Pearl Jam has only played Minnesota 7 times in their career. 7.
1992- twice
six year wait
1998
five year wait
2003
three year wait
2006- twice
four year wait
2010- target corporate event with only 3 songs
the waiting drove me mad...
ANYwho, anyone else have some good fair stories to bump along??
we went on wednesday. the clouds rolled in in the late afternoon so it made for a pleasant visit, weather-wise. was still hot, but not uncomfortably so. and the crowd wasn't much of a crowd- one of the lightest attendances i've personally seen there. so really couldn't have asked for a much better visit.
we were there for catvidfest. we went to the walker event last year and enjoyed that more since it was a more communal gathering- being seated and spread out didn't enhance the event like it was last year. but it was still fun to sit and watch lame cat videos with other internet nerds. got to see lil bub, too.
foodwise we had hot dish on a stick, poutine, alligator (wth alligator shaped fries, to boot), marthas cookies, australian potatos... i forgot about the deep fried pickles otherwise i would have made a point to get them.
and, of course, had to do the ye old mill. cheapest paid entertainment at the fair!
duhduhduh ... dah-dah-dah-daaaah ... duhduhduh dah-dah-dah-daaaah "there is a maaaaarker...no one sees it cause the sand..."
1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2 2018-06-18 London 1 2018-08-18 Wrigley 1 2018-08-20 Wrigley 2 2022-09-16 Nashville 2023-08-31 St. Paul 2023-09-02 St. Paul 2023-09-05 Chicago 1 2023-08-31 Wrigley 2 2023-09-15 Fenway 1
Pearl Jam has only played Minnesota 7 times in their career. 7.
1992- twice
six year wait
1998
five year wait
2003
three year wait
2006- twice
four year wait
2010- target corporate event with only 3 songs
the waiting drove me mad...
2010 doesn't count. It boggles me how their corporate sponsor was from MN and they avoided the fans but just gave lip service to the corporation. :roll:
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell.
-Christopher Walken
you're=you are
your=showing ownership
The truth has a well known liberal bias.
-Stephen Colbert
duhduhduh ... dah-dah-dah-daaaah ... duhduhduh dah-dah-dah-daaaah "there is a maaaaarker...no one sees it cause the sand..."
"....hass covered ovvvver...."
Great song. Great album.
1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2 2018-06-18 London 1 2018-08-18 Wrigley 1 2018-08-20 Wrigley 2 2022-09-16 Nashville 2023-08-31 St. Paul 2023-09-02 St. Paul 2023-09-05 Chicago 1 2023-08-31 Wrigley 2 2023-09-15 Fenway 1
Pearl Jam has only played Minnesota 7 times in their career. 7.
1992- twice
six year wait
1998
five year wait
2003
three year wait
2006- twice
four year wait
2010- target corporate event with only 3 songs
the waiting drove me mad...
2010 doesn't count. It boggles me how their corporate sponsor was from MN and they avoided the fans but just gave lip service to the corporation. :roll:
Thursday bump. Mumford made it to MN again, how about it PJ?
1998-06-30 Mpls | 2006-07-06 Las Vegas | 2010-05-03 Kansas City | 2011-07-01 St. Louis EV | 2011-07-02 Mpls EV | 2011-09-03 PJ20 2011-09-04 PJ20 | 2011-09-17 Winnipeg | 2012-09-30 Missoula | 2012-11-18 Tulsa EV | 2013-07-19 Chicago | 2013-11-15 Dallas 2013-11-16 OKC | 2014-10-09 Lincoln | 2014-10-17 Moline | 2014-10-19 St. Paul | 2014-10-20 Milwaukee | 2016-08-20 Chicago 2016-08-22 Chicago | 2018-08-18 Chicago | 2018-08-20 Chicago | 2022-05-09 Phoenix | 2022-05-20 Las Vegas | 2022-09-18 St. Louis 2022-09-20 OKC | 2023-08-31 St. Paul | 2023-09-02 St. Paul | 2024-05-16 Las Vegas | 2024-05-18 Las Vegas | 2024-08-31 Chicago
2010 doesn't count. It boggles me how their corporate sponsor was from MN and they avoided the fans but just gave lip service to the corporation. :roll:
Diddy is a fan and was there.
And it was pretty rocking from what I was told.
