Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
newspaper reviews? blogs? post em here. If this thread takes off I'll sticky it
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Our friend Matthew Perpetua (Fluxblog) is a big Pearl Jam fan who hasn't seen the band live in over ten years. Last night we sent him to Madison Square Garden. Here is his review. Photos by Maria Tessa Sciarrino.
If you need to know anything about this concert, it's that Pearl Jam's audience is very, very intense. The Garden was at maximum capacity, and about 96% of the people in the building were flipping out from the beginning of the show all the way to the end of it, about three hours later. I feel like I've been in a lot of good crowds over the past ten years or so, but leaving this Pearl Jam show left me wondering if the people at all those other gigs even liked those bands at all. In my experience, I've found that arena rock shows tend to attract a lot of fairweather fans -- for example, I saw R.E.M. at the same venue last week, and there were certainly a lot of people just standing around waiting for the big hits -- but the unanimity of enthusiasm for Pearl Jam was remarkable, and on par with only a handful of acts that I've seen in much smaller rooms. At certain points in the evening, the crowd was louder than the band, and very often it seemed like the entire audience was following a specific choreography that I wasn't aware of due to the fact that I hadn't seen them play in a decade. A lot of the time it seemed too good to be true, like some perfect fantasy of an arena audience. It was very inspiring.
Pearl Jam put on a no-frills rock show. They don't mess around with fancy lighting, projected images, or video monitors. It's just a bunch of guys rocking out on a stage with standard lighting, but given the quality of their performance and the natural charisma of their frontman, they don't really need anything else. Eddie Vedder has got some rock star moves, for sure -- it was particularly cool when he held a guitar up to a spotlight beam and reflected it out into the audience during the instrumental section of "Porch," as if to give everyone in the house a high-five of white light -- but he's mostly quite laid back, even when he's letting out a huge scream. He makes his control of the crowd seem effortless, but it's clear that he's working hard up there, and emotionally present in the moment of every song.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists opened up the show, and to the credit of Pearl Jam's fans, they got a very warm reception. The group opened with two surefire crowd-pleasers -- "Sons Of Cain" and "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" -- but focused mainly on material from their forthcoming album. Though the subtleties of Leo's songs were often lost in a fairly lousy, ridiculously treble-heavy P.A. mix, the new songs came across very well, and the band were obviously energetic and enthusiastic. There were some moments when it seemed that Leo was slightly out of his element, but the songs themselves made perfect sense in the big room.
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
If you need to know anything about this concert, it's that Pearl Jam's audience is very, very intense. The Garden was at maximum capacity, and about 96% of the people in the building were flipping out from the beginning of the show all the way to the end of it, about three hours later. I feel like I've been in a lot of good crowds over the past ten years or so, but leaving this Pearl Jam show left me wondering if the people at all those other gigs even liked those bands at all. In my experience, I've found that arena rock shows tend to attract a lot of fairweather fans -- for example, I saw R.E.M. at the same venue last week, and there were certainly a lot of people just standing around waiting for the big hits -- but the unanimity of enthusiasm for Pearl Jam was remarkable, and on par with only a handful of acts that I've seen in much smaller rooms. At certain points in the evening, the crowd was louder than the band, and very often it seemed like the entire audience was following a specific choreography that I wasn't aware of due to the fact that I hadn't seen them play in a decade. A lot of the time it seemed too good to be true, like some perfect fantasy of an arena audience. It was very inspiring.
Pearl Jam put on a no-frills rock show. They don't mess around with fancy lighting, projected images, or video monitors. It's just a bunch of guys rocking out on a stage with standard lighting, but given the quality of their performance and the natural charisma of their frontman, they don't really need anything else. Eddie Vedder has got some rock star moves, for sure -- it was particularly cool when he held a guitar up to a spotlight beam and reflected it out into the audience during the instrumental section of "Porch," as if to give everyone in the house a high-five of white light -- but he's mostly quite laid back, even when he's letting out a huge scream. He makes his control of the crowd seem effortless, but it's clear that he's working hard up there, and emotionally present in the moment of every song.
_________________ original join date: 29 September 2002
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
stip wrote:
I feel like I've been in a lot of good crowds over the past ten years or so, but leaving this Pearl Jam show left me wondering if the people at all those other gigs even liked those bands at all.
that's fucking awesome.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
MSG 1 and 2: Prior to these shows I had seen Pearl Jam 19 times, once in 95, twice in 98, and at least once every year since 2000. What I witnessed in NYC was like an amp that goes to 11. It was the band at a level I'd never seen before. My biggest complaint is that I feel like I've been sort of cheated 19 times.
