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Disappointing Shows

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    memememe Posts: 4,693
    sound definitely varies from show to show....

    Often it even varies by your location in the arena.
    ... and the will to show I will always be better than before.
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    Lollapalooza 2007

    The weekend was a blast, the Vic show was great (very different from the usual setlist), and we had a good time with all the other fans there....

    ...But....

    -The crowd was too big
    -The sound was awful
    -It was hard to get a good view
    -You were surrounded by many people not into the band (talking their way thru the set)
    -Also surrounded by the sweaty, drunk, and sick at the end of a 3 day bender.

    Went out of my way to go, had a great weekend...... but will pass on the festival gigs from now on.
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    NeilJamNeilJam Posts: 1,191
    The most disappointing show for me was Toronto 05. That setlist was way too heavy on the radio hits.

    Lolla was a little disappointing for the same reason. I hope they realize the fans at Bonnaroo don't want a greatest hits show.
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    pkh43pkh43 Posts: 253
    Albany NY 2003
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    mookie9999mookie9999 Posts: 4,677
    12/8/02 Key Arena. Opened with too many slow songs and never really picked up a good rhythm. IMO Black should never be played within the first few songs. Not to mention I had the worst seats ever (last row in the upper deck) which did not help. Out of my 20+ that's the only show I have to complain about.
    "The leads are weak!"

    "The leads are weak? Fuckin' leads are weak? You're Weak! I've Been in this business 15 years"

    "What's your name?"

    "FUCK YOU! THAT"S MY NAME!"
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    HinnyHinny Posts: 1,610
    Chorzow 07. I enjoyed the bus ride in and the pre-show mega cheapo Polish beer drinking more than the show itself.
    Binary solo..000000100000111100001110
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    UnkeptUnkept Posts: 65
    I can't say I've ever seen a bad show in person...One of the things I lvoe about the band is they tend to leave it all on the stage, and luckily I've never seen 'em do anything less. Now I do have a particular fondness for Cincy for a number of reasons, and though I was expecting THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE HISTORY OF PEARL JAM, because they had to cancel in '03...a few things I loved about the show was that they played great, Ed was espescially personable and the fact of the matter is that...it's Cincinnati...a nice place to live, but never gonna be confused with Atlanta, New York, L.A. it's , Cincinnati...but they still threw it down...and that's why I love 'em. Sooner or later there's gonna be a snafu with a setlist, and the last half of the first set included LBC, Gone, Grean Disease, Present Tense..I like all those songs, but close together at what was supposed to be the apex of the first set, well ,...it was a bit disconcerting....

    Lost my virginity in Columbus '03, and freaked myself out by how freaked out I was...

    By far the my favorite show was Cleveland 06, I was in the fifth row, and the setlist was awesome, and it just felt like one of those special nights...I saw 'em in Denver with Petty in 06 and that had that magic dust vibe to it too...

    But I never saw a bad show...Toledo 04 was a bit disappointing because Neil Young took over...but then again..it was so unique that it made up for it.

    Mmm. Alright...I am ready for the next tour...
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    I regret no realising just how much of a bunch of inconsiderate, drunken idiots the crowd at Dublin 2006 were going to be until it was too late.

    I've been in crowds from bands with much rougher reputations than PJ but they were nothing compared to this experience. The pressure from the crowd pushing and the unhelpfulness from the security at getting people out was astounding.

    Even once we'd managed to get ourselves to safety we still seemed to be surrounded by morons. That crowd ruined what could have been a really amazing gig and had up to that point been an ace trip to Dublin.
    A democracy on paper, apparently well ordered, regularly subverted by irrational chaos.

    Manchester - 4/6/2000
    London - 20/4/2006
    Dublin - 23/8/2006
    London - 18/6/2007
    New York City - 24/6/2008
    New York City - 25/6/2008 - we will be "what is up" New York
    Manchester - 18/8/2009
    Manchester - 20/6/2012
    Leeds - 6/7/2014
    London - 18/6/2018
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    ZosoZoso Posts: 6,425
    melbourne 1 2003 wasn't that impressive; bad seats, weak and short setlist because of a very very unappreciative crowd. Easily the worst pearl jam show I have seen.
    I'm just flying around the other side of the world to say I love you

    Sha la la la i'm in love with a jersey girl

    I love you forever and forever :)

    Adel 03 Melb 1 03 LA 2 06 Santa Barbara 06 Gorge 1 06 Gorge 2 06 Adel 1 06 Adel 2 06 Camden 1 08 Camden 2 08 Washington DC 08 Hartford 08
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    Zoso wrote:
    melbourne 1 2003 wasn't that impressive; bad seats, weak and short setlist because of a very very unappreciative crowd. Easily the worst pearl jam show I have seen.

