I'm guessing this has already been covered to some extent, but with the current omission of the South, here goes. I'm also far from implying that this is intentional--more likely just a coincidence.

Looking at where PJ is slated to slated to tour, they are only stopping in three red states from the 2004 election: Ohio, Nevada, and Colorado. Furthermore, two of those stops are in counties (Denver, Clark) which Kerry won. The only true red state, red city stop is Cincinnati (and remember, Cincy got cancelled on the 2003 tour and hasn't been made up yet).

In 2005, the only red state stop was Montana, and that was in Missoula, which Kerry won.

The VFC tour, of course, was designed strictly at battling some swing areas to go against Bush.

Excluding that, you have to go all the way back to 7/1/2003 (Bristow, VA), to find a red county in a red state that they've played at. And that's nearby the DC/Baltimore area, which is solidly blue. If you want something even more solid than that, go to Fargo, ND on 6/15/2003. So that's just a shade over three years between Fargo and the upcoming one in Cincy.

2004 Election map by county for reference:
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=1 ... tnG=Search

This thread should cause all kinds of havoc here, and I hope it does.

Ahhhh...what a joy to live in good ol' PJ loving Philly.

Thank God I go back to Mass. for the summer !!!

Meet me tonight in Atlantic City.

yeah i live in kansas we voted republican,but come on we have a democratic women governor damn it!

I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt, as only time will tell....

If this turns out to be true, its very sad.

I meen I hated Bush as much as the next guy..... but c'mon, who can blame people for not voting for John Kerry. Just typing the guys name makes me laugh.

And that is why you have no shows


I think this is a coincidence--we'll have to wait and see. It's not like republicans were flocking to their shows in those areas.

It shouldn't be about the states but about the cities...it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't play Atlanta, Nashville, or various Florida cities, 'cause they've always had fantastic shows, performance & audience-wise, in those places.

I brought this up in the official leg two thread, and I was called crazy. It's the absolute truth that Pearl Jam is punishing Bush voters!!!

I like the post that started this thread. It was well researched and quite insightful. But if you are looking for a conspiracy, I don't think it exists.

Tour dates are determined by a variety of factors but one of the most significant is market demand. It is undeniable - Pearl Jam has strong following in certain markets - Boston, New York, Philly, DC, Chicago ect.
They actually have a strong Florida following which is why I was surprised at the lack of tour dates there.

But a band is not going to incur the costs to travel to a city and venue that will not sell. As much as it may seem "unfair", the band is not going to lose money just so they can play in front of the 5000 fans they might have in Mississippi (this is just an example, I have no idea how many fans are in Mississippi).

And that is it. It is primarily driven by economics and money. As much as it may be a stereotype, there ARE lots of people in red states who will say "Pearl Jam?? Fuck those guys, they are the ones who said bad things about President Bush, those anti-american bastards!"

I had to laugh because of the mention of "Bristow" Virginia. Believe me, the majority of people from the NOVA/DC/Maryland region have no idea that the Nissan Pavillion is in "Bristow". The people going to the show are driving from their DC suburbs and complaining "Fuck, I have to drive all the way out to Manassas (the larger city nearby which is still considered BumFuck) in rush hour traffic to see the show!! "
- traffic was so bad in 2003 that Eddie commented about it at the begining and played 4 slow songs to give people time to get into the venue.

stip, I TOLD you to split this stuff out of the leg two thread when it started, but NOOOOOOOO, you were too busy merging shit.

You're FIRED!

Two things:
The South- Nashville, Atlanta, Colombia, Charlotte/Raliegh, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Miami, etc.. would have NO PROBLEM selling out venues, so I don't think this is a factor.

Second- The only time PJ has been booed to the point of impact was Uniondale, just outside the most liberal city in the US-NYC. So avoiding states who will say, "Pearl Jam?? Fuck those guys, they are the ones who said bad things about President Bush, those anti-american bastards!" doesn't fit either because they get that in Blue States.

I just hope they return for leg three, the south, after the European Tour, they would also want to play a Seattle proper show, wouldn't they?

I would like to thank PJ for boycotting red states if that is the case. I probably would have only seen them in St. Louis or maybe KC, but since they may not play either I was forced to seek tickets elsewhere. Now I'm going to the gorge. AWESOME

Most areas of large population are democratic. Big cities almost always vote democratic, and smaller cities and rural areas almost always vote republican. Yes, there are instances where that isn't always true, but it holds true most of the time. So i dont think its fair to say "they played in ohio, but in a democratic area", because most big cities are. If you go by states, though, I can see what you are saying.

it's an interesting theory, but i can't subscribe to it. I couldn't imagine the band doing something as selfish as that. If it does turn out to be true and it somehow get's out...wow. I would be pissed.

They had there worst ticket sales on the Riot Act tour in Dallas and Charlotte. This is about money. They are only playing venues of profitable gain. Fuck this, if Inside Job did not excite me so much as well as Come Back. I would say fuck the this Left Wing shit.Fuck this band! This is about fans not fucking color of your states! They are the last band that matters to stupid elitist jack sons of fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is conducive of Pearl Jam putting poltics over the fans!!
Is anybody in the absent states with me?

You lost me after the part about you hating the new songs.