What is the actual verdict on PJ crowds.....
Brisk.
Posts: 11,567
I read all these review threads and majority of people say the crowds were shit. People were 'sitting down' and not 'rockin out enough'. But im not here to make a debate how one has a good time at at a PJ show. There are some posts saying 'yeah my section was really intense, everyone singing etc'.
Just get the feeling if in the USA its hit and miss in sections or maybe people who are sitting down are having a ball of a time too...meh :roll:
Just get the feeling if in the USA its hit and miss in sections or maybe people who are sitting down are having a ball of a time too...meh :roll:
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
I admit it, last night I sat down for the second half of the concert. It was not because I was bored, it was because I was sick. I was dancing on the inside.
Philly 2-4 '09
Newark '10
MSG 1+2 '10
E.V. Beacon 1+2 '11
Made in America Festival '12
Worcester 1+2 '13
Brooklyn 1+2 '13
Global Citizens Festival '15
MSG 1+2 '16
Fenway Park 1+2 '16
Ohana '17
Home Shows 1+2 '18
Ohana '18
Ohana '19
Sea Hear Now '21
Ohana '21
LA 1+2 '22
Austin 1+2 '23
Ohana '23
Vegas 1+2 '24
LA 1+2 '24
MSG 1+2 '24
Ohana '24
the past 2 nights, everyone had a good time and that's really all that matters.
Whether or not you sit down or stand up makes no difference to me. As long as
people don't get in my shit, I'm fine and in all my shows that has never happened.
agreed. To each their own man ;-)
I was in section 201 Friday night, row 15. I'd say half the people around me did not enjoy what was going on. But we all know that's because there are two kinds of PJ fans. Those people had a blast when Jeremy was played and they apparently waited all night for it.
Looking down on the floor and around the arena you could tell a lot of people had no idea what songs they were playing or what was going on, and they were sitting. 3 girls very near me were sitting, I can't imagine it wasn't happening all across the arena. That Friday Philly crowd (if that was good according to Eddie I would've hated to see Tues or Wed) had nothing on LA (something I didn't expect at all).
I thoroughly enjoyed the show and rocked out throughout so the crowd was not a reflection of my enjoyment level, I'm just stating what I saw.
Two guys to our right were actually mad that people were moving and dancing. The row was shifting a little bit from people moving and they were pretty upset that we had moved half a seat down. They were also very still most of the night and asked us to go back to where our seats were... 1/2 a seat to 1 seat away. We couldn't go anywhere and I was packed like a sardine because they refused to go with the flow. Ridiculous people.
How is it that I can attend the same show and not see that?
I was in 215 Friday night and it looked to me as if the entire crowd was having a good time.
I think some people just like to complain because other people aren't doing what "YOU" think they should be doing.
Because we're obviously looking at these people at different times during the show. I wouldn't make blanket statements like, "the entire crowd was having a good time". During Crazy Mary there were pockets of people sitting on the floor, and all around us.
I don't recall mentioning anything about what I thought they should be doing. Someone asked for an opinion on the crowd and what they WERE doing around me. That's MY perspective. Sitting people can enjoy music, but around me they weren't and I would IMAGINE that many others weren't as well.
A lot of people have mentioned the same thing, whereas those statements were hardly uttered in LA.
I was there Tuesday (214a) and Saturday (105) – both amazing shows. I have zero complaints. Yes, there were people sitting down. Yes, there were people on their cell phones. Yes, were people who only knew songs such as “Alive,” “Jeremy,” and “Even Flow” – but does that make them any less of a fan? I think not.
Saturday was a great show, not only did they play 3.5 hours, BUT I felt the crowd was great (can’t compare it to Friday, because I was not there). Section 105 was rocking out. There were only a handful of people who were occasionally sitting in the section, but likely because of fatigue.
However, I think the problem was that there were seats on the floor = limited room to move around. If they would have opened up the first half of the floor to standing only, and filled it with 10c members, no one would be complaining. I’ve read a lot of posts that 10c members were scattered all over the place, so unfortunately that means you may have been stuck around people who only knew a few songs, therefore, not into the show as much as others.
