RM. and you are still doing it. "some of us have expanded our horizons"...does your arm hurt from patting yourself on the back? pearl jam, dmb and radiohead have been my 3 favorite bands since i was a kid. its not that i dont listen to other stuff, in fact all 3 have introduced me to older musicians i have fallen in love with. its just i have an emotional connection to those three bands that i dont have with any other band, probably b/c i started listening to those bands when i was young. but yeah, its totally about me not expanding my horizons lol.

edit: what did you think of this setlist/show?

[Birds in Hell]

"some of us have expanded our horizons"...does your arm hurt from patting yourself on the back?

Ha.

[broken iris]

Jeez. We finally get a great another great Pearl Jam concert and we are back to this.

[Jorge]

"some of us have expanded our horizons"...does your arm hurt from patting yourself on the back?

Ha.

That's no joke. I tore my rotator cuff once from patting myself on the back after a post in GD. I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

[broken iris]

"some of us have expanded our horizons"...does your arm hurt from patting yourself on the back?

Ha.

That's no joke. I tore my rotator cuff once from patting myself on the back after a post in GD. I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

So... that wasn't from this?

[BigRedLedbetter]

How about we all just fucking get along?

[Jorge]

"some of us have expanded our horizons"...does your arm hurt from patting yourself on the back?

Ha.

That's no joke. I tore my rotator cuff once from patting myself on the back after a post in GD. I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

So... that wasn't from this?

I asked you not to bring that up.

[BigRedLedbetter]

"some of us have expanded our horizons"...does your arm hurt from patting yourself on the back?

Ha.

That's no joke. I tore my rotator cuff once from patting myself on the back after a post in GD. I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

So... that wasn't from this?

That is a shit ton of Gatorade!

[Lament]

wow, did i touch a nerve here or what? remember when you said i was butthurt? lol. the point you made has been made dozens of times here by other posters through out the years, there was absolutely nothing original about it and thats why i made fun of you for it. its like people try to prove they have some sort of elevated taste in music when they bring up tens of other bands they'd rather see than pearl jam. its just weird to me, and its not like your post was the first time ive seen it on RM. and you are still doing it. "some of us have expanded our horizons"...does your arm hurt from patting yourself on the back? pearl jam, dmb and radiohead have been my 3 favorite bands since i was a kid. its not that i dont listen to other stuff, in fact all 3 have introduced me to older musicians i have fallen in love with. its just i have an emotional connection to those three bands that i dont have with any other band, probably b/c i started listening to those bands when i was young. but yeah, its totally about me not expanding my horizons lol.

edit: what did you think of this setlist/show?

Yeah, you did. I'm sick of this crap where things get thrown into some general "RM attitude" that no one actually embodies. I didn't throw out some random "cool list." Bammer asked me to list some of the bands, and then someone asked for some insight (and even suggested some of his own theories) as to why I'd choose certain ones. I went through and gave some sets of reasons (all of them rational enough that anyone would be silly to dispute them) as to why I (and I specified multiple times that I was speaking for no one but myself) would prefer to see these acts. It wasn't some kind of "elevated taste" announcement, it was bothering to actually explain how a band I've loved enough in the past to see probably 30 times would get to a point where there are that many other people I'm more interested in seeing. This was an actual conversation/discussion, but for some reason you've decided to rewrite as just being someone dropping snarky comments for the sake of being snarky. Maybe you should go back and read the actual exchange...

the worst PJ concert is better than just about anything else you can do in that time span,

This is so very much not true.

What's a better way to spend 3 hours?

Better than the worst Pearl Jam concert? Seeing another band at the top of their game.

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.

That being said, I'm glad that you guys who went enjoyed it.

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...

Spoiler: show

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.

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.

But if you want to equate everything that went on in that exchange to me "making some list" to "prove I'm cool," then go ahead. I was pretty upfront and honest there.


As for this show & setlist? Again, I'm happy for the people who went and had an amazing time. I'm also happy for everyone who didn't go but still feels like their faith in the band has been restored. I know a lot of us here are/were waiting for something to make them feel the excitement about this band that we've lost over the years. It's really great to see a lot of them find a sign in this, and to be so re-energized. That's why I came and visited this thread after staying away from most of the other ones from this tour (except for Lincoln, cause I wanted to read #BRL's thoughts on his first show).

For me personally, it doesn't do anything for me. Jorge and I exchange last month that got cut out from my "interview" thing with him about how my favorite band of all-time had just announced a few shows where they were playing my favorite album of all-time in its entirety. As Jorge can attest, I was very down on the idea of full-album shows for albums that are anything other than an artist's current album (unless it's something like Quadrophenia, with a narrative). So before I get blasted as just trying to be "difficult" for feeling indifferent towards Pearl Jam playing No Code from start to finish, I was blasting a band I love more than Pearl Jam for playing an album I love more than No Code from start to finish just a month or so ago.

[VinylGuy]

This will be a very fun bootleg for sure.

Funny to see all the drama here...

[warehouse]

i think i understand where you are coming from with other bands playing older albums front to back, it can probably seem like a nostalgia act and cash grab depending on the artist and album. but as far as pearl jam goes, playing what is most recognized as their least popular and career shifting album front to back is kinda wild. pearl jam's live show has built a reputation that hardcore fans and casual fans alike will almost always leave a show happy. its almost like they did the opposite of that here. im not really sure they've ever experimented with a setlist like this.

[warehouse]

This will be a very fun bootleg for sure.

Funny to see all the drama here...

its all good, we're all jamily here.

please ban me the next time i use that word

[@SkitchP]

Lament didn't list Kesha

[Lament]

Lament didn't list Kesha

I thought it went without saying.

[VinylGuy]

This will be a very fun bootleg for sure.

Funny to see all the drama here...

its all good, we're all jamily here.

please ban me the next time i use that word

I know, i know...

Thrilled to hear the boot. Their euro tour was very good and these shows seem to be mindblowing.

[@SkitchP]

Lament didn't list Kesha

I thought it went without saying.

It'll be ok.

i guess.