The Philly Shows. A Positive Perspective
Let me preface this with something.. I don't post here often but after reading some of the posts about philly I am motivated to do so.
Opinion is opinion.. We all have them and their true to the owner (on most occasions). So this isn't directed towards the posts that talk about not liking the shows for personal reasons.. My gripe is with those that take issue with the lack of "guests", show length not going until 2am, the 31st not living up to the "hype" and "sub-par" crowd.
I've been a fan ever since I bought a $10 ticket off of a friend in high school to see them at the Trocadero in April of 1992. I walked in not knowing the band and walked out with goosebumps the size of quarters and making sure I could get to the record store the next day and buy 'Ten'. That night I saw a band that left EVERYTHING on the stage. And I had never seen such emotion, conviction, determination, and heartfelt soul come from a stage before. Skip ahead 17 years and 34 shows later... I witnessed the SAME emotion, conviction, determination, and heartfelt soul coming from the Spectrum stage all 4 nights that I had witnessed on that tiny stage 17 years prior. In fact I saw and felt MORE.
The performance they gave us over the course of 4 nights was awe-inspiring in many, many ways. Personally I have not seen the band perform better- no I'm not speaking in terms of song selection or my reaction to the crowds reaction- I speak in terms of pure musical ambition, dedication, and devotion to their fans and the responsibility they had those nights. Their is not a touring band alive that is as relevant and committed to their fan base and the music industry as this band. I could site site so many examples but that if for another post. If you couldn't feel Ed's commitment to making these shows special you were not in that building.
Pearl Jam fans by nature are a bit elitist (myself included). And here's why; we are fans of a band that has treated us SO WELL over the course of their career that we've come to expect something epic and huge from them around every turn.. How does it go? "Your biggest strength is your biggest weakness".. The band is caught in the middle because of this. They tour with an amount of songs that allows them TO GIVE US something special and unique every show. How much work do you think it takes to learn and re-learn songs from a touring catalog that large? Add to that families and the grind of life as well. They offer unique posters for the art-loving pearl jam fans out there, they offer a fan-club that is HANDS DOWN the best to its fans of all clubs today (and keep in mind most fan clubs are run by a 3rd party), and I can go on and on.
So we get to the closing shows at the Spectrum. A job that if your a long-time fan of the band knows they will take seriously (as Ed referenced numerous times during the 4 nights). We get an energy and enthusiasm from the band that absolutely parallels the height of the occasion. They attempt to offer us an extremely special song selection that takes stabs from their entire existence as a band... They offer us songs that have never been played before... They play with the ferocity of a band that just got signed... They constantly reference the city, the building, and the fact that the FANS ARE THE REASON they were given the job of closing the historic building.. ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC....
These shows were stellar in every sense of the word. I count myself fortunate to be alive in a time when I can experience such a relevant and special group of individuals who literally gives us their all every time we spend a dollar to see them. Thank you Pearl Jam... You did the building and the fans proud. Thank you for the years, the shows, the energy, the dedication, the commitment, the inspiration, the rock, and THANK YOU for ROCKING THE HELL OUT OF THE SPECTRUM for 4 nights that I will never forget.
Opinion is opinion.. We all have them and their true to the owner (on most occasions). So this isn't directed towards the posts that talk about not liking the shows for personal reasons.. My gripe is with those that take issue with the lack of "guests", show length not going until 2am, the 31st not living up to the "hype" and "sub-par" crowd.
I've been a fan ever since I bought a $10 ticket off of a friend in high school to see them at the Trocadero in April of 1992. I walked in not knowing the band and walked out with goosebumps the size of quarters and making sure I could get to the record store the next day and buy 'Ten'. That night I saw a band that left EVERYTHING on the stage. And I had never seen such emotion, conviction, determination, and heartfelt soul come from a stage before. Skip ahead 17 years and 34 shows later... I witnessed the SAME emotion, conviction, determination, and heartfelt soul coming from the Spectrum stage all 4 nights that I had witnessed on that tiny stage 17 years prior. In fact I saw and felt MORE.
The performance they gave us over the course of 4 nights was awe-inspiring in many, many ways. Personally I have not seen the band perform better- no I'm not speaking in terms of song selection or my reaction to the crowds reaction- I speak in terms of pure musical ambition, dedication, and devotion to their fans and the responsibility they had those nights. Their is not a touring band alive that is as relevant and committed to their fan base and the music industry as this band. I could site site so many examples but that if for another post. If you couldn't feel Ed's commitment to making these shows special you were not in that building.
Pearl Jam fans by nature are a bit elitist (myself included). And here's why; we are fans of a band that has treated us SO WELL over the course of their career that we've come to expect something epic and huge from them around every turn.. How does it go? "Your biggest strength is your biggest weakness".. The band is caught in the middle because of this. They tour with an amount of songs that allows them TO GIVE US something special and unique every show. How much work do you think it takes to learn and re-learn songs from a touring catalog that large? Add to that families and the grind of life as well. They offer unique posters for the art-loving pearl jam fans out there, they offer a fan-club that is HANDS DOWN the best to its fans of all clubs today (and keep in mind most fan clubs are run by a 3rd party), and I can go on and on.
So we get to the closing shows at the Spectrum. A job that if your a long-time fan of the band knows they will take seriously (as Ed referenced numerous times during the 4 nights). We get an energy and enthusiasm from the band that absolutely parallels the height of the occasion. They attempt to offer us an extremely special song selection that takes stabs from their entire existence as a band... They offer us songs that have never been played before... They play with the ferocity of a band that just got signed... They constantly reference the city, the building, and the fact that the FANS ARE THE REASON they were given the job of closing the historic building.. ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC....
