Let's Talk About the 2008 Tour

[scottmusic]

Don't know if this tour had a representative thread, but I couldn't find it so thought I'd create one. If I am stepping on toes, just let me know. It's my first post, though used to post on the previous board.

I know this tour gets a lot of hate around here, but it holds a special place in my heart. I went to 5 shows this tour:

Columbia - I drove up from Atlanta for this show. My buddy and I actually won the ten club lottery for this one and were front row, dead center. Eddie threw me his wine bottle at the end of Even Flow, which to this day I have no idea how I caught it since it was thrown from such a distance (blurry video of this can be found on YouTube). It would have been some kind of disaster had that thing exploded on the floor. I still have the wine cork and a guitar pick he gave me framed and hanging in my basement. Interesting set list, but when I listen back I feel like the boot is missing something. I remember All Night being a standout, especially since it was just the second time played, and besides the novelty factor, hated the reworked WMA. Don't know if this experience will ever be topped, but as a show itself, it hasn't held up. Interesting note - the Event Staff security guy between us and the stage told me there was going to be a third encore before the show even started. I was shocked when it actually came to fruition. I wonder why they chose that night, of all nights, to do three encores.

D.C. - Flew in for the first of four shows in a row. Unbelievably, my brother and I won the ten club lottery again, though this night we were 2nd row a little off center. Probably didn't happen, but I swear Eddie saw me at one point and waved hello, remembering me from the week before. The kid who was brought on stage to play Watchtower was directly in front of me. On the ride in, my brother, who is a fan but not as big a fan as me, asked if there were any other trilogies besides the (Better/Nothing/Leather) Man Trilogy. Sure enough, that night we got the I (I Am Mine, I'm Open, I Got Shit) and You (U, You Are, Who You Are) trilogies for maybe both the first and last times ever? Was pretty cool to hear Hard to Imagine as the opener too. In retrospect, this show is probably in my top five of all time.

MSG 1 and 2 - Took the train up from DC for these shows and had a blast pregaming with friends in the city both nights. Both shows just don't hold up for me, and I remember being disappointed at the number of duplicates each night. I remember also being let down they opened with Hard to Imagine Night 1, just two days after doing the same in DC...it diluted the uniqueness of each occurrence in my opinion. Hearing Faithful Night 2, I believe, was the highlight of the two shows, even though I'd heard it in the same building before...there was something extra special about that one that night. Was also cool to see Garden in the Garden.

Hartford - Took the train up from NYC with two friends for my last stop of the tour. We didn't realize that there is literally nothing near the Amtrak station, and without any taxi's nearby, tried to walk from the station to our hotel which was right outside the amphitheater. A fellow fan from Canada pulled up to us as we were walking asking if we needed a lift, and we ended up hanging out with him all day. He actually ended up "selling" my buddy his fan club seat, though I think my friend still hasn't paid him. Had a great time at the Pre Game for this one, with random people consistently buying us Jameson shots. Setlist was awesome, and allowed me to cross of a number of songs I had been dying to hear live (Breakerfall, Brain of J, Smile). It was SO hot that day, and during Even Flow in the encore I went to go buy water and was told the entire venue had run out of water. WTF? The Burger King we ate after this show was legendary, as was the quality level of the "hotel" we stayed at (bath towels easily torn in half, toilet broke on first use, AC unit leaked soaking a suitcase, etc.). Took train back to NYC for the flight home the next morning and received word in the airport my boss had given notice.

So many great memories...

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[scottmusic]

A few other thoughts as I review some of the other setlists from 2008:

- Agree with the Stone looking bored comment. In Columbia, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Sounded like they spent the night beforehand partying it up with Kings of Leon, so I'm guessing he was hungover.
- Speaking of, was pretty cool to see Kings of Leon a few months before they exploded in the US and went full on Pop/Rock. I also enjoyed Ted Leo more than most it seemed, though they tended to avoid playing most of their catchier tunes. Was kind of sad in that they had to serve as their own roadies/stage crew too.
- At MSG, Eddie talked about how they were planning on disregarding the Curfew (evoking memories of State College 2003), and then being disappointed when the shows ended up not being any longer than the others. Why even say anything? Now I feel like that's a standard comment he makes each show.
- Surprising World Wide Suicide was only played once this tour, after being played at nearly every show in 2006 and 2007. It has become a legit rarity, having only been played 13 times since 2010.
- By the 5th show, I was so sick of No More. I wanted to start a No More No More campaign! I'm glad that one didn't really stick around much after this tour.