    theres a few of those crowds going around in australia.

    the most disappointing show for me has been melbourne 1 06. was the only show on the tour to sell out its 10c contingent but the crowd was weak. from front row, ed was also heard to say "looks like another tough one" as he bent over after about the 3rd song.

    after severed hand (6th song) ed goes, "if youre gonna be this quiet, i'm gonna start telling stories... good story tellin' crowd.. anyway.."
    Yeh I've seen Pearl Jam, too. But I can't remember the dates.
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    I really haven't been to any BAD PJ gigs...seen em 12 times and the only bad thing about the gigs were some of the crowds...went to see PJ play at the Myer music bowl in Melb in 1995 and a WHOLE BUNCH OF eager fans decided to pull down the fences surrounding the perimiter...since i'd waited forever to get right up front i suffered a little...but i never gave a shit because it was my 2nd pj show EVER! The 98' shows i had absloutley NO problem with all shows were way cool.

    The 03' shows were even better, when I went to see PJ in 06' the shows were F**CKING GREAT!! except the first night i was in a seat and ABSLOUTLEY NO-ONE around me was into it except for me (mind you everyone around me probably worked for the radio station or happened upon free tickets!) I was dancing around like a moron..the other 2 nights were great..crowds were great and I loved it!!.

    Every PJ show i have been to since my first one in 95' has been a true experience...PJ will be my #1 band forever ...Definitley NO disapointments and definitley NO regrets at any shows :)
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    KravenKraven Posts: 829
    Honestly, the Vic was a little disappointing to me, I was so psyched for that show. Don't get me wrong the set list was amazing, but it could have been the greatest concert ever.

    First of all Ed's pre-opener while it had some great moments, wasn't what I would hoped it would be. I wish he played songs like Footsteps, Soon Forget or Wash. The set list was a bit short, "only" 28 songs, it was a fanclub only show, I thought it was going to be a little longer.

    I wish they had played any of the following tunes: Crown of Thorns, Dirty Frank, Smile, Light Years, something they play occasionally but not enough to be like oh its that song, lets go to the bathroom.

    While it was cool they played all rarities(save a couple songs), I wish they had played Black, I think it would have been a highlight of the night. Just imagine that whole crowd singing along, it would have been beautiful.

    Oh and please Eddie if you're gonna do Indifference with Ben Harper, please do the "I'll swallow poison..." part, it sounds so much better when you do it.

    I think I had too high of expectations, but they were warranted for such a small, intimate, fan club only show.

    /end rant

    Sonic Reducer, Sad, Love Reign O'er Me, In Hiding, Low Light, Hard To Imagine were definitely awesome at that show and of course who could forget Black Diamond, once in lifetime thing me thinks.

    Lolla was a disappointment because if you were on Stone's side you couldn't hear Mike at all and I think they had Black and Baba on the setlist and didn't play them. (If you can't tell Black is my favorite song ever, by any band)

    By far the best Pearl Jam only show I have seen is Boston II '06, that first encore is awesome, especially Black into Alive, and of course the first live performance of Parachutes. The second encore? Even better. Why Go? Smile, Indifference, RitFW, only my second time hearing YLB, still have only heard it twice, and thats between 9 shows. Ed's opening up before MMJ with Porch was awesome. That whole show was a wave, starting with a peak, crashing and beginning at the top again.

    It was also my dad's first real PJ show, had to show em that what he saw in Pitt '05 wasn't a fluke, and that they could put on a show as good or better than the Stones. Also being a Red Sox fan and seeing Theo Epstein up on stage with the boys playing was pretty cool, especially after realizing that he was the weird looking dude sitting at the sound booth a couple rows in front and to the right of us.
    32 shows and counting...
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    BeerBaron wrote:
    I've only ever been disappointed twice ...

    Toronto 05 (worst show EVER)
    Cincy 06


    Yeah, I'm with ya on the Cincy 06. It really wasn't a bad show, but after canceling the previous tour date in Cincy entirely, I thought they were really gonna do it up big time. I still had a good time, and the band sounded great. But I guess I just hyped it up more in my mind, and got let down a little.
    "It's all happening"
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    Some people have mentioned sound issues; in 2006 the sound at the two Lisbon shows wasn't as good as the rest of the shows i saw. It was still great and not as bad as some people have claimed, but i think the crowd was so loud that it was going to be hard to hear the band clearly anyway.

