DeLima and Matt Reeder meet to talk live PJ in Portland

[DeLima]

It was fun.

Here are some things I learned that I didn't know:

The band themselves considers SFIII '06 one of the best shows they've ever played.
The Lima, Peru show is maybe the best one they've done in the last 3 years.
Breakerfall is a more highly valued track by hardcore pj fans than I realized, and lots of people like it better than Grievance.

[lowlight79]

SF3? really? The lima is pretty damn good compared to alot of shows they have played since 2009.

[TouringReg]

One of my friends was on the same flight as Stone from SF to Portland in 2006 and chatted with him before boarding the plane. He told me Stone said that 3rd show in SF was one of his favourites that they've ever played.

[CopperTom]

I always liked night 1 the best. The Georgie Boy intro to Bushleaguer is the shit.

[LooseGroove927]

I always liked night 1 the best. The Georgie Boy intro to Bushleaguer is the shit.

That was my favorite of the SF 06 shows, too. Both were excellent though.

[Birds in Hell]

That third San Francisco show from 2006 was always one of my favourites.

It also has the only really good version of All Along the Watchtower they've ever played (with Lee Ranaldo guesting on guitar, no less).

[AndySlash]

i would definitely be interested in knowing what 3-5 shows the individual band members consider to be their best/most memorable, and for what reasons. hopefully someone will ask someday- it seems a natural question to ask but as far as i know it's never really been publicly addressed.

[matt reeder]

During our meeting last night I also expanded on my (and twoheadedboy's) theory that the last Philly show in 2009 was about the band trolling their audience. All the hits and songs so obscure there's no reason to play them. We've covered that subject a lot here.

I also proclaimed that if I could follow the band for one tour in its history, it would absolutely be the February-March 1995 tour of the Pacific Rim.

Last but not least, I gave DeLima the following mix:

PEARL JAM
Australia-New Zealand 2009

1. Breakerfall [Perth, 11-14]
2. Severed Hand [Auckland, 11-27]
3. Animal [Christchurch, 11-29]
4. Once [Christchurch, 11-29]
5. Hold On [Auckland, 11-27]
6. Even Flow [Auckland, 11-27]
7. Johnny Guitar [Adelaide, 11-17]
8. Deep [Melbourne, 11-20]
9. In My Tree [Brisbane, 11-25]
10. Not For You [Brisbane, 11-25]
11. Unemployable [Auckland, 11-27]
12. Unthought Known [Christchurch, 11-29]
13. Tremor Christ [Christchurch, 11-29]
14. Got Some [Christchurch, 11-29]
15. Red Mosquito [Auckland, 11-27]
16. Garden [Christchurch, 11-29]
17. Alive [Adelaide, 11-17]
18. Yellow Ledbetter [Adelaide, 11-17]

It was a fun night of PJ geekdom.

[twoheadedboy]

Niiiiiiice.

[CopperTom]

I'd take late March and April 1994. July 2003 was very strong too. I also like those November 1995 shows.

[LetMeSleep]

I'm with CopperTom on the march/april 94 shows. btw my first show was march 95 in Sydney. It was amazing.

[twoheadedboy]

As awesome as Pacific Rim '95 would be, it would be very hard for me to turn down Europe Feb/Mar '92, just for the sheer insanity and average club size. It wouldn't make me unhappy to suddenly wake up to be following spring '94, either, or any leg of the '98 tour, or euro2k (minus the last date).

[DeLima]

During our meeting last night I also expanded on my (and twoheadedboy's) theory that the last Philly show in 2009 was about the band trolling their audience. All the hits and songs so obscure there's no reason to play them. We've covered that subject a lot here.

I also proclaimed that if I could follow the band for one tour in its history, it would absolutely be the February-March 1995 tour of the Pacific Rim.

