This guy and I have been best friends for almost 20 years. I love him like a brother. Both of us are the most psycho PJ fans I have ever met (There are probably crazier ones out there...I just haven't met them yet...but I digress...).

My only beef with my buddy is that when we go to shows, he is stoic...Like the damn eunuchs in History of the World Part 2...

I LOVE the shows...they are like a revival experience for me. It's a connection to the music and I suppose to the band in a way that is unachievable any other way (although personally I am much more interested in the music itself than the dudes making it) . And I believe that when you love something that much you have to commit to it. Shows to me are a committment to engage in that experience actively and expend the same energy as the band members are to be part of that covenant.

My buddy is the EXACT opposite. He doesn't sing, he doesn't dance, he doesn't put his hands up, he doesn't clap, he doesn't even slightly bob his head to acknowledge that there is rhythm happening somewhere...he stands up silently with arms folded when the band comes on and walks out silently when the band is done...When asked about the show, his answer is always identical..."It was cool, man...very cool."

We go to every show together...and we travel to shows together...I love going to shows with him since we have been friends such a long time and I know he loves the music as much as I do...but what do I do with this guy during shows?? It's like standing next to a deaf guy...

Anyone else have a PJ buddy like this?? How do you handle it??

Your friend is a hipster.

i had a really good friend that i went to 5 shows on the '03 tour with... he was the exact same way... i wondered half the time if he even knew he was there... i, on the other hand, get a hell of a workout at pj shows

Cattle-prod him, or something.

Everyone responds different to taking Acid before a show...........cut your friend some slack.

I'm a huge fan, been to 20+ shows. I am relatively the same way. I like to sit back and soak everything in. Some people express themselves differently. The only time I really ever let lose and went nuts at a show was when I was 2nd row in '98.

What did you do? Nice avatar by the way.

As for the mate, that is weird. I'd be put off by it.

For a guy that pisses on homeless people, you sure are reserved at concerts

i have friends like that too. they usually lighten up after they see me flip out for a few songs. i wouldnt be able to stand still at a pj show, its impossible

Everyone experiences the music differently... it's just his way, make sure you rock out enough for both of you, that's all.

For the record, it was a fucked up college student, not a homeless person.

i sit down for even flow

I've only brought 2 different people to shows (my wife and my best friend) and both of them rock out as much as, if not more than, I do.

I would be a little leary of bringing somone who didn't know and love a good portion of Pearl Jam's catalogue.

I just was jumping up and down, screaming the songs. I threw Ed my shirt, was up on the chairs. You could actually hear me during the encore yelling for them to play porch since I was right under Ed's mic. I was also very drunk.

my 2 best friends are big PJ fans, but at some point I broke off into crazy religious following status, and they stayed behind.

Just last week at Hartford, I went in as soon as the gates opened and have been getting shit for it ever since. Apparently they wanted me to stay with them until 8:50 drinking myself into oblivion and miss the first 2 songs.


also, they couldnt believe Id actually want to see the openning band, as ,an I qoute "who the fuck watches the shitty opening band".

They have a big surprize ahead at NJ, I will leave their asses behind, Im going in as soon as the gates open.

I rarely ever see the opening act. For a PJ show I have no interest in the opening band. I usually make it in about 30 seconds before the first song.

wasnt that 2000?

Yeah. Ed loved me.

Am I the only one who judges a show by the bands performance? ..... And not by how the crowd around me is reacting to the bands performance.

You're like the people who ask me why I'm in a bad mood just because I'm not smiling. All people show their emotions differently.... He probably thinks you look like an idiot while bouncing around and singing horriblly.

I go to alot of shows, and I'm just happy I have buddy's who will travel with me to them..... I'd never start "critiqueing their performance" at a show, because then I'd be a very lonely person at PJ shows.

the shows are really interactive and the two feed off each other. A flat crowd can negate a good performance and a strong crowd can lift a weaker one.