[wease]

My favorite tour after 2005. Love the setlist variations. My only tour to do multiple shows probably has something to do with it as well. We went to the Hartford and Mansfield shows.

[Norah]

I went to both Mansfield shows and enjoyed them quite a bit.

[WaitingForBluey]

MSG wasn't the greatest show I went to but when I listen to that boot I can't help but admire how freakin' sweet that setlist was

[chuck taylor]

I've only listened to the DC -> Hartford part of the tour. The Hartford show is pretty good.

[hlniv]

Bonnaroo was the best PJ show I've seen out of the 9 I've been to since Gorge '06.

I'm thinking about heading back down there this year...

[daft twat]

I went to the MSG shows. It was my first (and so far) only trip to NYC, so the shows were just a part of a fucking awesome 5 day experience for me. I hadn't been to DC, so I was thrilled with the HTI opener. I think by then I'd seen the band around 20 times in my life, and I feel like they play noticeably harder at the Garden. Those shows included Who You Are, WMA, Leash, Rats, Garden Love Reign....maybe the performances don't hold up to past MSG shows for some who have been to them all, but they'll always be among my favorite.

[lowlight79]

I loved this tour. I only went to MSG1 Hartford and the last minute show at the beacon. I remember MSg1 being ok, but nothing great. I really can't see two shows that opened in a row with HTI as diluted. It's a B-side rarity that has not bee played alot, more recently, but at the time, maybe what, less than 10 times? Hartford was fucking sick, I wish the bootleg sounded better, because it really doesn't represent how kick ass that show really was. Beacon was interesting as they came out and did a few slow songs because they looked literally spent after being in Boston the night before. I got to see undone and a few other rarites that night.

[Kevin Davis]

now this tour gets a lot of hate around here

It was the first year of the boots sounding really bad, and the first true year of the no-new-music-to-promote destination-vacation mini-tour. Some of the shows were good, though. Hartford, DC, and Mansfield were all pretty good from memory. I remember the MSG gigs being pretty rough.

[LikeLukin]

The only thing I really remember from this tour was the successful return of Who You Are. I remember a couple of great versions of it.

[Simple Torture]

Love the Hartford love in this thread; that show was great.

[Bammer]

I didn't see PJ in '08 so screw you guys.

[opsopcopolis]

Hartford show is still one of my favorites. I vastly prefer seeing bands (especially PJ) when they don't have an album to promote. Lots of goodies sprinkled throughout

[chinofstone]

Columbia was a heck of a show from this tour.

[Hatfield]

Columbia was a heck of a show from this tour.

Had a great time at Columbia and was pleasantly surprised at the crowds reaction to a relatively off-kilter setlist. You are right about the boot not carrying the weight of the show. Can't Keep had a huge swell and that just doesn't come across.

Highlights: Sad, Education, 5 songs from No Code (if you include All Night), triple encore and I think it was my first show out of 30 that they didn't play a cover song.

Flipside: After 2006 being so well rehearsed, their playing in Columbia was pretty loose and not in a great way. Hail, Hail, Red Mosquito and I Got Id are some of my most hoped for songs to show up on a setlist and none of them matched what I had seen 2 years before.

Having said that, I brought along an old friend from college and he was ready to drop everything (wife, kids, job) and finish out the tour.

My wife and I also went to Hartford. Great seats, but we didn't get in until "Gone" because of the ticketing fiasco. Should have left Mark Twains house much earlier. I thought Immortality through Fuckin' Up was first class Pearl Jam.