Last night, watching the show...

getting totally rocked by pearl jam then seeing petty. Something occurred to me, but i cant put my finger on it. Pearl jam has something that petty (and most bands) dont have. A special bond, a connection, between the fans...whatever it is.

What is it?

Je ne sais quoi

ed gets better pot than tom petty does.

who had hotter female fans?

I'm with ya. I dont know what it is either. i enjoy other band's shows like i enjoy a movie or a great live sporting event, but the 'connection' I feel at PJ shows isnt there. I know what you are talkng about 100%.....felt the same way at the RS show in the fall. Even my buddy who went just for the spectacle of it said something along those lines on the way home. No question about it.

yeah i feel the same way. i was at a Clapton concert a couple of yrs ago. i was two rows from the stage. it was a good concert, but something was missing. i tell ya if i were two rows from PJ i would have shit my pants.

but yeah nothing compares to PJ

This is easy. Pearl Jam. I brought someone who had never been to a PJ show and when he saw the quality of female fan he was really wishing he'd spent more time in high school and college going to PJ shows

I agree, I don't know what the adective is that we're all looking for, but there was a totally different energy between the two shows. Petty puts on a great show and certainly put in the effort (and the Heartbreakers are incredible of course) so it's not a slam on them, but it's just not the same. The fans sing along with all of Petty's songs, but it doesn't have the same feeling of the energy filling up the arena that the fans seem to create during PJ shows.

I remember in São Paulo that even casual fans admited that a PJ show has an all-especial vibe.

And it's not just at the shows, there's a sense of community that doesn't exist with the fans of other bands that I know I often take for granted. The friend that I brought who is a huge Petty fan was blown away by the way scene at the bar beforehand. How all these people that have a favorite band in common have gotten to know each through message boards and shows was amazing to him.

i was able to go, almost on a whim - was scheduled to be in mpls for a baby shower that weekend, and got a plane ticket that didn't fly out until tues AM, so i checked on PJ tix and my buddy happened to have an extra. row 46 on the floor, not terrible, not great

i thought it was a PJ crowd until petty came out - holy shit it was loud for him. but the crowd sat down at several points, and PJ just rocketed thru their set, people didn't even sit down for Sad or SoH which was impressive. (but for the most part they did keep it "radio-hit" friendly, so even casual petty fans knew what the hell was going on).

the PJ chicks were hotter for certain. there was one couple in front of us swaying and making out the whole time. the dude had some feathered hair from the 80s and a mustache and couldn't clap in time with the rest of the crowd. the girl was an older kind of hippie-esque and grooved quite a bit. i couldn't imagine the sloppy, unshaven, dirty, out of rhythm sex they must have "enjoyed" after the show...

EDDIE VEDDER'S stage pressence is GIANT. That is the difference.

I just saw Petty with Trey Anastasio a week after seeing the end of Leg 1. Good concert, but I was still high from the PJ shows that Petty was just so-so... After 30 years with the Heartbreakers, TP seems to be winding down, and rightfully so... a long distinguished career that won't soon be forgotten... Pearl Jam, on the other hand, are just getting started again and seem stronger than ever.

well, its pretty simple... ive seen a lot of bands - Beck, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, U2, The Who, Oasis, Live, The Strokes, Kings Of Leon, The Bravery,Ryan Adams,Neil Young, RHCP, Queens Of The Stone Age, Pete Yorn, Countin Crows, Springsteen and E Street Band, Billy Idol, Interpol, and many others but Pearl Jam has a dedication to bringing a high energy level to every show and to make the crowd want ot be a part of the show. Eddie is the epitomy of a rock and roll frontman. He gives 100 percent everytime he takes the stage and leaves his blood sweat and tears on the stage. Stone does his duck walk and jams his chords while mike runs around like a man possesed, and jeff and matt keep the rhythm section steady while Boom does his orgsn thing and somehow it is all just a magical and hypnotic experience. It is just the best live Rock act around

PEtty's fans are on average 80 years old. They cannot pogo for fear of breaking a hip. It is pogo-ing that is the difference.

@MSG for the petty show i seen nothing but under age drunk girls at his show . Maybe i was the lucky one