Happy 13th Birthday to the best PJ show EVER!

on2legs

My first Pearl Jam show and what a way to start!

Happy Birthday old friend!

09/29/96 – Downing Stadium (Randall’s Island): New York, NY [168m]
attendance: 30,000
support act: Ben Harper, The Fastbacks
set: Sometimes, Go, Spin the Black Circle, Hail Hail, Animal, Tremor Christ, Who You Are, Corduroy, Lukin, Better Man, Not for You, Jeremy (new), Once, Rats, Last Exit, Habit, Rearviewmirror, Immortality, Whipping, I Got Shit, Black, Alive, Porch
enc 1: In My Tree, Even Flow, Daughter/(The Real Me)/(ABitW)/(WMA), Mankind, Long Road, Leaving Here
enc 2: Off He Goes, Present Tense, Yellow Ledbetter
notes: A nearly three-hour show with a raging pit. The band stops playing several times in an effort to get the crowd to settle down. During ‘Porch,’ Ed duct-tapes his *entire* body and jumps into the pit. (Thought we’d never see that again!) Just before the first encore, someone throws an “Eddie Vedder for President” t-shirt up on stage. Ed looks at it and says, “Well I’ll tell you the truth … I smoke pot! I didn’t exhale though!” Stone asks for a chant of “Stone, Stone, Stone!” before singing ‘Mankind.’ During the encore, Mike starts playing ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ after ‘Leaving Here,’ Ed stops him and they go into ‘Off He Goes’ followed by ‘Present Tense!’ Incredible setlist.

josevolution

Yeah no doubt that was the best two show weekend of them all, those pits were the best ever the rain the night before nothing will top those shows as far as intensity is concerned .

DarthSpacegrass

on2legs wrote:

My first Pearl Jam show and what a way to start!

Happy Birthday old friend!

09/29/96 – Downing Stadium (Randall’s Island): New York, NY [168m]
attendance: 30,000
support act: Ben Harper, The Fastbacks
set: Sometimes, Go, Spin the Black Circle, Hail Hail, Animal, Tremor Christ, Who You Are, Corduroy, Lukin, Better Man, Not for You, Jeremy (new), Once, Rats, Last Exit, Habit, Rearviewmirror, Immortality, Whipping, I Got Shit, Black, Alive, Porch
enc 1: In My Tree, Even Flow, Daughter/(The Real Me)/(ABitW)/(WMA), Mankind, Long Road, Leaving Here
enc 2: Off He Goes, Present Tense, Yellow Ledbetter
notes: A nearly three-hour show with a raging pit. The band stops playing several times in an effort to get the crowd to settle down. During ‘Porch,’ Ed duct-tapes his *entire* body and jumps into the pit. (Thought we’d never see that again!) Just before the first encore, someone throws an “Eddie Vedder for President” t-shirt up on stage. Ed looks at it and says, “Well I’ll tell you the truth … I smoke pot! I didn’t exhale though!” Stone asks for a chant of “Stone, Stone, Stone!” before singing ‘Mankind.’ During the encore, Mike starts playing ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ after ‘Leaving Here,’ Ed stops him and they go into ‘Off He Goes’ followed by ‘Present Tense!’ Incredible setlist.

Thanks for the thread. This was a week that fixed me. Went through a lot of changes that week. Moved. Shaved my head. I was in a bad spot and my usual outlets (Dead shows & Tuesdays @ Wetlands)were no more. On the 20th my friend Dave showed up at my new apartment and says, I just got two tix to PJ @ Maple Leaf Gardens and need someone to go with me but we have to leave now and oh yeah, I have tix to two more shows when we get back. Three shows, 8 days, God knows how many miles.. John Popper night one. Just trying not to get trampled in Toronto on the floor. Hung back on night 2 at this show above and pretty much let the last week sink in.

Good call on2legs.

YetAnotherFiasco

This was my first show as well. I was 17 years old and thought I've seen them 21 times since, it is by far still the best. Best in terms of energy, set list, Eddie being Eddie and also, getting to see Jack Irons play with them. I have the entire Porch "You are Somebody" written out and I read it often.

Thanks for bringing this anniversary to my attention. It's starting my day out right and I'm going to listen to the that show all morning. Thanks again.

davidtrios

I wish I could have seen them during the No Code tour (I was only 12) but I think many people had trouble finding tix

Black Diamond

Mazel Tov on reaching your Bar Mitzvah age. You're a man now.

Beachman44

My 1st show. And WOW!!!
I wish they would play that Alt version of Jeremy again.

davidtrios

Black Diamond wrote:

Mazel Tov on reaching your Bar Mitzvah age. You're a man now.

It's 13 for Boys (Bar Mitzvah)
12 for girls (Bat Mitzvah)

either way, LA HEIM!

mach271

I have to post in this one, due to the fact that i was at this show.....the ground was muddy from the downpuring rains of the nite before, the stadium was old and creepy, the venue was in NYC but felt like it was in the middle of nowhere.....PERFECT PJ GROUNDS!!!

GREATEST SHOW EVER!

No assigned seating.....people were still "moshing" to PJ back in those dyas,,,,,,i was small, but made my way thru the rowdy crowd, and was 4th row dead center.....AMAZING!

First thing Vedder said was how dissapointed in themselves from their performance the nite before, and that they were going to play the songs the best they ever have.....Had the crowd pumped right there

EDIT: I dont know if many know this but it is 100% true.....

Me, my cousin and my father got there early tht day and were hanging around. There was this clown going up to people, fucking with them, trying to get peoples attention. EVERYBODY was breaking this clowns balls....throwing shit at him, just abusing him

2 years later i read somewhere (might have been the spin edition with PJ on the cover) how Eddie Vedder does whacky type shit, and one of them was that hours before that show Eddie Vedder dressed as a clown and was in the crowd

Poncier

Man did traffic getting off that island suck.