I managed 10 club tickets for night 2. My number is ridiculous. The last 3 times I've used it I've been in the 2nd row once and the 1st row twice. For MSG I was dead center, 4th row. The lottery is awesome! Yes, it cost me 3 or 4 feet, but it was so cool seeing people's minds blown. Even if it means I'll never see the first row again, I hope they continue the lottery. It's fucking Disneyland up there, and everyone should experience it at least once.
I will never forget the building moving during betterman. It honestly made me a little afraid.
The backup singers didn't bother me. I couldn't hear them. Plus, this black guy was the gayest black man I'd ever seen until a subway ride I took the next day. I think his name was Fonzie too. That fucker was all teeth. He made me laugh. His move during "dirty his hands it comes right off" should be legendary.
I was sick of state of love and trust until night 2. Holy shit! Was it during that song that McCready left a footprint in a speaker?
My wife made the comment that Eddie didn't yell at anybody. Look, the guy is a first class douche a lot. For someone who fucks up as often as he does, his tolerance is shockingly low. He looked annoyed when Mike forgot how to play Marker, but the annoyance dissolved quickly. If there was tension with Stone, I missed it, but he's a douche too. He is the only member of the band I think consistently just goes through the motions. Still, he showed signs of life, laughing at McCready when he forgot Marker and then actually smiling from ear to ear when Ace was on stage. Really, everyone seemed to be in high spirits.
I was surprised by the repeats, but pleasantly so. WMA especially benefitted from another go. That said, how they managed to completely ignore Binaural for 2 straight nights is inexplicable.
Night 1 highlights: "Things were different then. . ." soars. CJ Ramone rocking out and then hugging it out. Watchtower without Neil Young taking over (Toledo). Eddie's Matrix move with the mic stand. Lights up for Indifference.
Night 2 highlights: Everything except Cropduster.
Finally this - I saw 11 songs I'd never personally seen in the previous 19 shows. Just a testament to how deep this band is. Can't wait for what's in store in 2009.
The Pearl Jam Scene, Growing More Grateful by the Gig Tuesday, June 24, 2008; Page C04
Pearl Jam abdicated the grunge throne and all but went on hiatus in the mid-1990s to fight Ticketmaster and the service charges concertgoers were billed by electronic ticket sellers. Fellow bands and music fans refused to join the righteous battle, however, so Pearl Jam caved.
On Sunday night, all these years later, the rebels of a lost cause were back at Verizon Center, a building owned by Abe Pollin, the very godfather of electronic ticketing back in the 1970s and the only Ticketmaster franchisee left.
And, good golly, did they rock Abe's house.
Adults can only get so enraptured, and the audience's euphoria level redlined again and again. The band-fan synthesis during "Given to Fly" left the whole building shaking -- like, actually shaking. Frontman Eddie Vedder occasionally slowed things down to throw lefty ("It's going to be great to get some color in the White House!" he yelled), but the scream-and-response session he led during "Daughter" would have given even John McCain goose bumps.
Even the folks in last rows of the upper deck were standing and shrieking every word of 1991's "Alive" as if they'd waited their whole lives for the opportunity. And the last minute of "Rearviewmirror" was about as frenzied as arena rock can get.
The band now sells downloads from all its shows and, probably not coincidentally, puts a Phish-like emphasis on set lists to make sure each show is somewhat unique. This gimmick has triggered the completist gene in Pearl Jam fans, who now mine set lists for rarities. Among this night's batch: "No More," an antiwar ballad that Vedder sang solo, and 1996's "I'm Open."
Whether spontaneous or the result of some manipulative plan, the feedback the band got from all those service charge-payers in the house was overwhelming. "I don't know what we did to get this kind of response from you," Vedder said.
You rocked, Eddie. That's what.
-- Dave McKenna
_________________ If animal trapped call 410-844-6286, then hit option 1123 6536 5321, then dial 4 8 15 16 23 42
Pearl Jam rocks perfect storm of restraint, trademark angst By Jed Gottlieb Sunday, June 29, 2008 If you told Eddie Vedder in 1991 that his band would be the new Grateful Dead, he would have bristled. Or maybe he would have socked you in the jaw. But almost two decades into its career, Pearl Jam has become an evergreen touring act capable of filling the Comcast Center twice over.