Target was their only chain retailer to sell Backspacer and in doing so, Target was able to put together an exclusive copy of Backspacer. ALL artists who put out exclusive albums for Target is contractually obligated to perform at one Target event. From what I heard, PJ backed out the year prior and so this particular event was on a day they said "screw it, lets get this over with". You can look at it as them avoiding the fans and serving a contract instead, but I choose to look at it and say I'm pretty lucky to have been at the event (probably a handful of fans in the whole crowd, really) at a time that PJ didn't have MN scheduled for their Backspacer tour. It was a fun little set! DirtyFrank and Pahht was mad and jealous with me for a while, but they got over it.. especially when PJ20 was announced the next year and we saw that it was only a mere 4 hour drive away! LUCKY US!!!!
"you're always saying that there's something wrong...I'm starting to believe it's your plan all along...
death came around forced to hear it's song...and know tomorrow can't be depended on...
Ooh!"
Duh duh-duh duh-duh ... duh-duh-duh...
1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2 2018-06-18 London 1 2018-08-18 Wrigley 1 2018-08-20 Wrigley 2 2022-09-16 Nashville 2023-08-31 St. Paul 2023-09-02 St. Paul 2023-09-05 Chicago 1 2023-08-31 Wrigley 2 2023-09-15 Fenway 1
It was a fun little set! DirtyFrank and Pahht was mad and jealous with me for a while, but they got over it.. especially when PJ20 was announced the next year and we saw that it was only a mere 4 hour drive away! LUCKY US!!!!
i had a couple friends at target corporate and i was incredulous that they didn't even think of trying to sneak me in. i even have a name badge! but i, too, got over it.
yes, pj20 at alpine was about the best news regarding location we could have gotten. lucky us, indeed.
"you're always saying that there's something wrong...I'm starting to believe it's your plan all along...
death came around forced to hear it's song...and know tomorrow can't be depended on...
Ooh!"
Duh duh-duh duh-duh ... duh-duh-duh...
fans who listen to a ton of live shows and put together those tour compilations always single out the st. paul I 06 version of life wasted as one of if not *the* definitive performance of that song.
Pearl Jam has only played Minnesota 7 times in their career. 7.
1992- twice
six year wait
1998
five year wait
2003
three year wait
2006- twice
four year wait
2010- target corporate event with only 3 songs
the waiting drove me mad...
I think the two shows in 2006 should count as one because a) they were shorter shows do to shared billing so they should not count as a full show and b) I wasn't there so it doesn't count
07-09-95 Milwaukee, WI (Summerfest) - 10-08-00 Alpine Valley Music -06-16-03 St. Paul, MN - 09-03-11 Alpine Valley Music Theatre -09-04-11 Alpine Valley Music Theatre - 09-30-12 Missoula, MT - 07-19-13 Wrigley Field - 11-15-13 Dallas, TX - 10-3-14 St Louis, MO - 10-19-14 St Paul, MN
Pearl Jam has only played Minnesota 7 times in their career. 7.
1992- twice
six year wait
1998
five year wait
2003
three year wait
2006- twice
four year wait
2010- target corporate event with only 3 songs
the waiting drove me mad...
I think the two shows in 2006 should count as one because a) they were shorter shows do to shared billing so they should not count as a full show and b) I wasn't there so it doesn't count
...I couldn't help myself and wore a Vikings tie to court today.
1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2 2018-06-18 London 1 2018-08-18 Wrigley 1 2018-08-20 Wrigley 2 2022-09-16 Nashville 2023-08-31 St. Paul 2023-09-02 St. Paul 2023-09-05 Chicago 1 2023-08-31 Wrigley 2 2023-09-15 Fenway 1
Listening to PJ Radio today.. wow, just heard a pretty bad live version of Brain of J. I don't know what show it was but either Eddie was off or the band had bad tuning.. Uffda! :fp:
So the only reason they came in 2010 for only three songs is because a bunch of suits said they had to.
....and?
Yeah that corporate event really rubbed me the wrong way, as well as the Oracle one. I couldn't see PJ doing this in 1993, but alas, the times they are a changin'. On the other hand, who the hell am I to judge? I shop at Target all the time, and it's awesome kdiddy got to be there to experience it!
So the only reason they came in 2010 for only three songs is because a bunch of suits said they had to.
....and?
Yeah that corporate event really rubbed me the wrong way, as well as the Oracle one. I couldn't see PJ doing this in 1993, but alas, the times they are a changin'. On the other hand, who the hell am I to judge? I shop at Target all the time, and it's awesome kdiddy got to be there to experience it!