Last but not least, I gave DeLima the following mix:

PEARL JAM
Australia-New Zealand 2009

1. Breakerfall [Perth, 11-14]
2. Severed Hand [Auckland, 11-27]
3. Animal [Christchurch, 11-29]
4. Once [Christchurch, 11-29]
5. Hold On [Auckland, 11-27]
6. Even Flow [Auckland, 11-27]
7. Johnny Guitar [Adelaide, 11-17]
8. Deep [Melbourne, 11-20]
9. In My Tree [Brisbane, 11-25]
10. Not For You [Brisbane, 11-25]
11. Unemployable [Auckland, 11-27]
12. Unthought Known [Christchurch, 11-29]
13. Tremor Christ [Christchurch, 11-29]
14. Got Some [Christchurch, 11-29]
15. Red Mosquito [Auckland, 11-27]
16. Garden [Christchurch, 11-29]
17. Alive [Adelaide, 11-17]
18. Yellow Ledbetter [Adelaide, 11-17]

It was a fun night of PJ geekdom.

The mix, in case anybody's wondering, is awesome. I didn't know Animal still could sound fierce in 2009. The vitalogy tracks on here are super versions, too.

Re: the tour to follow debate, it's spring 1994 for me.

[AndySlash]

During our meeting last night I also expanded on my (and twoheadedboy's) theory that the last Philly show in 2009 was about the band trolling their audience. All the hits and songs so obscure there's no reason to play them. We've covered that subject a lot here.

interesting. if it's been discussed here i missed it.

all but two songs from that show (the obvious halloween one-off of whip it, and the 'we got paid for this' out of my mind) have been played at least once since, so are they still trolling their audiences?

[DeLima]

During our meeting last night I also expanded on my (and twoheadedboy's) theory that the last Philly show in 2009 was about the band trolling their audience. All the hits and songs so obscure there's no reason to play them. We've covered that subject a lot here.

interesting. if it's been discussed here i missed it.

all but two songs from that show (the obvious halloween one-off of whip it, and the 'we got paid for this' out of my mind) have been played at least once since, so are they still trolling their audiences?

I buy the theory up to a point, but when Matt tried to compare philly 4 to the nirvana 92 show in buenos aires, I drew the line. Now that show is trolling the audience.

[matt reeder]

During our meeting last night I also expanded on my (and twoheadedboy's) theory that the last Philly show in 2009 was about the band trolling their audience. All the hits and songs so obscure there's no reason to play them. We've covered that subject a lot here.

interesting. if it's been discussed here i missed it.

all but two songs from that show (the obvious halloween one-off of whip it, and the 'we got paid for this' out of my mind) have been played at least once since, so are they still trolling their audiences?

There were several songs played that night that had never been played before. I think they knew that expectations were sky-high that night and decided to confront those expectations by playing a show full of their greatest hits and some stuff they'd never played before. You can interpret that as trying to please everyone, but I somewhat interpreted it as "okay, you want rarities? you got it. Now shut up and let us do whatever the hell we want". If nothing else, "Bugs" and "Out of My Mind" were clearly sarcastic trolling to me. Ed had a shit-eating grin on his face all the way through "Bugs".

That was such a weird show. I was hoping for a show/setlist like Philly '05 and got the single weirdest show/setlist they've ever played.

[twoheadedboy]

Near the beginning, Ed also commented on the rumors about Dave Matthews/Bruce and seemed kind of indignant that "Pearl Jam closing down the Spectrum" wasn't enough. I think it would have been a much more State College '03-esque show otherwise, though not necessarily longer than that one.

[DeLima]

i can't say enough about the one-disc AUS/NZ '09 comp matt put together. it's got the best version of not for you i've heard in years.

[LooseGroove927]

i can't say enough about the one-disc AUS/NZ '09 comp matt put together. it's got the best version of not for you i've heard in years.

Would either of you be willing to share this comp with us. It looks pretty tasty.

[Birds in Hell]

Sydney aside due to Ed's blown out voice, that run of shows through Australia and (in particular) New Zealand was pretty consistently great for late period Pearl Jam.