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improvs 08

corduroidcorduroid Posts: 293
edited April 2008 in The Porch
One of the biggest ironies to me is the lack of "jam" in Pearl Jam. Let's be honest, most of their shows absolutely deliver the goods in terms of pacing, integrity, and emotional intensity, and they are one of the great rock bands working out there today, but musical creativity? The boots are largely well-played PJ juke boxes, more or less exact recreations of studio work. They seem to be more about singalongs than anything else nowadays.

Go ahead and jump on me, I'm not dissing Mike or the band at all. They're phenomenal at what they do and by far one of my favorite groups. But I'm not talking about improvisation as one guy going off in predictable places here and there, or the occasional "tag" of something we've all heard before attached to something else we've all heard before.

This band is often misplaced in comparison to the Dead, but honestly PJ doesn't even belong being catagorized in the same genre to me. There is little musical adventure to a PJ show right now other than guessing which song you'll hear next, and the instant you recognize it you know what you're going to get.

I'm hoping they take that back catalog and really start to stretch this time out, really make the live shows more memorable by reaching to new musical levels. Take more chances, guys! Sadly, it often seems instead that what they're striving for is lowest-common denominator acceptance of their established "product."

I'm hoping instead that this is going to be *the* amazing tour! Can't wait to be there. ;)
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  • NewJPageNewJPage Posts: 3,310
    corduroid wrote:
    One of the biggest ironies to me is the lack of "jam" in Pearl Jam. Let's be honest, most of their shows absolutely deliver the goods in terms of pacing, integrity, and emotional intensity, and they are one of the great rock bands working out there today, but musical creativity? The boots are largely well-played PJ juke boxes, more or less exact recreations of studio work. They seem to be more about singalongs than anything else nowadays.

    Go ahead and jump on me, I'm not dissing Mike or the band at all. They're phenomenal at what they do and by far one of my favorite groups. But I'm not talking about improvisation as one guy going off in predictable places here and there, or the occasional "tag" of something we've all heard before attached to something else we've all heard before.

    This band is often misplaced in comparison to the Dead, but honestly PJ doesn't even belong being catagorized in the same genre to me. There is little musical adventure to a PJ show right now other than guessing which song you'll hear next, and the instant you recognize it you know what you're going to get.

    I'm hoping they take that back catalog and really start to stretch this time out, really make the live shows more memorable by reaching to new musical levels. Take more chances, guys! Sadly, it often seems instead that what they're striving for is lowest-common denominator acceptance of their established "product."

    I'm hoping instead that this is going to be *the* amazing tour! Can't wait to be there. ;)

    people compare them to the dead b/c of the setlist changes and the fanbase. no one compares them musically.

    as for your point, i would agree that more jamming would be nice. in the early days we did get quite a bit, but not nearly as much recently. Down, as an example, could be totally jammed on. i always thought that outro was begging for a reggae-styled vamp...
    6/26/98, 8/17/00, 10/8/00, 12/8/02, 12/9/02, 4/25/03, 5/28/03, 6/1/03, 6/3/03, 6/5/03, 6/6/03, 6/12/03, 6/13/03, 6/15/03, 6/18/03, 6/21/03, 6/22/03, 7/12/03, 7/14/03, 10/3/04, 10/5/04, 9/9/05, 9/11/05, 9/16/05, 5/16/06, 5/17/06, 5/19/06, 6/30/06, 7/23/06, 8/5/07, 6/30/08, 8/23/09, 8/24/09, 5/4/10, 5/7/10, 9/3/11, 9/4/11, 10/11/13, 10/17/14, 8/20/16
  • nowayimfaithfullnowayimfaithfull Posts: 2,051
    I would love for some longer jams
    Some people have religion I have Pearl Jam.


    no more shows
  • Stones_FaultStones_Fault Posts: 40
    everyone wants wants wants, me personally i'm just thankful i got to see them in concert 19 times and i'm truely thankful that they are still alive and kicking, this is what i want... for them to keep touring and making albums until they have no more skin on their fingers =)
    A compliment for us is a compliment for you ...