As someone who's had this argument (on this board and in person) several times over, I'm not sure it's practical or fair to really pass judgment on their choices as a band.
For one, it's fine to want your favorite band to espouse your ideals. I certainly like when my favorite bands think like me (it's human nature), and would have a really hard time liking a band that's right-wing/conservative/racist etc. But to insist (as some on this board do from time to time) that the band has sold out or should do X or Y or Z because it's in-line with what Ed or Jeff or Stone said in 19xx or 20xx is unfair because reduces the band to a sponge, whose only purpose is to regurgitate the shit we want them to say. It also nails the band to the wall for shit they said or did decades ago. I can tell you that while my politics have never generally changed, there are definitely differences in my approaches and nuanced distinctions that have grown over the years etc. If we as individuals are allowed that freedom to change, why isn't a band given the same? Why should Pearl Jam be forced to act only in accordance with either (a) what their nutbag fans believe they should do, or (b) what 1995 Pearl Jam said/did/believed? I'll go so far as to say that as long as I have a choice in whether or not I am in this fan club or a fan of their music, even entertaining a critique of what the band does/says etc is unfair to the band but also tramples on the notion of artistic expression. In short, if your heroes do something unheroic, find a new hero.
Secondly, what always comes up in debates about what the band should or shouldn't do (i.e. Target, Oracle etc) is this idea that by getting paid for corporate events, the band is somehow whoring themselves out for profit, that there's somehow something wrong with the band getting paid by a company for a private show, as opposed to the band getting paid by a company to pay a "public" show (i.e. a tour). But really, what's the difference? Whether they're paid by Oracle or Target or whether they're paid by LiveNation or whether they're paid by you and me directly, is there any conceivable difference when they're paid to play music? This private vs. public distinction implies that we as fans somehow are entitled to the band, that they owe us something, as opposed to anyone else willing to pay for their services, because let's face it: when the band performs, it's strictly transactional. We paid to see them, they perform.
Most people then argue, "well, they're getting paid by companies like Target and Oracle and that goes against the band's ideals," to which I'll respond: does it? Most of us assume we know what the band's ideals are, but those are assumptions. Does that band, as a group, have any set group of politics? I have no clue how any of them voted, although I could probably wager a fair guess. The website links to some political groups, but again, those are pretty narrowly defined. It's tough to say being paid by Target or Oracle or LiveNation or Comcast is any better or any worse than one another, but it's very clear that we assume much and know little about the band's politics, to the point where it's unfair to say being paid to play by Oracle or Target or anyone else IS or IS NOT in line with their beliefs.
Some people will persist still though, and argue that the band getting paid for ANY corporate event is bad and grounds for them being called "sell-outs," as if any transaction with corporate entities is itself an evil thing. At a threshold level, these are often people who (a) have access to the internet (which means they themselves participate in transactions with corporations all the time), or (b) buy up posters and merch and CDs and albums (again, keeping the vitals of our capitalist world alive). On it's face, I can appreciate the philosophies of anti-corporatism, anti-commercialism, even anti-capitalism, because it's clear that the free market and big business does well for the free market and big business, but not for you and me. But to take that philosophy and apply it to PJ's decisions is to argue for the death of the band itself. Yep, I said it. If you think Pearl Jam shouldn't get paid for their shows by corporate entities, aside from everything else I've argued, is to suggest that the band should also not be commercial, not promote their albums, not be on tour, not operate fancy websites, not be accessible to virtually anyone outside of ear shot the next time they walk-up and play an acoustic set in a field in an unincorporated township in Minnesota (which sounds sweet by the way ).
These are also the same people who can't provide alternatives to corporate tours or events and who seem to forget that they tried something like this in 1995. And failed (not from lack of effort however). If the band can't play private corporate events because playing for corporations privately is band, then what should they do? And why is getting paid by a company for a "public" (even that term is laughable) event tolerable? Should they only play in fields? Warehouses? Fugazi-style clubs? (again, this all sounds sweet). Should they be paid at all? At least part of anti-corporatism is a rejection of capitalism and if we insist that Pearl Jam operate more in-line with anti-corporatism, the end result is they will not exist as they do. So long as music is commodified, bought and sold, transacted and delivered as a product, Pearl Jam will be inextricably intertwined with corporate entities, some good, some bad.
