Is it always Ed? Do they switch off? Is it a group effort? Does anyone have any info as to who has done which show? It'd be interested to compare.

I would bet that it's a band decision.

The band's crew did the 4.12.94 setlist, which explains why it's one of the craziest sets of all time.

I would agree that it is probably a group decision.

they should have a fan vote on tenclub.net

I think it's a group decision, but Ed has veto power. I've seen sometimes when there is a song on the setlist and they're about to play it, and then Ed changes his mind, and you can tell it's a song that Stone wanted to play.

As far as deciding which covers make it into the next tour's rotation, it varies. As you can see songs like You've Got to Hide Your Love Awayand I Believe in Miracles and Daytime Dilemma made it in because other projects.

I remember when Give Me Some Truth was first incorporated into the sets. It was because Ed was doing a Green Party rally and thought John Lennon's song would be appropriate, he went to a record store in Seattle and asked for a copy of the song so he could learn it.....and a little while later it became a staple cover on Pearl Jam's tour.

Remember the Boston shows on the last tour when Pearl Jam played nearly their entire catalog among the shows. This was inspired (as the story goes) by Ed talking to some fans after a show and he ended up promising them that among the Boston shows they would play all the songs. They even added an extra slow pre-set to fullfill the promise (not sure if Ed has this in mind before he made the promise or if it was spurred by the fans).


And of course there are songs that are played on special occasions such as Redemption Song, Crown of Thorns, I Got You, Everyday, Dock of the Bay, Throw Your Arms Around Me, With My Own Two Hands, War, etc. etc.

It felt like on the last big tour the band decided to revive some old songs they hadn't played in awhile (Glorified G, Deep, Blood, Driftin'), and on the tour before that they revived Crazy Mary and played U. Not sure if this is a spur of the moment decision at each show, or if its decided pre-tour. Probably a mix of both.

Selecting the set is definitely an art, as you must choose which song will make a good opening, closing, opening of an encore, etc. You have to thik about how the energy of the show will flow. I think Pearl Jam do this better than most bands.

i thought the coolest was holmdel when they went in order of album. very cool.

jason

They did this prior to the 1998 tour. See here.

I don't know who usually creates the set list, but Pearl Jam does it better then anyone. A lot of bands will play the same exact set every night on a tour. For that reason alone, it is worthless a lot of times to see a band multiple times on a tour. But you never know what you'll get at a Pearl Jam concert, which makes seeing them five times on a tour worth every penny. I love how they mix it up from night to night and huddle up on stage to decide what song they will play next. It seems so spontaneous and becuase of that, every Pearl Jam show is not only awesome, but one of a kind as well.

remember when Ed was saying that this was the only place where a UFO landed and decided not to leave.. also whens the last time Ed was climbing on stage props or speakers??? he did that show 7/14/03

Yes. Life is like a Pearl Jam concert...

Manchester, England 2000

I remember seeing a pic (somewhere) that has Jeff writing a setlist with the rest of the band around.

Yeah, but that doesn't say anything about whether the band used that or not. I think they should call up a Ten Club member in each town where they're going and let THAT fan pick the setlist.

Inside the 2000 boots i feel gave you an idea about who wrote the setlists, especially since most are in Vedder's scrawl but some, like Boise are in Jeff's print. the cardiff boot is interesting cos its got a whole list of songs printed in it, what it means ?????????? is there anything of interest inside any other boots?

For some reason I always thought it was mostly Ed and Jeff with input from other members. Sometimes Mike or Stone will come up with the set.

Korn used to do that. Cool concept.

R.E.M. does this--not having fans do the set list but at least making requests, so there is usually at least one rare song busted out each show and certain songs like country feedback (maybe the best song they do live) end up getting played at almost every show because of the intense fan club support for it

*major bump*

I recall Mike telling a fan before Adelaide 2 that Stone had written the setlist of the night before, which is kinda interesting:

11/21/06 - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia

Small Town
Go
Do The Evolution
Gods' Dice
Once
Immortality
State Of Love And Trust
Wishlist
World Wide Suicide
Even Flow
Severed Hand
Army Reserve
Daughter/(Beds Are Burning)/(War)
Why Go
Given To Fly
Interstellar Overdrive/Corduroy

Man Of The Hour
(No Woman No Cry)/Better Man/(Save It For Later)
Black
Life Wasted
Alive

Last Kiss
Don't Gimme No Lip (this was s'posed to be Smile on the setlist)
Sad
Last Exit
Jeremy
Baba O'Riley

I'd be fascinated to know which setlists were written by other band members, if Mike ever did one, etc.

I always wonder if there's a set of "rules" that Ed has when he draws one up, eg: this song must only appear in the first encore, if we play "song x" then we cannot play "song y", etc.

Ockus