These shows were stellar in every sense of the word. I count myself fortunate to be alive in a time when I can experience such a relevant and special group of individuals who literally gives us their all every time we spend a dollar to see them. Thank you Pearl Jam... You did the building and the fans proud. Thank you for the years, the shows, the energy, the dedication, the commitment, the inspiration, the rock, and THANK YOU for ROCKING THE HELL OUT OF THE SPECTRUM for 4 nights that I will never forget.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Lock this thread before someone ruins it, and just leave it as a reference.
R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
We are very lucky to be fans of such a great band who is full of integrity and plays with suck emotion
I was glad there were no special guest, I have to believe
03: 7-11 Mansfield 3
04: 9-28 Boston 1
08: 6-28 Mansfield 1
09: 10-30 Philly 3, 10-31 Philly 4
10: 5-15 Hartford, 5-17 Boston
11: 9-3 Alpine Valley, 9-4 Alpine Valley
13: 10-15 Worcester 1, 10-16 Worcester 2, 10-25 Hartford
16: 4-29 Philly 2, 5-1 MSG 1, 8-5 Fenway 1, 8-7 Fenway 2
18: 9-2 Fenway 1, 9-4 Fenway 2
21: 9-26 Ohana
22: 5-6 LA, 5-7 LA, 5-16 Fresno
EV SOLO: 8-2-08 Boston 2, 6-8-09 Albany 1, 6-15-11 Providence, 6-16-11 Boston, 6-18-11 Hartford, 11-1-12 Las Vegas
Tres Mts: 3-27-11 Boston
You'll find a few people (I think myself included) that thinks that Philly III was even more special and incredible but thats just an argument between amazing and more amazing.
I could not agree more !! I am not a frequent poster on the boards either but have been a member of the best fan club since 1994 and have followed the band relentlessly for all of those years !!
The entire band worked tirelessly preparing for these shows and giving us performances of a lifetime. They did not hold anything back on any night and gave us it all !!
I was so grateful to be in that historic building for all four shows and even more grateful that I got to be part of history with the greatest band ever !!!
Thank you Pearl Jam and Thank you Ten Club !!!
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is the best."
~ FZ ~
BOS-9/28/04,9/29/04,6/28/08,6/30/08, 9/5/16, 9/7/16, 9/2/18
MTL-9/15/05, OTT-9/16/05
PHL-5/27/06,5/28/06,10/30/09,10/31/09
CHI-8/2/07,8/5/07,8/23/09,8/24/09
HTFD-6/27/08
ATX-10/4/09, 10/12/14
KC-5/3/2010,STL-5/4/2010
Bridge School-10/23/2010,10/24/2010
PJ20-9/3/2011,9/4/2011
OKC-11/16/13
SEA-12/6/13
TUL-10/8/14
... been there only Friday night, hands down the best Pearl Jam concert I've seen
I think some people were complaining about the crowd (I think was awesome) and not the band. They gave everything, I am SO thankful, I wish to tell this in person to at least one of them, some day :oops:
...is it so wrong to think that love can keep us safe?
They played Out Of My Mind and Bugs! What's there to complain about?
"My relationship with the band began as a love affair on the phone with Jeff." -Eddie Vedder, Rolling Stone, 10/28/93
It was just something I thought needed to be said..
Peace.
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
- 8/28/98
- 9/2/00
- 4/28/03, 5/3/03, 7/3/03, 7/5/03, 7/6/03, 7/9/03, 7/11/03, 7/12/03, 7/14/03
- 9/28/04, 9/29/04, 10/1/04, 10/2/04
- 9/11/05, 9/12/05, 9/13/05, 9/30/05, 10/1/05, 10/3/05
- 5/12/06, 5/13/06, 5/27/06, 5/28/06, 5/30/06, 6/1/06, 6/3/06, 6/23/06, 7/22/06, 7/23/06, 12/2/06, 12/9/06
- 8/2/07, 8/5/07
- 6/19/08, 6/20/08, 6/22/08, 6/24/08, 6/25/08, 6/27/08, 6/28/08, 6/30/08, 7/1/08
- 8/23/09, 8/24/09, 9/21/09, 9/22/09, 10/27/09, 10/28/09, 10/30/09, 10/31/09
- 5/15/10, 5/17/10, 5/18/10, 5/20/10, 5/21/10, 10/23/10, 10/24/10
- 9/11/11, 9/12/11
- 10/18/13, 10/21/13, 10/22/13, 11/30/13, 12/4/13
Montreal '98
Toronto '00
Buffalo Toronto '03
Kitchener London Hamilton Toronto '05
Late Show NYC Toronto x2 Cleveland Pittsburgh Mountain View '06
Hartford Mansfield '08
Toronto Philadelphia x3 '09
Cleveland Buffalo Mountain View x2 '10
East Troy x2 Toronto x2 Ottawa Hamilton '11
London Buffalo '13
I guess some people just had very unrealistic expectations, but I had lofty ones and they were exceeded. I don't know which night was better. I don't know if 2003 was better. All I know is that they were all phenomenal and unique. The band gave us their best, we gave them our best as a crowd, and I saw 18,000+ people having a great, great time. I guess there were a handful that felt otherwise...oh well - f*#k 'em.