MAS

My 2nd PJ show, and an absolute amazing one...I am still torn on which was better, that one or 9/11/98, MSG.....
Either way one for the ages....

Gardenparty

My first show. My birthday.

it's amazing how many peoples first show this was.

amazing night to say the least. There was just something in the air that night (other than reefer)

on2legs

I hope someday we get an official copy of this show from the vault.

mach271

on2legs wrote:

I hope someday we get an official copy of this show from the vault.

odd that we havent already

T-Bone 82

I was not at this show, but when I was 16 or so (1998) I saw this bootleg called "The Longest Day" in a local record store. I couldn't believe how many songs were on it! It was 3 discs. Actually, the third disc also included a soundcheck for their Barcelona show during that year's European tour. And that soundcheck actually had an instrumental version of "Parting Ways" on it.

Anyway, it was $50 but I had a $25 gift card so I went ahead and bought it. It was incredible! For an unofficial, crowd-recorded bootleg it actually had very good sound. A great purchase, I must say.

(And another quick note - although I love the official boots b/c of the quality, I really do miss the days of buying actual bootlegs. You would find these crazy compilations and concert in some local store or back-alley shop. I remember going to the Ocean City boardwalk and the Surf Mall and another store or two would have these shady back rooms where they'd sell all kinds of bootlegs along with posters, concert bills, and drug paraphanelia. You paid too much and you never knew what you were actually getting. Sometimes you got burned but sometimes you scored like with this concert bootleg. There was a romantic element to it.)

I think that stood for a while as the record for the most songs they have every played in a night. I think I still have the 3 CD's in my car. I haven't listened to them in forever, so I think I'll pop it in on the ride home from work today.

on2legs

Best concert ever.

kane316

Hand's down this is the absolute best PJ show ever. It was my second show. The first night, and my first PJ show, I got there really early and my friend and I were up front for the whole show. We had a tape recorder, I have both nights on cassette tape and I still listen to them, and during the first encore someone came and took the recorder from us, a few minutes later they gave it back. The best part is, they never stopped recording.
The second night, my first night with Fan Club tickets, we stayed back by the sound board and it was just amazing. I've been to other shows but this one will always stand out as the best.

Get_Right

my first show
with backstage passes

up front in that mass

first present tense

best pj show ever IMHO

DarthSpacegrass

MAS wrote:

My 2nd PJ show, and an absolute amazing one...I am still torn on which was better, that one or 9/11/98, MSG.....
Either way one for the ages....

Just going setlist for setlist and crowd enthusiasm - I would have to say 9/11/98 MSG owns this show.

If you recall there were only a smattering of the "Breath" signs on 9/10/98 and the next night it was as if the entire Garden had them. "Well fuck you, we're gonna play it" - I am totally MSG biased. Only arena on earth where the whole place bounces from floor to ceiling.

Out of the few shows I have been to, Toronto/Downing Stadium run 96 is second only to the continental/MSG run in 98 - McGwire breaking the record during the show @ Continental & MSG just being MSG - always legendary.

If you have never been to a MSG show - you must get to one.

mach271

DarthSpacegrass wrote:

MAS wrote:

My 2nd PJ show, and an absolute amazing one...I am still torn on which was better, that one or 9/11/98, MSG.....
Either way one for the ages....

Just going setlist for setlist and crowd enthusiasm - I would have to say 9/11/98 MSG owns this show.

If you recall there were only a smattering of the "Breath" signs on 9/10/98 and the next night it was as if the entire Garden had them. "Well fuck you, we're gonna play it" - I am totally MSG biased. Only arena on earth where the whole place bounces from floor to ceiling.

Out of the few shows I have been to, Toronto/Downing Stadium run 96 is second only to the continental/MSG run in 98 - McGwire breaking the record during the show @ Continental & MSG just being MSG - always legendary.

If you have never been to a MSG show - you must get to one.

really? the msg show was that good?

MAS

really? the msg show was that good?[/quote]

Never heard the band that tight since then, honestly...
the place was an absolute zoo....they closed with Alive, and Ed threw the mic around the lighting rig, climbed up the cord and hung there for the end of the song.....

YetAnotherFiasco

I was at Randall's Island 96 and the Sep. 11, 1998 show. Very hard to compare. Both great energy. Completely different locations and set up.

Eddie climbing his mic chord up the lighting rig was amazing. Seeing Ben Harper sing Indifference together for what may have been the first time was amazing. Getting a Breath Sign, which I still have and holding it up after the 1st encore was amazing.

But in the end, after all is said and done you never forget your first. And it was messy and fumbly and awkward...but it was the best show I've ever seen in my life.

on2legs

DarthSpacegrass wrote:

MAS wrote:

My 2nd PJ show, and an absolute amazing one...I am still torn on which was better, that one or 9/11/98, MSG.....
Either way one for the ages....

Just going setlist for setlist and crowd enthusiasm - I would have to say 9/11/98 MSG owns this show.

If you recall there were only a smattering of the "Breath" signs on 9/10/98 and the next night it was as if the entire Garden had them. "Well fuck you, we're gonna play it" - I am totally MSG biased. Only arena on earth where the whole place bounces from floor to ceiling.

Out of the few shows I have been to, Toronto/Downing Stadium run 96 is second only to the continental/MSG run in 98 - McGwire breaking the record during the show @ Continental & MSG just being MSG - always legendary.

If you have never been to a MSG show - you must get to one.

I was at both and 9/11/98 was phenomenal, but Randall's Island had unbelievable energy that night. If an outdoor venue could have bounced - it would have been Downing Stadium that night.