Last night, at the first of the Seattle megaband’s Comcast gigs - Vedder and crew play tomorrow as well - its cult was in full effect. A nearly 20,000-strong army of fans was as devoted as any Deadhead crowd. (What? You thought String Cheese Incident was really going to last?)
The former grunge band - the grunge genre hasn’t really fit this straight-ahead rock band for 10 years - began slowly. The atypically jammy “Hard to Imagine” borrowed a bit from the loopy Dead. But after that, the guys showed just how and why they’ve reinvented the paradigm of a cult supergroup.
Quickly, Pearl Jam launched into a rage-heavy section of the set. The band may be full of mellow family men now, but they’re aces at accessing that epic angst in a hurry. “Why Go” and “Hail, Hail” immediately turned the venue into a boiling pit of angry, rushed, wild rock.
The drums and space of the new millennium is Pearl Jam’s quiet/loud, small/big dynamic. “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” with its melodic driving acoustic guitar, felt intimate and gentle while still being a big, cathartic, communal moment for thousands. But the band smartly followed the ballad with a gigantic, reach-all-the-way-back-to-the-lawn-seats “Corduroy.” Then, a few songs later, the ethos of “Elderly Woman” was back with the lonely and pensive “Off He Goes.”
Although the band played a few newer songs, the majority of the set was pulled from its ’90s catalog - which is why Pearl Jam’s been able to remain beloved. Both the center of the show and the exploding final encore were rooted in well-known classics.
At this point, “Even Flow” is a new standard every bit as massive as “War Pigs” or “Highway Star.” But thanks to the group’s total commitment to the song and lead guitarist Mike McCready’s solo, it didn’t feel dated or tired - McCready has thankfully long-since ditched his metalish, Mick Mars tone for Neil Young’s worse-is-better style.
And “Black,” “Better Man” and “Alive” - all part of the encore - kept the energy of the finale spiking. Bands as popular as Pearl Jam can’t typically deliver cutting critiques of the Iraq War and have most of the arena cheer. But when you write some of the best songs of the last 20 years and perform them with supernova intensity, you’re given plenty of latitude.
Ted Leo, a great choice for an opener, was pretty much ignored - the place was about 5 percent full during his excellent set of intelligent punk rock. See Leo at the Paradise next time he’s around and you’ll see why Pearl Jam tapped him.
In fact, it's not so different from the Seattle band's early years: the waning days of a Bush administration, economic malaise, general uncertainty about the future. Those were among the elements that fueled the rise of grunge in the early '90s.
Such factors may well have contributed to the band's roiling performance Friday at Dodge Music Center in Hartford, where Pearl Jam ripped through new tunes and old favorites before a huge crowd of vocal supporters.
Despite long lines of traffic into the venue and a daunting queue in which fan-club members had to wait to pick up their tickets, the hassles seemed worth the effort for the crowd, which sang along throughout Pearl Jam's 90-plus minute set. The band sounded alive and electric as the musicians sweated out their songs in the humidity.
"It's a lot like playing underwater up here," singer Eddie Vedder cracked. Still, he danced and stomped and pulled his coat over his head on "All Night," and guitarist Mike McCready roamed in tight near circles near his amplifiers on "Gone" and peeled off a wah-wah guitar solo on "Not For You." While the band showed hints of punk-rock roots in its urgent riffs and underdog attitude, Vedder demonstrated a populist streak, too. He dedicated early favorite "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" to Manchester, Ellington, New Britain and Danbury, which was surely a first.
He also made pointed reference to the tenor of the times. "Daughter," a grunge-era classic, morphed into Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2," and Vedder led the crowd in the refrain before adding an anti-war twist: "President, bring our soldiers home," he intoned.
Later, he launched into a critique of the Bush administration's environmental record, concluding, "We best start getting kind of active."
After playing for about 90 minutes, Pearl Jam returned for an encore that included "Better Man" and "Even Flow," two of the band's best-loved songs.
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists opened the show with a 40-minute set of smart, careening songs overflowing with heart. Although Leo has expanded the band from a trio to a quartet by adding another guitarist, the front man was still busy as ever on stage, jumping up and down on spring-loaded legs and digging into songs, including several new ones, with punk inflection.
Pearl Jam review: Two cities, two shows. One landmark band
MANSFIELD, Mass., June 28 -- If you wait long enough and record enough good music, funny things can happen if you're an American rock band.