I apologize for the length, but it's been a slow afternoon and this is a topic that really grates on me. This "PJ has sold out" nonsense is the exact kind of hero-worship that I'm sure Ed and the guys hate now (as they did in 1995), and further the kind of nutbag thinking that sentences the guys to the tyranny and whims of their fans. It's just not fair, logical or defensible, at this day and age (or hell, even in 1995) for fans to persist in critiquing a band's choices as they relate to getting paid or not paid, so long as being a fan is voluntary.
To make any kind of informed, defensible claim that the band has sold out (because that's what all this Target/Oracle stuff is really about), you'd need access to the band's decision-making process for these gigs, their personal beliefs, and also a situation where being a fan is compulsory, none of which we'll ever get.
1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2 2018-06-18 London 1 2018-08-18 Wrigley 1 2018-08-20 Wrigley 2 2022-09-16 Nashville 2023-08-31 St. Paul 2023-09-02 St. Paul 2023-09-05 Chicago 1 2023-08-31 Wrigley 2 2023-09-15 Fenway 1
For the record, sorry for the length and this was directed at you dusey. This just got me thinking.
1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2 2018-06-18 London 1 2018-08-18 Wrigley 1 2018-08-20 Wrigley 2 2022-09-16 Nashville 2023-08-31 St. Paul 2023-09-02 St. Paul 2023-09-05 Chicago 1 2023-08-31 Wrigley 2 2023-09-15 Fenway 1
i also think it is important to remember the number of people the band needs to support. money doesn't just go to the five guys in the band, it goes to their techs, agents, managers, caterers, etc etc etc. and guess what, companies tend to shell out quite a bit for private performances, and that one-show booty gets spread around. it's like a holiday bonus, in a way.
For the record, sorry for the length and this was directed at you dusey. This just got me thinking.
Nail 'em
Oops. That should say, "this was NOT directed at you dusey." Sorry!
1998-06-30 Minneapolis
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2 2018-06-18 London 1 2018-08-18 Wrigley 1 2018-08-20 Wrigley 2 2022-09-16 Nashville 2023-08-31 St. Paul 2023-09-02 St. Paul 2023-09-05 Chicago 1 2023-08-31 Wrigley 2 2023-09-15 Fenway 1
Comments
-Christopher Walken
you're=you are
your=showing ownership
The truth has a well known liberal bias.
-Stephen Colbert
1992- twice
six year wait
1998
five year wait
2003
three year wait
2006- twice
four year wait
2010- target corporate event with only 3 songs
the waiting drove me mad...
we went on wednesday. the clouds rolled in in the late afternoon so it made for a pleasant visit, weather-wise. was still hot, but not uncomfortably so. and the crowd wasn't much of a crowd- one of the lightest attendances i've personally seen there. so really couldn't have asked for a much better visit.
we were there for catvidfest. we went to the walker event last year and enjoyed that more since it was a more communal gathering- being seated and spread out didn't enhance the event like it was last year. but it was still fun to sit and watch lame cat videos with other internet nerds. got to see lil bub, too.
foodwise we had hot dish on a stick, poutine, alligator (wth alligator shaped fries, to boot), marthas cookies, australian potatos... i forgot about the deep fried pickles otherwise i would have made a point to get them.
and, of course, had to do the ye old mill. cheapest paid entertainment at the fair!
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2
2018-06-18 London 1
2018-08-18 Wrigley 1
2018-08-20 Wrigley 2
2022-09-16 Nashville
2023-08-31 St. Paul
2023-09-02 St. Paul
2023-09-05 Chicago 1
2023-08-31 Wrigley 2
2023-09-15 Fenway 1
"....hass covered ovvvver...."
2010 doesn't count. It boggles me how their corporate sponsor was from MN and they avoided the fans but just gave lip service to the corporation. :roll:
-Christopher Walken
you're=you are
your=showing ownership
The truth has a well known liberal bias.
-Stephen Colbert
Great song. Great album.
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2
2018-06-18 London 1
2018-08-18 Wrigley 1
2018-08-20 Wrigley 2
2022-09-16 Nashville
2023-08-31 St. Paul
2023-09-02 St. Paul
2023-09-05 Chicago 1
2023-08-31 Wrigley 2
2023-09-15 Fenway 1
Diddy is a fan and was there.
And it was pretty rocking from what I was told.