    Anyways, in 2006 i was front row for Lisbon 1 and Milano, but we were right off to the side. Both shows, i could hear Mike and Stone equally clear. But in 2007, we were front row in Copenhagen and off to the side again but could barely hear Mike. It was though someone was muffling the speakers so the sound was almost non-existant. I just found it weird how it can change so dramatically from year to year.

    On the other hand, the sound in London, Dusseldorf and Nijmegen last year was amazing from where i was; everybody was so clear and loud!


    To the person who was wondering why Albany was so short - it was because they were given a strict curfew and there would've been a huge fine if they played any longer. Even with the short set, the show is absolutely scorching hot! The band are seriously ON in Albany '03.
    "This town deserves a better class of criminal... and I'm gonna give it to them."

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    Kraven wrote:
    Honestly, the Vic was a little disappointing to me, I was so psyched for that show. Don't get me wrong the set list was amazing, but it could have been the greatest concert ever.

    First of all Ed's pre-opener while it had some great moments, wasn't what I would hoped it would be. I wish he played songs like Footsteps, Soon Forget or Wash. The set list was a bit short, "only" 28 songs, it was a fanclub only show, I thought it was going to be a little longer.

    I wish they had played any of the following tunes: Crown of Thorns, Dirty Frank, Smile, Light Years, something they play occasionally but not enough to be like oh its that song, lets go to the bathroom.

    While it was cool they played all rarities(save a couple songs), I wish they had played Black, I think it would have been a highlight of the night. Just imagine that whole crowd singing along, it would have been beautiful.

    Oh and please Eddie if you're gonna do Indifference with Ben Harper, please do the "I'll swallow poison..." part, it sounds so much better when you do it.

    I think I had too high of expectations, but they were warranted for such a small, intimate, fan club only show.

    /end rant

    Sonic Reducer, Sad, Love Reign O'er Me, In Hiding, Low Light, Hard To Imagine were definitely awesome at that show and of course who could forget Black Diamond, once in lifetime thing me thinks.

    Lolla was a disappointment because if you were on Stone's side you couldn't hear Mike at all and I think they had Black and Baba on the setlist and didn't play them. (If you can't tell Black is my favorite song ever, by any band)

    By far the best Pearl Jam only show I have seen is Boston II '06, that first encore is awesome, especially Black into Alive, and of course the first live performance of Parachutes. The second encore? Even better. Why Go? Smile, Indifference, RitFW, only my second time hearing YLB, still have only heard it twice, and thats between 9 shows. Ed's opening up before MMJ with Porch was awesome. That whole show was a wave, starting with a peak, crashing and beginning at the top again.

    It was also my dad's first real PJ show, had to show em that what he saw in Pitt '05 wasn't a fluke, and that they could put on a show as good or better than the Stones. Also being a Red Sox fan and seeing Theo Epstein up on stage with the boys playing was pretty cool, especially after realizing that he was the weird looking dude sitting at the sound booth a couple rows in front and to the right of us.

    Wow. Really?
    No longer overwhelmed it seems so simple now.
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    ramborambo Posts: 170
    st.john's 2005 (night 2) was an amazing show!!!!! The only disappointing thing about it was they had to leave early and cut their set short. Deep,crown of thorns, rvm, off he goes, fuckin up, and yellow ledbetter were all on the set list and not played. Still loved the show tho, could have been so much better.
    st. john's newfoundland, sept 24/2005
    st. john's newfoundland, sept. 25/2005
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    JP2026766JP2026766 Posts: 1,125
    ER 1 and 2 in 06, they opened both nights with Severed Hand, Corduroy, and WWS. Only disappointment I've had in 4 shows.

    Mansfield II '08

    EV Solo Shows:

    NYC I
    NJPAC

    I. LOVE. YIELD.
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    on2legson2legs Standing in the Jersey rain… Posts: 14,421
    ER 1 and 2 in 06, they opened both nights with Severed Hand, Corduroy, and WWS. Only disappointment I've had in 4 shows.

    Yeah... that was a total head scratcher. They were both good shows, but to open two nights in a row with the same three songs was weird. Considering that the second night was the end of the tour, I expected something special. But at the least, not to hear the same EXACT opener as the previous night. Let alone the exact same THREE opening songs. Weird.
    1996: Randall's Island 2  1998: East Rutherford | MSG 1 & 2  2000: Cincinnati | Columbus | Jones Beach 1, 2, & 3 | Boston 1 | Camden 1 & 2 2003: Philadelphia | Uniondale | MSG 1 & 2 | Holmdel  2005: Atlantic City 1  2006: Camden 1 | East Rutherford 1 & 2 2008: Camden 1 & 2 | MSG 1 & 2 | Newark (EV)  2009: Philadelphia 1, 2 & 4  2010: Newark | MSG 1 & 2  2011: Toronto 1  2013: Wrigley Field | Brooklyn 2 | Philadelphia 1 & 2 | Baltimore  2015: Central Park  2016: Philadelphia 1 & 2 | MSG 1 & 2 | Fenway Park 2 | MSG (TOTD)  2017: Brooklyn (RnR HOF)  2020: MSG | Asbury Park  2021: Asbury Park  2022: MSG | Camden | Nashville  2024: MSG 1 & 2 (#50) | Philadelphia 1 & 2 | Baltimore