You can go from anti-establishment Grammy bashers to this generation's Grateful Dead, from Ticketmaster antagonist to established concert star, from mosh pit inciter to Iraq War dove, from a youthful group that heralded the end of hair metal to the last band standing from grunge.
The times, they have a-changed, and yet here Pearl Jam still stands, 17 years into its career, carrying rock's mantle into the future.
Before this weekend's trip to Hartford and outside Boston to catch two of the final three shows of its summer tour, it had been five years since I'd last seen Pearl Jam (Albany during the 2003 tour was my last time). They were exactly as I remembered them--a band you have to see live if only for the energy and the varying setlists that have made bootlegs of their shows a cottage industry as if they were a jam band.
Jam band they're not, but Vedder, McCready, Cameron, Gossard and Ament have perfected what it means to be America's preeminent touring act: a smattering of hits in every set (but no promises), at least a couple b-sides and rarities, a frenzied opening and epic encores, and the general sense in the crowd that you've been part of something. (Go see Weezer and tell me if the 20,000 fans left feeling like a congregation after Sunday services).
Friday night at Hartford's Dodge Music Center was the better show overall. We were in the middle of the lawn at a strange amphitheater; it's the only venue I've ever been at where most of the party was in the parking lot and not on the lawn, which remained closed for an hour even after the doors opened. The crowd was a mix--many high schoolers, many boomers (remember, if you were 30 when "Ten" came out, you're 47 now. Wow).
But the place was packed by the time Pearl Jam took the stage on a hot and humid night that saw Eddie sweat through his shirt so fast he said it was "like playing under water."
If the heat was stifling, though, it didn't slow the 40-somethings down.
After a decent but ignored indie-punk set by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Pearl Jam took to the stage with the slow "Can't Keep." It was your last chance to catch your breath the rest of the night. "Breakerfall," "Last Exit" and the punky "God's Dice" followed, and before you knew it they were dedicating the 90's hit "Small Town" to a bunch of small Connecticut towns as the place screamed the lyrics.
Then, some pleasant surprises. According to Pearl Jam's site, none of these songs has been played more than twice in 2008: "Brain of J," the rolling and melodic "In Hiding," the driving "Not For You" and the mega-hit "Jeremy," a rarity for live Pearl Jam concerts. "Porch" led into an encore that was a foregone conclusion. Really, it was more of a break before the real show began.
They came back out and punctuated the first encore with crowd-pleasers "Betterman" and "Even Flow," top hits from the 1990s that sounded fresh because of the crowd's exuberance. The frenetic "Blood" finished that part of the set, setting up an epic nightcap.
The second encore was a Pearl Jam all-star team: "Smile," "Do the Evolution," the anthem "Alive," Neil Young's "Fuckin' Up," and, finally, "Yellow Ledbetter."
"Ledbetter" is the most enigmatic song for Pearl Jam fans. You either hear it last or not at all, so those melodic opening chords also mean the night's about to be over. And then you sing along to the lyrics no one knows, McCready hits you with a killer final solo, Eddie says goodnight and you're flying out of the arena. Two and a half hours, 28 songs. And all of them expertly chosen and played.
You only wish you had tickets for the next night.
In this case, I did.
After a day of burning on a beach in Cape Cod, we were back in another long line of cars heading into Mansfield's newly renamed Comcast Center, some 40 minutes from Boston. This place was teeming with Celtic green and Red Sox hats, many of which were still getting "beah" number four down in the drink area when Eddie made a surprise appearance at 7:30, before Ted Leo, and played "Throw Your Arms Around Me."
This time, we were sitting in actual seats, but they were merely thrown atop the lawn, making the lawn section a tiny strip behind the non-covered seats. On a cold night when rain looked imminent, this was a big minus. Keep that in mind if you decide to pay the extra 20 bucks or so for seats in the back section.
Anyway, that didn't matter when Pearl Jam came back, promising "to test your endurance," as Vedder put it, on night one of a two-night stand
I've often said that if I won the lottery, I'd hire myself an RV and driver and follow Pearl Jam around on tour. What a life that would be.
