Response From 1st Timers

MayDay10

I took my GF to Hartford 06 and East Rutheford 06. She liked it a lot. She wasnt floored or anything. She does like Pearl Jam. She loooved the Eddie Vedder show in DC, and enjoyed a Philly show this summer.

I believe she considers PJ her favorite band, but she really isnt that much into music. She listens to her ipod during runs, and its my playlist, so it is extremely PJ heavy.

I had to work it in there, but she allows me to frame and hang PJ posters in our place and she really thinks they look nice and cool.


On the other hand, I went to the Toronto show and her heart wasnt too broken I didnt bring her along. I am going to 4 Philly shows and she thinks its excessive and only desires to go to one show, and will go on Halloween as well, only if nobody else I know around here wants to go.


For the Philly shows, especially the 30th, Ill have a good handful of 1st timers.

curmudgeoness

Well, my husband and I went to our first show last year -- Camden 2 -- after years of listening/ being fans. Why did we wait so long? It's a long story, dealing mostly with childcare (special needs kid), a bit with money, and also a bit with our tendency to move frequently. We were in the back row of the covered seating, and we were totally blown away; I think I saw God at the end of RVM.

So, we went home, could not stop talking about the show, and decided to grab some tickets for Mansfield 1 as well. We were going to go to Hartford, too, but already had theater tickets for that night.

Since our boys were nine and eleven, and childcare for an overnight trip would cost as much as two concert tickets, we asked the kids how they felt about going. My younger son loves music -- big fan of the Beatles, PJ, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Beethoven; he already sang along to "Dirty Frank" and to "Black" (his favorite song), and he was thrilled to go with us. My older son rarely listens to music, but he admitted he did not mind all of the PJ mom plays in the car , and said sure, why not.

Well, both boys had a great time; my younger son was dancing, jumping and singing as much as I was, and we all were pounding on the seats for all we wre worth during "Betterman." My younger son now blasts PJ on his stereo at every opportunity; my older son, the one who does not listen to music, wants an iPod for his birthday so he can "listen to Pearl Jam 24/7." They are going to all four Philly shows with us (in costume 10/31), they can't wait, and, again, they were screaming almost as much as I was when I bought the tickets.

HeavyHands

curmudgeoness wrote:

I think I saw God at the end of RVM.

This is almost exactly how I felt when the did it in their Chicago 1 setlist two nights ago. Awesome!

blondieblue227

great thread!

mca47

Yeah, some great responses in here!!


Good stuff!

j-bug

HeavyHands wrote:

curmudgeoness wrote:

I think I saw God at the end of RVM.

This is almost exactly how I felt when the did it in their Chicago 1 setlist two nights ago. Awesome!

:shock:

thats what Love Reing O'er Me felt like at the O2.

pjfan021

to a girl with me to night 2 that knows about 5 songs tops. After the show she said that it was great that they actually sound just as good live as they do on their records. Also said that it got her interested in going out and picking something up from them! My favorite part is she mentioned how that after seeing them, the radio stations really don't do them justice with their song selection. Pretty much my reaction after my first show and last night was now my 8th.

Backspacer_Backer

i took my buddy, who has always really liked PJ but never bothered to go to a show, to Sunday's show in Chicago. a little background on him - he spent part of his misguided youth studying to become a minister before flipping and becoming an avid atheist several years ago. so it was especially great when he said after the show that "this was way more of a religious experience than I ever got from church"

he plans to join the 10c now and go to shows whenever he can.

blondieblue227

Minou wrote:

Well, I've been a fan since 1991 but had never seen them in concert until Molson Ampitheatre last week. I know, I can't believe it either. I came home and immediately joined 10c.

welcome! glad to have you here.

Yellow Bedwetter

i brought the same girl (friend of mine) to her first PJ and EV show...East Ruth II 06 and NJPAC 08 respectively..im at work so i cant draw this out but we had a blast at both...i got her into poster collecting too

took my bro (18 y/o at time) to his first PJ show at Hartford last summer...the setlist was the best i'd ever seen so he obviously didnt kno as much but he rocked out to Ten stuff, radio favorites, and YL but he kept goin on about "i wish we had weed" but i dont like to smoke or drink much at PJ shows cuz i get high off the crowds and i dont like to have to pee during songs (i pity the ppl that leave during Even Flow while Mike melts all our faces with his behind-the-head solos)

Light of Stars

I've taken a few friends to Pearl Jam shows who are complete first timers. Every one has said the same thing - that it was the best show they've ever seen. The most telling example was at The Vic show, which you know had minimal "common knowledge" songs played and the friend who came had the best time.

I think Pearl Jam is just a really great live band, and anyone in the audience can tell that. This is not only because of their musicianship but also because of how in tune they are with each other and with the audience. No matter how large the venue it is like everyone is there together having fun. Really cool vibe.

leadbedr10

slightofjeff wrote:

I took my wife to her first show in 2006. For most of our relationship, she looked upon my Pearl Jam habit the way you look upon a monkey masturbating in the zoo. Equal parts amusement and disgust.

Gotta put that line in the memory bank

Gary Carter

Wilds wrote:

I made the mistake of taking her to the VH1 Who Tribute.

I loved it of course, but it was a TV show. Pearl Jam blew everyone on stage away, and had the best crowd reaction, but the crowd was still pretty dead. The smattering of Pearl Jam fans were great, but for the most part the energy was non existent.

off topic i know, sorry. but i was there also and this post is dead on. the crowd was dead for the rest of the bands cept for the who and pj. vh1 woulda been better off having pj do a who set for an hour and take a 10 minute break/ stage setup and then have the who come out for an hour. nothing like being in the back of the arena all the way up in the nosebleeds, thanks 10c. least i finally got to see the who and went with a cool girl.

t0mMye

Ridin The Wave wrote:

Hubmann2513 wrote:

I took my dad with me

How could I have forgotten to mention this in my first post!!! I took my dad with me to the Detroit show in 2006. He loved it.

I'll admit, he was so excited to be going to a "rock show" that Pearl Jam could have done anything and he would have loved it, but he truly did enjoy himself. When we were crossing the border and the border dude asked why we were coming into the States, he blurted out "we're going to a rock show!" It was like he couldn't wait to tell someone.

The best part though was when we were lining up to go in - This was the tour where they had those wicked numbered hoodies. Knowing how bad I wanted one, my dad looked pretty defeated as we inched closer to the door and saw the HUGE pile of people congregating around the merch booth. So, when I said, "well let's take a chance and go the other way to see if there's another merch booth on the other side," his eyes lit up. He handed his ticket over first and as soon as they let him through, he started running. It was hilarious. Here is my 60 year old father running through an arena to try and get me a sweater! So, as I rushed after him, I could hear him saying "Hurry up Jody, I see one, I see one, I SEE ONE!" Needless to say, we made it to the booth before anyone else, got myself a sweater and my dad bought a hat that he wore proudly all night!!

He loved Pearl Jam, but loves his ear drums more so he probably won't be coming back to another show! He said the highlight for him was watching me go nuts over each and every song!

And unrelated to Pearl Jam, he was absolutely blown away by Jim James' voice - MMJ opened that night!

Your dad rocks