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    JP2026766JP2026766 Posts: 1,125
    On2Legs wrote:
    Yeah... that was a total head scratcher. They were both good shows, but to open two nights in a row with the same three songs was weird. Considering that the second night was the end of the tour, I expected something special. But at the least, not to hear the same EXACT opener as the previous night. Let alone the exact same THREE opening songs. Weird.

    Especially when they always change up the opener, let alone 3 songs. It's almost like he forgot they played them the night before. If you look at the tour though in the month before that, that 3 song combo did appear alot. I was expecting Release the second night after Severed Hand the first. Something like an old school start, Release Go Corduory, thats what I expected after the first night.

    Mansfield II '08

    EV Solo Shows:

    NYC I
    NJPAC

    I. LOVE. YIELD.
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    my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    Kraven wrote:
    Honestly, the Vic was a little disappointing to me, I was so psyched for that show. Don't get me wrong the set list was amazing, but it could have been the greatest concert ever.

    First of all Ed's pre-opener while it had some great moments, wasn't what I would hoped it would be. I wish he played songs like Footsteps, Soon Forget or Wash. The set list was a bit short, "only" 28 songs, it was a fanclub only show, I thought it was going to be a little longer.

    I wish they had played any of the following tunes: Crown of Thorns, Dirty Frank, Smile, Light Years, something they play occasionally but not enough to be like oh its that song, lets go to the bathroom.

    While it was cool they played all rarities(save a couple songs), I wish they had played Black, I think it would have been a highlight of the night. Just imagine that whole crowd singing along, it would have been beautiful.

    Oh and please Eddie if you're gonna do Indifference with Ben Harper, please do the "I'll swallow poison..." part, it sounds so much better when you do it.

    I think I had too high of expectations, but they were warranted for such a small, intimate, fan club only show.

    /end rant

    put down the crack pipe... it kills your brain cells son... ;)
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    WobbieWobbie Posts: 29,455
    jGreer81 wrote:
    I have been a fan since around 1993, but due to various circumstances I've never been able to attend a show. Obviously, I was able to get my live "fix" through the sucession of numberless bootlegs that have been released over the years.

    I was hesitant to attend my first show due to the very fact that anything short of the Diety himself descending upon the arena NOTHING could meet my expectations...

    I'm not sure what the problem was, maybe: high expectations, shitty sound, the fact that I couldn't hear Eddie singing, the fact that they seemed "off" (especially Eddie). I've detected a consistent theme to this thread and it seems to center around either Eddie not sounding very good, their sound system, the venue, etc.

    What I'm wondering is from people who have attended multiple shows is their sound always that bad? Does it vary from show to show? Multiple people have mentioned that couldn't hear Eddie sing, does this depend on the show?

    Anyway, thanks. This has been bugging the hell out of me for the better part of a year. I realize that speaks volumes about my life, but when you dream about the night your going lose your Pearl Jam virginity for 15 years and it turns out to be a rape...well that's going to leave one disillusioned.

    Wow! That's a shock to me. I LOVED that show, from the Inside Job opening until the Porch ending. I know Eddie went on and on about his "health issues" but they weren't evident to me :p. I was in the last row of the lower bowl (sidestage) and we were able to stand on our seats for the entire show, without blocking anyone's view. The MGM would probably like to send a bill to my brother-in-law for the seat he broke (due to excessive bouncing :D).
    If I had known then what I know now...

    Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
    VIC 07
    EV LA1 08
    Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
    Columbus 10
    EV LA 11
    Vancouver 11
    Missoula 12
    Portland 13, Spokane 13
    St. Paul 14, Denver 14
    Philly I & II, 16
    Denver 22
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    UKpearljammerUKpearljammer Bath, UK Posts: 910
    Wembley 1 back in 2000 was a pretty ordinary show I thought and my only PJ show to date that I was slightly disappointed with. I think it was the fact that the crowd was so dead that there was no atmosphere in that hideous cavenous venue. I really hope they play somewhere else in London next time, tired of that venue. Luckily for me that show was the start of an incredible European tour for me where I witnessed some amazing shows, Milan probably being the highlight.
    My PJ shows:
    London 28/10/96, Las Vegas 11/7/98, London 29/5/00, Nurnburg 11/6/00, Prague 14/6/00, Salzburg 18/6/00, Verona 20/6/00, Milan 22/6/00, Zurich 23/6/00, New York 8-9/7/03, Boston 11/7/03, Reading Festival 27/8/06, Shepards Bush 11/8/09, Berlin 15/8/09, Manchester 17/8/09, London 18/8/09, Dublin 22/6/10, Belfast 23/6/10, London (HRC) 25/6/10, Alpine Valley (PJ20) 3-4/9/11, Manchester 20-21/6/12, Leeds 8/7/14, Milton Keynes 11/7/14 To be continued....
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    AndySlashAndySlash Posts: 3,205
    bcsbadboys wrote:
    Of the 8 I've seen: Thunder Bay, 2005

    Coming off a great show in Winnipeg, a small 4,600 seat venue, opening with Present Tense, what's not to like right?...

    Ed was complaining about the heat in a hockey arena (everyone was sweating) and I think that's part of why the setlist was cut to 23 songs. Had the potential to be a great show in the most intimate location of the tour, but dissapointed in so many ways...


    I agree with this one. Winnipeg was such a high, and then the TB show was just kind of there. I think it was their third show in three nights if I recall correctly, and it definitely seemed like the band was tired, and obviously the heat didn't help. Listening to it now I think I like the set more than Winnipeg (PT opens, Driven To Tears, Breakerfall out of nowhere, Nothingman..), but the show just can't compare overall to the night before, which is a real shame. Seeing what was scratched on the set is painful, too, as it looked like they planned a several song mini-acoustic set (including Masters of War, Thumbing My Way, Hard To Imagine, MOTH) but pared it down to Nothingman, I Am Mine, Black and Alive.


    Another disappointing show for me was LA I in 06. The set was similar to San Diego the day or two before and I felt at times I was experiencing Deja Vu. Like Thunder Bay, listening to the show now, on its own and outside of the experience, is really good, but as part of a 3-show run I witnessed, it was the weakest and least enjoyable of the the three nights I saw.
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    KravenKraven Posts: 829
    BeerBaron wrote:
    WOW!

    While I can agree with you on one point - the fact that Ed's pre-set had so much more potential (Driftin' and Strangest Tribe would have been nice) wes till got a couple of gems (Picture In a Frame and Dead Man).

    And, although it would have been nice to hear songs like Crown of Thorns and Dirty Frank (which was on the setlist but not played along with Light Years), who would have expected Undone, Education, Love Reign Over Me, All or None, Hard to Imagine, Rats, etc. all in one show?

    To call that show a disappointment seems crazy to me ...

    I forgot to add Breath to that list, but anyways, no I completely understand, but its just my preference in songs that made it a disappointment. Actually disappointment is not the word really I would use, it was just not what I thought it would be. Education is a great song and all but that over Crown of Thorns or Dirty Frank or Breath? They are much better. Some of the people want to hear songs just to hear, to say oh I heard that rare song they play once every two tours. I would rather have a higher quality not so rare song. I am waiting for the day the board decides to get behind a "Play Bugs!" campaign.

    Rats wasn't a huge deal for me, it was the 3rd time I had seen it in the past two years between 5 shows. Wow, who would have thought, I have heard Rats more than Yellow Ledbetter. Who would have thunk.

    I LOVED Love Reign O'er Me, it was definitely one of the songs I wanted to hear, probably the highlight of the night. They had sound checked Tremor Christ, which is one of my favorite songs, I wish they had played that, it would have been awesome.

    So yeah disappointed isnt really the word. As a fan of the band, it was an amazing show definitely one for the ages, but as a fan of some songs, and other songs being chosen over those, disappointing.
    32 shows and counting...
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    DonJonDonJon Posts: 5,089
    theres a few of those crowds going around in australia.

    the most disappointing show for me has been melbourne 1 06. was the only show on the tour to sell out its 10c contingent but the crowd was weak. from front row, ed was also heard to say "looks like another tough one" as he bent over after about the 3rd song.

    after severed hand (6th song) ed goes, "if youre gonna be this quiet, i'm gonna start telling stories... good story tellin' crowd.. anyway.."

    Thats very interesting. I assume he was referring to Sydney 2 when saying 'another toughie". No 10c seats, the crowd was appalling and whilst the band tried hard and were good (setlist too) the crowd just ruined it.

    14 Feb 2003 Valentines day in Sydney. They really lacked energy that night. Unfortunately I have some close friends that refuse to ever listen to PJ again let alone attend a concert, after that night.

    A real shame
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me.
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