Here's why: You could see them 25 nights in a row and see 25 different shows. You're always going to hear "Betterman," of course, but they have about 300 songs to pick from, and they change it up every night. That's why the bootlegs have become so popular among fans. Each show has its nuances. The selected covers, like "Another Brick in the Wall," sprinkled into "Daughter" on Friday, the varying solos, the crowd singalongs--all of it makes for the feeling that Pearl Jam really did play that show especially for Hartford or New York or Bonnaroo.
So on Saturday night, there were few repeats from the nigh before. Instead, we got radio classic "Corduroy," "Given to Fly," "Off He Goes," and a jammy "RVM."
Once again, the encores were the emotional crests of the night. They started with The Who's "Reign Over Me," with Boom Gaspar on keyboards, and worked their way to the haunting "Black" and then "Betterman," with an English Beat "Save it For Later" breakdown.
The only unfortunate part of the show was the shortness of the second encore; you get spoiled by this band when they play "only" three songs on the second encore. But they were good. The protest song "No More," acoustically played by Vedder alone, set up rocking versions of "State of Love and Trust" and, finally, "Alive," the creepy hit whose chorus has been reinterpreted by the throngs who shout it back at Vedder.
Then they were done, presumably saving something for Monday. If only I could follow these guys for every show...
With some exceptions--I really wanted to hear "Glorified G," especially after its 2003 resurrection after a seven-year absence--I heard most everything I wanted.
Before the concerts, Verizon hosted a text message board on the big screen TVs for the fans. (Our text, "Do Stonehenge," somehow didn't make it either night). I distinctly remember one that said "My 39th PJ show."
I'm only at four, dating back to my 2000 initiation in my hometown.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
Pearl Jam packed arena-sized power into New York's 2,800-capacity Beacon Theater last night (July 1), rattling off an eclectic 26-song set list during a private show that raised $3 million for the Robin Hood Foundation's poverty fighting initiatives.
Frontman Eddie Vedder told the crowd, some of whom had paid $2,250 for floor-level seats, that he required a steroid shot in his posterior to get him stage-ready for the evening, the last show of a mini-U.S. tour for the Seattle band. Pearl Jam had played a two-and-a-half hour set the night before in Boston.
As such, the group eased its way into the show, playing seated for the first five songs, which included such obscurities as "Lowlight" and "Sleight of Hand" alongside covers of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" and Bob Dylan's "Masters of War."
The band then shifted into its normal set, which went heavy on some of its more classic-sounding repertoire like the Motown-inspired rave-up "All Night," the sing-a-long "Marker in the Sand" and "Down," which showcased lead guitarist Mike McCready's blues-drenched leads.
Vedder was not shy about getting political, bashing the current Presidential administration's continued funding of the Iraq War and reminding the audience that the next time Pearl Jam returned to the New York area that there would be a new leader in the White House.
But the focus remained on the music, with the band offering a slew of crowd favorites such as "Wishlist," "Why Go," "Do the Evolution," "Black," "Crazy Mary," "Alive" and a thunderous, show-closing cover of the Who's "Baba O'Riley."
Pearl Jam will now transition into work on its next studio album, which will be produced by longtime collaborator Brendan O'Brien. Vedder is also expected to embark on an East Coast leg of his solo tour in August, showcasing material from his soundtrack to the film "Into the Wild" alongside deep Pearl Jam tracks and covers.
Here is Pearl Jam's set list:
"Lowlight" "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" "Sleight of Hand" "Harvest Moon" "Masters of War" "Down" "All Night" "Corduroy" "Even Flow" "Light Years" "Army Reserve" "W.M.A." "Marker in the Sand" "Wasted Life" -> "Wishlist" "Why Go" "Do the Evolution"
Encore 1: "Undone" "Who You Are" "Given To Fly" "Black" "Crazy Mary"
Encore 2: "No More" "Last Kiss" "Alive" "Baba O'Riley"
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2005 3:41 pm Posts: 618 Gender: Male
Quote:
Vedder is also expected to embark on an East Coast leg of his solo tour in August, showcasing material from his soundtrack to the film "Into the Wild" alongside deep Pearl Jam tracks and covers.
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 10:41 am Posts: 1902 Location: Vranov, Slovakia > Berlin > Open'er Gdynia > Pohoda Festival, Slovakia Gender: Male
J's Brain wrote:
Quote:
Vedder is also expected to embark on an East Coast leg of his solo tour in August, showcasing material from his soundtrack to the film "Into the Wild" alongside deep Pearl Jam tracks and covers.
Yay!!!
It still gives hope for at least one show in Europe. Crossing fingers.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
