It's awesome being a Pearl Jam fan

[SJM]

I'm a pretty big Tragically Hip fan and managed to snag front row tickets to an upcoming show. Not sure if many of you guys know of them but they're pretty big up here in Canada. They are playing one of their albums in its entirety on this tour and every time I look at a recent setlist I can't help but think how awesome Pearl Jam shows are.

The Hip are playing 5 songs to start, their full album (12) songs, and then 5 songs in an encore. That's 22 songs total. Every night. No more, no less. And those 10 other songs outside their album are all well known hits. I watched a few full shows on youtube recently and their concerts are clocking in at under 2 hours.

Then, I listen to Pearl Jam's last show in Milwaukee. 35 songs including the entire Yeild album. Damn, it's awesome being a Pearl Jam fan sometimes. Sure, everyone can bitch about the quality of the shows but when you're actually at a Pearl Jam gig you know you're in for around 30 songs and each band member is gonna give it their all. They never dial it in and still love playing live shows. Can't wait for the next one.

[Iholdthepain]

troll fail?

[godeatgod]

do you like phish

[verb_to_trust]

That tragically hip show sounds pretty neat. Rehearsed, tight setlist. Plus, pearl jam fans wouldn't be there.

[coptheriotact]

I wouldn't trade the sloppy 35 song long sets for a 22 song predictable tighter setlist. Im sure a lot of fans and jaded-TSIS-non-fans wouldn't have hung around this long if it were not for the way PJ have done their setlists over the years. Maybe if the last 3 albums weren't extremely average and they kept their dignity and authenticity instead of selling over the top merch and having embarrassing social media management.. then it would still be awesome being a pearl jam fan. (the PRAMG?)

[Alex]

i want to try a little tenderness on this thread

[Strat]

pearl jam still tickles me in my pantaloons. Sure, not as much as the good ol' days, but they are still pretty neat.

[B]

I wish I didn't hate DMB. I think they do pretty well by their fans.

[godeatgod]

I wish I didn't hate DMB. I think they do pretty well by their fans.

do you like phish

[B]

Don't be ridiculous!

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I'm a pretty big Tragically Hip fan and managed to snag front row tickets to an upcoming show. Not sure if many of you guys know of them but they're pretty big up here in Canada. They are playing one of their albums in its entirety on this tour and every time I look at a recent setlist I can't help but think how awesome Pearl Jam shows are.

The Hip are playing 5 songs to start, their full album (12) songs, and then 5 songs in an encore. That's 22 songs total. Every night. No more, no less. And those 10 other songs outside their album are all well known hits. I watched a few full shows on youtube recently and their concerts are clocking in at under 2 hours.

Then, I listen to Pearl Jam's last show in Milwaukee. 35 songs including the entire Yeild album. Damn, it's awesome being a Pearl Jam fan sometimes. Sure, everyone can bitch about the quality of the shows but when you're actually at a Pearl Jam gig you know you're in for around 30 songs and each band member is gonna give it their all. They never dial it in and still love playing live shows. Can't wait for the next one.

good post.

my wife and i talk all the time about how spoiled we are by pearl jam shows, we have been to quite a few shows over the years and the only bands that seem to come close to the number of songs and unpredictability of a PJ show are Wilco and MMJ, though one we have seen a lot over the last 4 years are so Dr Dog do a really nice job of Varying the setlist though they tend to only play between 20 and 22 songs. The worst might be the most recent Head and the Heart show we went to, we had seen them many times already and though they only have 2 albums out we hoped for a longer show since they were headlining an outdoor amphitheater show, and though they were excellent, 17 songs was a disappointment. Pearl Jam to an awesome job of giving their fans something special when they are at a show and i havent been to another concert that can match what we get at a PJ show.

[Jorge]

GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK DOC. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING ON TV?

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK DOC. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING ON TV?

this evening i will be watching Gold Rush and King of the Nerds most likely

[SJM]

That tragically hip show sounds pretty neat. Rehearsed, tight setlist. Plus, pearl jam fans wouldn't be there.

I would think that the Hip and Pearl Jam share some of the same fans. Most people I know that love the Hip love PJ too.

To put it in perspective, this is what a comparable PJ setlist would look like:

Go
Daughter
Given to Fly
Mind Your Manners
Wordwide Suicide

Ten Album

Betterman
Nothingman
Animal
DTE
Ledbetter

Thoughts? I'd be pretty pissed to get that. Casual fans would probably go apeshit.

[stip]

I would love that setlist if I only go to a 1-2 shows every couple of years.

[Birds in Hell]

I know I've made this argument before but I'd much prefer to see Pearl Jam play a tight, well-rehearsed and thoughtfully-paced 22 song setlist than their current live approach.

That said, it's not as though it can only be a choice between playing sloppy 40 song marathons on one hand and short sets of their most well-known songs churned out by rote on the other. The Cure are a band with a deep catalogue who manage to play considerably longer shows than Pearl Jam but never miss a beat - they're a well-rehearsed machine that obviously spends time thinking about which songs are going to work for whatever mood they want to create on a particular tour. I don't see why Pearl Jam couldn't do something similar.

This is perhaps more keenly felt by those fans living in a region that only gets to see the band every three or four years (or less). If you only get to see one show across that time period, you're hardly going to be impressed if the band are struggling to remember how the bridge to this song goes, Ed's blanking on lyrics, etc.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

The Philly debacle permanently ruined my appetite for new Pearl Jam. I've never seen a band fail so hard, and not get taken to task for it. The illusion was lifted, my 10 Club membership is a thing of the past, and I think that I am a better man for it.

[B]

The Philly debacle permanently ruined my appetite for new Pearl Jam. I've never seen a band fail so hard, and not get taken to task for it. The illusion was lifted, my 10 Club membership is a thing of the past, and I think that I am a better man for it.

So, for those of us not fully versed in all the Pearl Jam hate terminology ... what is "The Philly Debacle?"

[EJ]

The Philly debacle permanently ruined my appetite for new Pearl Jam. I've never seen a band fail so hard, and not get taken to task for it.

Let it go, man.

[Strat]

The Philly debacle permanently ruined my appetite for new Pearl Jam. I've never seen a band fail so hard, and not get taken to task for it. The illusion was lifted, my 10 Club membership is a thing of the past, and I think that I am a better man for it.

So, for those of us not fully versed in all the Pearl Jam hate terminology ... what is "The Philly Debacle?"

Just search every one of his prior posts