2011-09-04 PJ20 | 2011-09-17 Winnipeg | 2012-09-30 Missoula | 2012-11-18 Tulsa EV | 2013-07-19 Chicago | 2013-11-15 Dallas
2013-11-16 OKC | 2014-10-09 Lincoln | 2014-10-17 Moline | 2014-10-19 St. Paul | 2014-10-20 Milwaukee | 2016-08-20 Chicago
2016-08-22 Chicago | 2018-08-18 Chicago | 2018-08-20 Chicago | 2022-05-09 Phoenix | 2022-05-20 Las Vegas | 2022-09-18 St. Louis
2022-09-20 OKC | 2023-08-31 St. Paul | 2023-09-02 St. Paul | 2024-05-16 Las Vegas | 2024-05-18 Las Vegas | 2024-08-31 Chicago
Target was their only chain retailer to sell Backspacer and in doing so, Target was able to put together an exclusive copy of Backspacer. ALL artists who put out exclusive albums for Target is contractually obligated to perform at one Target event. From what I heard, PJ backed out the year prior and so this particular event was on a day they said "screw it, lets get this over with". You can look at it as them avoiding the fans and serving a contract instead, but I choose to look at it and say I'm pretty lucky to have been at the event (probably a handful of fans in the whole crowd, really) at a time that PJ didn't have MN scheduled for their Backspacer tour. It was a fun little set! DirtyFrank and Pahht was mad and jealous with me for a while, but they got over it.. especially when PJ20 was announced the next year and we saw that it was only a mere 4 hour drive away! LUCKY US!!!!
"you're always saying that there's something wrong...I'm starting to believe it's your plan all along...
death came around forced to hear it's song...and know tomorrow can't be depended on...
Ooh!"
Duh duh-duh duh-duh ... duh-duh-duh...
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2
2018-06-18 London 1
2018-08-18 Wrigley 1
2018-08-20 Wrigley 2
2022-09-16 Nashville
2023-08-31 St. Paul
2023-09-02 St. Paul
2023-09-05 Chicago 1
2023-08-31 Wrigley 2
2023-09-15 Fenway 1
i had a couple friends at target corporate and i was incredulous that they didn't even think of trying to sneak me in. i even have a name badge! but i, too, got over it.
yes, pj20 at alpine was about the best news regarding location we could have gotten. lucky us, indeed.
fans who listen to a ton of live shows and put together those tour compilations always single out the st. paul I 06 version of life wasted as one of if not *the* definitive performance of that song.
I think the two shows in 2006 should count as one because a) they were shorter shows do to shared billing so they should not count as a full show and b) I wasn't there so it doesn't count
It counts. My parents were there.
We'll be waiting! If they tour the US in 2014 there is no way they can ignore us again.
-Christopher Walken
you're=you are
your=showing ownership
The truth has a well known liberal bias.
-Stephen Colbert
....and?
...I couldn't help myself and wore a Vikings tie to court today.
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
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2012-06-26 Amsterdam
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2013-07-19 Wrigley
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haha, you would! GO VIKES!!
Yeah that corporate event really rubbed me the wrong way, as well as the Oracle one. I couldn't see PJ doing this in 1993, but alas, the times they are a changin'. On the other hand, who the hell am I to judge? I shop at Target all the time, and it's awesome kdiddy got to be there to experience it!
As someone who's had this argument (on this board and in person) several times over, I'm not sure it's practical or fair to really pass judgment on their choices as a band.
For one, it's fine to want your favorite band to espouse your ideals. I certainly like when my favorite bands think like me (it's human nature), and would have a really hard time liking a band that's right-wing/conservative/racist etc. But to insist (as some on this board do from time to time) that the band has sold out or should do X or Y or Z because it's in-line with what Ed or Jeff or Stone said in 19xx or 20xx is unfair because reduces the band to a sponge, whose only purpose is to regurgitate the shit we want them to say. It also nails the band to the wall for shit they said or did decades ago. I can tell you that while my politics have never generally changed, there are definitely differences in my approaches and nuanced distinctions that have grown over the years etc. If we as individuals are allowed that freedom to change, why isn't a band given the same? Why should Pearl Jam be forced to act only in accordance with either (a) what their nutbag fans believe they should do, or (b) what 1995 Pearl Jam said/did/believed? I'll go so far as to say that as long as I have a choice in whether or not I am in this fan club or a fan of their music, even entertaining a critique of what the band does/says etc is unfair to the band but also tramples on the notion of artistic expression. In short, if your heroes do something unheroic, find a new hero.