But, overall, lets be honest if you are a Pearl Jam fan, this was a fantastic show. Who cares what others were doing, Saturday was an amazing night – it might now have been the “Greatest Show Pearl Jam Ever Played” (I’d imagine that would be a show in the 90s), but it certainly should rank up among the best.
Hammer...nail...head....exactly!
All that being said though, as far as the shows I have been too, Hatford '08 & MSG '03 were the tops with last nights show very close behind. I am sure there were TONS of other super pumped crowds though over the years.
Just one more crazy thought (because it won't happen), IF they were to EVER close out MSG the place would implode from pure human energy......just saying.
'03 MSG1
'03 MSG2
'06 East Rutherford, NJ.
'08 MSG2
'08 Hartford
'09 Chicago
'09 Philly 3
'09 Philly 4
For example, it feels strange not to close up Black with another 4 minutes of do-do-dos after the band stops playing. It feels strange to be able to look around and actually count how many others are pogoing around. It feels strange to be on the aisle and have the security guy come around saying I'm crossing over the line a bit too much when I bop about.
The floor 100% certainly lacks the power of a GA floor, but on the flip side I have been quite impressed looking around in the stands, where there does seem to be a high level of activity compared to the stands in Europe.
Of the North American ones I've seen this year, the last 4 (and Vancouver) were definitely better than anything in the seated Australian shows.
Of course. It's like this every tour.
"I was Rockin' out maaaaaan. No one else was Rockin' out like I was maaaaaan"
Give it a rest already. Stop worrying about what other people are or are not doing and do your own thing. I couldn't care less if people were standing on their heads and spinning circles. I had a good time and, to me at least, it appeared as if everyone was having a good time.
Yeah i cant remember what the crowds were like at the US shows i did last year. Think they were vocal at the very least anyhow.
Apparently.
If they didn't there wouldn't be so many topics about it every time the band tours.
Sammi: Wanna just break up?
who gives a shit!
I was in 215 as well on Friday night-- the whole section was shaking so much it was hard for me to get a steady shot with my camera!
6/24/08 (MSG1)
6/25/08 (MSG2)
7/1/08 (Beacon Theater -NYC)
10/30/09 (Philly3)
5/18/10 (Newark, NJ)
5/20/10 (MSG1)
5/21/10 (MSG2)
10/18/13 (Brooklyn 1)
10/19/13 (Brooklyn 2)
5/1/16 (MSG 1)
5/2/16 (MSG 2)
3/30/20 (MSG)
9/3/24 I(MSG1)
9/4/24 (MSG 2)
What pisses me off is when people sit down behind me and get pissed that I am standing along with 90 percent of the crowd. It also irks me when people sit there and yap away or bitch about songs that they don't want to hear. I was surrounded by a blathering drunken idiots last night. I wasn't really annoyed until the first encore when everyone was yelling around me. They ruined "The End" for me. They should have taken Eddie's advice and used the first encore as a piss break.
You can tell me to quit my bitching, fine. I think I'm entitled to my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and it ranks up there with one of the best Pearl Jam performances I've seen. Just don't flip shit that I didn't say the most wonderful things about the holier-than-thou Philadelphia crowds.
Overall, it was worth a $200 flight to Philadelphia.
I read about this happening to people all the time, yet in all of my shows I
have never had anyone ask me to sit down. I almost look forward to the day they do.
if i recall correctly on halloween ed said something to try to get the crowd more active or loud, then said "we're not even halfway thru" but this is just my recollection. that was at about 10:50 after they came up during encore 1. in between encores there was no chanting for the band at all.... i think they wanted to play much longer. many of the staff were saying that they were told 1:30 at least but maybe as long as 4am. i think the crowd dictated the length.
during performances the crowd was great. in between sets it was very quiet.
