Not true Phish, Panic, Grateful Dead, even Black Crowes different setlish each night NO REPEATS at all !!
Pearl Jam could learn something from that-
They've never played the same song? Exactly how big IS there catalogue?
As one that followed The Grateful Dead on tour a one point....I disagree.
I pretty much figured as soon as I posted that people would bring up the Dead....jam bands are a little different - but for a band that's had some radio success like PJ, its pretty rare for them to play the diverse set lists that they do.
I looked up some Black Crowes set lists, too - I did see some repeats but also saw that they didn't play "Hard to Handle" at lots of shows - as a casual fan, if I went to see them and they didn't play that, I would leave VERY disappointed - which is how I'm sure a ton of PJ fans would feel if they went to a show and they didnt see Evenflow, Jeremy, or Alive. Unfortunatly, a lot of people seem to forget they aren't playing specifically for die-hards who follow them around....
If the band cuts down on their hits and focus on their rarities, pj will soon be playing theaters again. Complaining about not getting rarities is selfish and I cannot even begin to imagine how not hearing a paricular rarity among 25 - 30 songs can be such a downer for some people. Also, rarities are rarities for a reason.
If people find it so disturbing not hearing rarities that they actually have to complain, well.. I feel sorry for em and it is actually bordering snobbish imo.
I see no reason to complain about this on this tour though. They are digging nicely into their catalogue.
A friend and I have seen REM a lot in the last 10 years - and neither of us (and a lot of other folks) don;t want to hear 'Losing My Religion' played ever again. And at least one band member has confirmed it would be nice to leave it off the setlist occasionally, and I suspect he meant more than occasionally. Stipe has for years introduced it as no longer being their song, but the audience's. When a band gets that big, and plays nightly to that many people, everyone wants to hear that one song in particular that they love - and of those there are a lot of people that this is their one time seeing the band, or they see them one a tour or less. So they want to hear the 'big' songs.
Last summer, after REM released their first 'rock' album in years, they dusted off quite a few older, more rarely played uptempo songs to match the newer ones. I had a blast, sometimes getting giddy when another song I had not heard them play live either in a long time or ever began. But you could see large chunks of the crowd starting to lose interest when they played a few of those in a row. And then saw how they came back once the 'hits' returned.
As much as my friend and I grumble about it, we have taken to doing something else: we turn around and see how the crowd goes crazy when they hear those opening mandolin strings being played. And it is incredible to see and feel. And it keeps me in the spirit of the thing.
Pearl Jam can't be everything to everybody, but everyone gets something they want. And that should be enough.
My Pearl Jam Road: 10/22/90 Seattle | 12/22/90 Seattle, Moore Theater | 9/29/92 Seattle, Magnusson Park, Drop in the Park | 9/5/93 The Gorge, with Neil Young and Blind Melon | 7/20/06 Portland, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with Sleater-Kinney | 7/22/06 The Gorge, 10/21/06 Mountain View, Shoreline Ampitheatre, Bridge School Benefit | 9/21/09 Seattle | 9/22/09 Seattle | 9/26/09 Portland, OR | 7/14/2011 Eddie Vedder, Portland, OR | 11/29/13 Portland, OR
Comments
I pretty much figured as soon as I posted that people would bring up the Dead....jam bands are a little different - but for a band that's had some radio success like PJ, its pretty rare for them to play the diverse set lists that they do.
I looked up some Black Crowes set lists, too - I did see some repeats but also saw that they didn't play "Hard to Handle" at lots of shows - as a casual fan, if I went to see them and they didn't play that, I would leave VERY disappointed - which is how I'm sure a ton of PJ fans would feel if they went to a show and they didnt see Evenflow, Jeremy, or Alive. Unfortunatly, a lot of people seem to forget they aren't playing specifically for die-hards who follow them around....
No worries... They will return to Europe... After they practiced in the US that is
If people find it so disturbing not hearing rarities that they actually have to complain, well.. I feel sorry for em and it is actually bordering snobbish imo.
I see no reason to complain about this on this tour though. They are digging nicely into their catalogue.
Last summer, after REM released their first 'rock' album in years, they dusted off quite a few older, more rarely played uptempo songs to match the newer ones. I had a blast, sometimes getting giddy when another song I had not heard them play live either in a long time or ever began. But you could see large chunks of the crowd starting to lose interest when they played a few of those in a row. And then saw how they came back once the 'hits' returned.
As much as my friend and I grumble about it, we have taken to doing something else: we turn around and see how the crowd goes crazy when they hear those opening mandolin strings being played. And it is incredible to see and feel. And it keeps me in the spirit of the thing.
Pearl Jam can't be everything to everybody, but everyone gets something they want. And that should be enough.
That's me in the corner...