Pearl Jam v Dave Matthews Band

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  • mca47
    mca47 Posts: 13,342
    63schoefflin wrote:
    Early Dave is phenomenal but they fell off real hard in the '00s for me. That being said, I thought this one was one of their top 3 and best in well over a decade.

    And love 'em or hate /em....Carter is one of the best drummers ever. Familiarize yourself with him if you haven't yet. That guy can kill it.
    I agree. Cater is amazing!
    I think DMBs downfall was and is the constant touring. I really wish they'd take a step back, let the creative juices flow and put out another great album.
  • jonsey30
    jonsey30 Rochester Hills, MI Posts: 1,005
    october22 wrote:
    jonsey30 wrote:
    No comparison, they are not in the same class. DMB is for chicks, and they suck ass.

    Hahahaaa

    Who sucks ass? Chicks or DMB?

    Def. DMB. I love chicks
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  • inhiding 1976
    inhiding 1976 NWI Posts: 580
    Not a bad question.... My wife likes Dave and I love PJ. So we both go to a lot of shows. but to answer your question the best I can I would say that lyrically Backspacer is better, I would also lean towards musically also..................but I do understand Dave can be a "jam band" at times and they are a very solid band musically, very tight and that's why I like DMB. I would like to see PJ do longer instrumentals maybe in the future, I would also like for the Daughter tags to go back to 2000 and 2003 when it was trippy. This Hey HO stuff has to go. Just my opinion.

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  • cmm6734
    cmm6734 Houston, TX Posts: 569
    I enjoyed both albums when they came out, but IMO, Big Whiskey is a much better album than Backspacer. As said above, Backspacer has not stood the test of time for me, but I still listen to Big Whiskey. It is a great album, and one of DMB's best.
    40+ shows, it is never enough!
  • rearviewross
    rearviewross Posts: 3,055
    I just lost interest when they added electric guitar and a horn section, in addition to Leroy or since Leroy. Tim Reynolds is amazing but I just don't like the direction they took. I love watching Tim and Dave acoustic though. So Backspacer by a mile.
    Forced to endure, what I cannot forgive.
  • mookieb10
    mookieb10 Posts: 930
    rearviewross wrote:
    I just lost interest when they added electric guitar and a horn section, in addition to Leroy or since Leroy. Tim Reynolds is amazing but I just don't like the direction they took. I love watching Tim and Dave acoustic though. So Backspacer by a mile.

    Thoughful post, but I'm diametrically opposed. Ha. I dislike tims impact on the band, love the wind instruments, find d&t to be awkward and like big whiskey better.
  • buck502000
    buck502000 Birthplace of GIBSON guitar Posts: 8,951
    DMB, not my cup of tea.....
  • mattcoz
    mattcoz Chicago Posts: 2,243
    I love Tim's influence on the band. I've seen them quite a few times and the one time with Tim was by far the best show.
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  • Mamasan23
    Mamasan23 Posts: 16,390
    cmm6734 wrote:
    I enjoyed both albums when they came out, but IMO, Big Whiskey is a much better album than Backspacer. As said above, Backspacer has not stood the test of time for me, but I still listen to Big Whiskey. It is a great album, and one of DMB's best.
    Totally agree. Big Whiskey was an incredible record. Sometimes I think people hate on DMB just because its cool to hate on them.
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  • facepollution
    facepollution Posts: 6,834
    october22 wrote:
    Can't stand DMB. Can't stand his fans either. They were my high school's most annoying, preppy, Abercrombie and Fitch pre-distressed hat-wearing jerk-offs and I'll never forgive DMB for giving them something else to bond over besides tennis and golf.

    See I find this funny because over here in the UK DMB have a pretty small following, and the preppy (a relatively new concept here) kids wouldn't be seen dead listening to an ageing jam band!

    I'd only really consider myself a casual fan, and in all honesty there are only a few songs that I really love. For me, songs like Don't Drink The Water and Bartender pack a serious punch, and could definitely rival some of Pearl Jam's most powerful moments.

    I posted this link in another thread but I think it's worth repeating here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOyRzoAG694 forward to the 8:40 mark when Dave really starts going for it, the vocals are pretty amazing.
  • Thirty Bills Unpaid
    Thirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    I'm a big fan of both. The one demographic that has bought into DMB (college frat guys) can grate on a guy, but I don't let them get in the way of some great music the band offers us.

    I anticipated both new albums that are being compared on this thread. Backspacer is far from the quality that Big Whiskey is. Let's get serious about this. Initially, my enthusiasm blinded my better judgement and I thought Backspacer was good. It quickly wore off though and if a song from that album pops up on my iPod... I quickly skip to the next random tune. When they play one of these songs in concert... I have to feign enthusiasm: but it is hard... really hard.

    The band is content with their current lifestyles- which they certainly deserve. The problem with this though- from my perspective- is they have lost much of the inspiration for their writing. It's no longer about homelessness... it's now about surfing and "love gone good."

    I'm of the opinion that if PJ's next album is along the same lines as Backspacer then they should stop writing and just tour playing from the existing catalogue pre-Backspacer. It's painful to watch such a great band in decline. Their 'teaser' (Ole) has me really worried.
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  • Citizen Zack
    Citizen Zack Posts: 1,763
    Simple answer - If I were to make my dream PJ set list, there wouldn't be a single Backspacer song on it. Same situation for DMB, there would be a few Big Whiskey songs on it.