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
Some times the crowds arent always great, other times they are amazing... in my opinion
I think Philly 3 and 4 are the best 2 crowds/musical and concert experiences ive ever had and ive seen some good ones
incredible 2 nights and I think those are probably the best 2 pearl jam shows ive ever seen with maybe adding 7-11-03 to that
2000 Tour- Saratoga 8/27 Boston 8/29, 8/30
2003 Tour- Albany 4/29 Boston 7/2,7/3,7/11 Philadelphia 7/5,7/6 MSG 7/8,7/9
2004 Tour- Boston 9/28,9/29
2006 Tour- Albany 5/12 Hartford 5/13 Boston 5/24,5/25
2008 Tour- MSG 6/24,6/25 Hartford 6/27 Boston 6/28,6/30 Eddie- Boston 8/1
2009 Tour- Eddie- Albany 6/9 Philly Spectrum- 10/30, 10/31
2010 Tour- Hartford 5/15 MSG 5/20,5/21
2011 Tour- Eddie- Hartford 6/18
2013 Tour- Worcester,MA 10/15,10/16 Hartford 10/25
2016 Tour- MSG 5/1,5/2 FENWAY 8/5,8/7
2018 Tour- Fenway 9/2, 9/4 (My 40th show)!
or the fact that the band is getting a little on in age.
I don't know how they do with they do to begin with. 3 plus hours? That's amazing all on its own.
well, 10.30 and 10.31 in any case. i think where you are located plays a BIG part. i found the friday crowd took a bit of time to 'warm up'...but man did they deliver! 10.31, start to finish, crowd was AMPED and loving it ALL! and hey, why the fuck not? CRAZY fantastic show!
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
Ed says stuff to rile crowds up as a joke all the time. With all the bootlegs readily available I find it astonishing that people still take him so seriously when he does it. "You guys are awesome tonight - not like those assholes in (INSERT RIVAL CITY HERE) last night." It's actually a pretty funny joke if people got a sense of humor about the shows.
The 10/31 crowd was a mixed bag, from my point of view. Very into things at the start of the show, and then they faded. They came back strong for the hits, but it was a night of ebbs and flows. I think the hardcore 10 Clubbers were trying to pace themselves. Even the ones who never bought into the stupid 4AM stuff realized it would be a long night and were trying to last. I've never heard the encore breaks that quiet. I think there were also a lot of Greatest Hits fans there who went bonkers for Jeremy and Alive and stuff like that, but were really confused by the setlist as a whole.
Then there was the Phillies game. Everyone was PSYCHED when the score favored the home team, but in the encores, when word started spreading that the Phils were down, people were pissed.
As far as 10 Club members go - I was really shocked to see how little response the Bugs experiment got. Granted I was in the back of the arena in the first level, but I didn't hear any kind of reaction to Ed bringing the accordian out, which surprised me.
From my POV the whole show was built up as the end all-be all for so long that it was difficult for any aspect of it to live up to the hype. The band was awesome and the crowd gave them good energy, but there were peaks and valleys. I was in Toronto in August and that was an outstanding crowd, but I think they would have been worn out by a 40 song setlist too.
Springfield, MA 4/6/94 -- Boston, MA 4/11/94 -- Hartford, CT 10/2/96 -- Hartford, CT 9/13/98 -- Mansfield, MA 7/2/03 -- Reading, PA 10/1/04 -- Albany, NY 5/12/06 -- Milwaukee, WI 6/29/06 -- Mansfield, MA 6/30/08 -- Toronto, ON 9/21/09 -- Philadelphia, PA 10/31/09 -- Worcester, MA 10/16/13 -- Hartford, CT 10/25/13 -- New York, NY 9/26/15 -- New York, NY 5/2/16 -- Boston, MA 8/5/16 -- Boston, MA 8/7/16 -- Boston, MA 9/2/18 -- Boston, MA 9/4/18 -- London, UK 7/8/22 -- Hamilton, ON 9/6/22 -- Toronto, ON 9/8/22 -- New York, NY 9/11/22 -- Chicago, IL 9/5/23 -- Chicago, IL 9/7/23 -- New York, NY 9/3/24 -- Philadelphia, PA 9/7/24 -- Philadelphia, PA 9/9/24
I got a quarter thrown at me for standing at a David Bowie show. Seriously, how could someone not stand up and rock out to "Rebel, Rebel" is beyond me.