    - Philly the Heart of Pearl Jam -
  • Spot In The SkySpot In The Sky Posts: 1,175
    ive never even witnessed an improv- id love to.
    "The world is dangerous, feel safe here tonight..." EV 9/17/06

    38+6 shows at the age of 27 and counting...but still no Undone

    My podcast: Hotel Manager Talk- Dedicated to Hotel Employees, tell your friends. http://www.HotelManagerTalk.com
  • Gremmie95Gremmie95 Posts: 749
    I would rather hear 25-30 songs than 20 songs that are 10 minutes each. I like the jams and tags on RVM, Daughter, Wishlist, Not4U, Porch, Crazy Mary, etc......
  • drlovemonkeydrlovemonkey Posts: 394
    Gremmie95 wrote:
    I would rather hear 25-30 songs than 20 songs that are 10 minutes each. I like the jams and tags on RVM, Daughter, Wishlist, Not4U, Porch, Crazy Mary, etc......

    Couldn't agree more.
  • ringoringo Posts: 504
    I'd be happy if they just lip synched to the albums.
    d'oh
  • Blind3Blind3 Posts: 1,149
    Definitely agree Gremmie95. Add Even Flow and Alive and you have a more than representative sampling as to why ; with eternal and undying respects to Grandma, or Aunt, or Great Aunt ( or depends on the day and show what relation she was/is) Pearl and her magical ,mystical Jam; the word Jam is aptly chosen.
    "Buy the ticket,take the ride"
    Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

    "If I wanted you to understand, I would have explained it better"
    Johan Cruijff
  • yosi1yosi1 Posts: 3,272
    I could definitely go for some more serious jamming.
    you couldn't swing if you were hangin' from a palm tree in a hurricane.
  • Stephen FlowStephen Flow Posts: 3,327
    Way too much for them to cover to even think about doing long jams... I like jams every now and then like extended versions of songs but I don't want anything drug out too long... I like the wham bam thank you ma'am type shows.
  • stylo17stylo17 Posts: 1,001
    i would like some jams and some improvs. i'd like to see Stone unleashed. i'd love to watch the band play things we've never heard before and just let them do whatever they want. at whatever pace. they love Neil Young so much I thought they would've incorporated some of his live act into their own. they could pull it off if they wanted to.
    6/11/08 WPB


    ♬♪♫ and I will not, grow tired of crayon stars and fire

    ♬♪♫ cause a soldier's death is so much better than defeat just hanging around
  • corduroidcorduroid Posts: 293
    stylo17 wrote:
    i would like some jams and some improvs. i'd like to see Stone unleashed. i'd love to watch the band play things we've never heard before and just let them do whatever they want. at whatever pace. they love Neil Young so much I thought they would've incorporated some of his live act into their own. they could pull it off if they wanted to.

    Amen, especially with Stone stepping out more.


    :cool:
  • aneutronbombaneutronbomb Posts: 787
    i'd be stoked to hear a couple/few 10+ minute jams sprinkled in the sets
    and fuck me if I say somethin you dont wanna hear, fuck me!
    and fuck me if you only hear what you wanna hear
    fuck me...if I care...but im not leavin here
  • stuckinlinestuckinline Posts: 3,369
    i would like to see jeff go nuts!
  • HermanBloomHermanBloom Posts: 1,764
    Gremmie95 wrote:
    I would rather hear 25-30 songs than 20 songs that are 10 minutes each. I like the jams and tags on RVM, Daughter, Wishlist, Not4U, Porch, Crazy Mary, etc......
    true
    SLC 11/2/95, Park City 6/21/98, Boise 11/3/00, Seattle 12/9/02, Vancouver 5/30/03, Gorge 9/1/05, Vancouver 9/2/05, Gorge 7/22/06, Gorge 7/23/06, Camden I 6/19/08, MSG I 6/24/08, MSG II 6/25/08, Hartford 6/27/08, Mansfield II 6/30/08; Eddie Albany 6/8/09, 6/9/09; Philly 10/30/09, 10/31/09; Boston 5/17/10
    I thought the world...Turns out the world thought me
  • MohabMohab Posts: 310
    some longer improvs would be nice. they have blown me away before, were all the jams from toronto on the avocado tour on the boots?
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