    Agree with others who've said these two bands are really comparable. But the original question is interesting - two albums released around the same time from big name bands - which one holds up better? Big Whiskey by a country mile, and I'm only a casual DMB fan.

    Backspacer is the most polarizing PJ record for me. There is no middle ground. I really like a few songs, and really dislike the others. For a rock and roll album by one of the biggest rock bands of the last 20 years, where is the guitar on this record?

    Big Whiskey has some solid tunes. DMB is a fun live band and they are all incredibly talented musicians. Songs from this record translate well live. Most Backspacer tunes don't for me.

    And for those continuing the same boring, rehashed, stereotyped, childish (and ironically, elitist and douchey) assessment of all DMB fans being frat boys - you're absolutely kidding yourself if you don't think these people are all over the place at PJ shows too. They don't speak for every fan.
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  • BF89905
    BF89905 Posts: 1,449
    Citizen Zack wrote:
    Simple answer - If I were to make my dream PJ set list, there wouldn't be a single Backspacer song on it. Same situation for DMB, there would be a few Big Whiskey songs on it.

    Agree with others who've said these two bands are really comparable. But the original question is interesting - two albums released around the same time from big name bands - which one holds up better? Big Whiskey by a country mile, and I'm only a casual DMB fan.

    Backspacer is the most polarizing PJ record for me. There is no middle ground. I really like a few songs, and really dislike the others. For a rock and roll album by one of the biggest rock bands of the last 20 years, where is the guitar on this record?

    Big Whiskey has some solid tunes. DMB is a fun live band and they are all incredibly talented musicians. Songs from this record translate well live. Most Backspacer tunes don't for me.

    And for those continuing the same boring, rehashed, stereotyped, childish (and ironically, elitist and douchey) assessment of all DMB fans being frat boys - you're absolutely kidding yourself if you don't think these people are all over the place at PJ shows too. They don't speak for every fan.


    I completely agree with the ideas that you mentioned above - well said. I'm listening to Big Whiskey now - a very good studio album in my opinion. I saw them at Citifield night 2 with floor seats and at two of the Caravan weekends in 2011.... they're a great live band. With that being said, I'll still choose PJ or DMB if their concerts overlapped. I also prefer how Eddie engages the crowd more during PJ shows. Enjoy
  • mrussel1
    mrussel1 Posts: 30,965
    My opinion is that Goo Grux is superior to Backspacer and one of.Daves best. However Away from the World is not all that great. It hasnt been very good live either. I saw both shows in Cville in December and thought those songs were the.low point. His VA swing on this leg is later this month so we will see if they have figured out the right groove for the songs.

    That said,both bands are phenomenal live and I have collected 70 plus shows from each group. I think Ed is far better at reading a crowd and writing a set list that creates waves of emotion during the show. Dave seems to go off in his own world sometimes and will play 3-4 slow songs in a row rather than mixing them in. Sometimes an 18 minute version of So Right is just not right.

    We are lucky to have both though. PJ is the culmination of everything that was right about 70s rock and Dave is heir to the Deads ability to make you dance.
  • PH20
    PH20 Posts: 466
    I was very disappointed by both albums.

    IMO...Dave has put out a much better one since. I hope PJ does the same.
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  • PH20
    PH20 Posts: 466
    mrussel1 wrote:
    My opinion is that Goo Grux is superior to Backspacer and one of.Daves best. However Away from the World is not all that great. It hasnt been very good live either. I saw both shows in Cville in December and thought those songs were the.low point. His VA swing on this leg is later this month so we will see if they have figured out the right groove for the songs.

    That said,both bands are phenomenal live and I have collected 70 plus shows from each group. I think Ed is far better at reading a crowd and writing a set list that creates waves of emotion during the show. Dave seems to go off in his own world sometimes and will play 3-4 slow songs in a row rather than mixing them in. Sometimes an 18 minute version of So Right is just not right.

    We are lucky to have both though. PJ is the culmination of everything that was right about 70s rock and Dave is heir to the Deads ability to make you dance.

    Funny the way it is (pun intended) that I posted the exact opposite as you (regarding Dave's last two albums) at almost the same time.

    Oh well...what fun would it be if we all agreed.
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  • mrussel1
    mrussel1 Posts: 30,965
    I thought Everyday and Stand Up were a bit too mellow. I really liked the.groove and tempo of Goo Grux. At least we can agree that he puts on a great show. Always enjoy the Lillywhite/Busted Stuff
  • The Fixer
    The Fixer Posts: 12,837
    You going to see Dave?

    That questions sums up the terribleness that is DMB and their fans

    To compare PJ to them is an insult to music in general
  • mrussel1
    mrussel1 Posts: 30,965
    The Fixer wrote:
    You going to see Dave?

    That questions sums up the terribleness that is DMB and their fans

    To compare PJ to them is an insult to music in general


    That is an incredibly obtuse thing to say.

    It took 5 years for DMB to get really big. It took the.douchebags a while to catch on. It took the PJ douches about a minute to take over when Ten came. Those people come and thankfully go , but dont disparage a great band. Or me.
  • The Fixer
    The Fixer Posts: 12,837
    mrussel1 wrote:
    The Fixer wrote:
    You going to see Dave?

    That questions sums up the terribleness that is DMB and their fans

    To compare PJ to them is an insult to music in general


    That is an incredibly obtuse thing to say.

    It took 5 years for DMB to get really big. It took the.douchebags a while to catch on. It took the PJ douches about a minute to take over when Ten came. Those people come and thankfully go , but dont disparage a great band. Or me.

    Ants Marching. Enough said

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