Secondly, what always comes up in debates about what the band should or shouldn't do (i.e. Target, Oracle etc) is this idea that by getting paid for corporate events, the band is somehow whoring themselves out for profit, that there's somehow something wrong with the band getting paid by a company for a private show, as opposed to the band getting paid by a company to pay a "public" show (i.e. a tour). But really, what's the difference? Whether they're paid by Oracle or Target or whether they're paid by LiveNation or whether they're paid by you and me directly, is there any conceivable difference when they're paid to play music? This private vs. public distinction implies that we as fans somehow are entitled to the band, that they owe us something, as opposed to anyone else willing to pay for their services, because let's face it: when the band performs, it's strictly transactional. We paid to see them, they perform.
Most people then argue, "well, they're getting paid by companies like Target and Oracle and that goes against the band's ideals," to which I'll respond: does it? Most of us assume we know what the band's ideals are, but those are assumptions. Does that band, as a group, have any set group of politics? I have no clue how any of them voted, although I could probably wager a fair guess. The website links to some political groups, but again, those are pretty narrowly defined. It's tough to say being paid by Target or Oracle or LiveNation or Comcast is any better or any worse than one another, but it's very clear that we assume much and know little about the band's politics, to the point where it's unfair to say being paid to play by Oracle or Target or anyone else IS or IS NOT in line with their beliefs.
Some people will persist still though, and argue that the band getting paid for ANY corporate event is bad and grounds for them being called "sell-outs," as if any transaction with corporate entities is itself an evil thing. At a threshold level, these are often people who (a) have access to the internet (which means they themselves participate in transactions with corporations all the time), or (b) buy up posters and merch and CDs and albums (again, keeping the vitals of our capitalist world alive). On it's face, I can appreciate the philosophies of anti-corporatism, anti-commercialism, even anti-capitalism, because it's clear that the free market and big business does well for the free market and big business, but not for you and me. But to take that philosophy and apply it to PJ's decisions is to argue for the death of the band itself. Yep, I said it. If you think Pearl Jam shouldn't get paid for their shows by corporate entities, aside from everything else I've argued, is to suggest that the band should also not be commercial, not promote their albums, not be on tour, not operate fancy websites, not be accessible to virtually anyone outside of ear shot the next time they walk-up and play an acoustic set in a field in an unincorporated township in Minnesota (which sounds sweet by the way
These are also the same people who can't provide alternatives to corporate tours or events and who seem to forget that they tried something like this in 1995. And failed (not from lack of effort however). If the band can't play private corporate events because playing for corporations privately is band, then what should they do? And why is getting paid by a company for a "public" (even that term is laughable) event tolerable? Should they only play in fields? Warehouses? Fugazi-style clubs? (again, this all sounds sweet). Should they be paid at all? At least part of anti-corporatism is a rejection of capitalism and if we insist that Pearl Jam operate more in-line with anti-corporatism, the end result is they will not exist as they do. So long as music is commodified, bought and sold, transacted and delivered as a product, Pearl Jam will be inextricably intertwined with corporate entities, some good, some bad.
I apologize for the length, but it's been a slow afternoon and this is a topic that really grates on me. This "PJ has sold out" nonsense is the exact kind of hero-worship that I'm sure Ed and the guys hate now (as they did in 1995), and further the kind of nutbag thinking that sentences the guys to the tyranny and whims of their fans. It's just not fair, logical or defensible, at this day and age (or hell, even in 1995) for fans to persist in critiquing a band's choices as they relate to getting paid or not paid, so long as being a fan is voluntary.
To make any kind of informed, defensible claim that the band has sold out (because that's what all this Target/Oracle stuff is really about), you'd need access to the band's decision-making process for these gigs, their personal beliefs, and also a situation where being a fan is compulsory, none of which we'll ever get.
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
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2012-06-26 Amsterdam
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2013-07-19 Wrigley
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2018-06-18 London 1
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2022-09-16 Nashville
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2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
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2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
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2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
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2018-06-18 London 1
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-Christopher Walken
you're=you are
your=showing ownership
The truth has a well known liberal bias.
-Stephen Colbert
I think the owner of Target is in the Tenclub
Nail 'em
Let's hope the future holds some PJ and MN!
-Christopher Walken
you're=you are
your=showing ownership
The truth has a well known liberal bias.
-Stephen Colbert
Oops. That should say, "this was NOT directed at you dusey." Sorry!
2003-06-16 St. Paul
2006-06-26 St. Paul
2007-08-05 Chicago
2009-08-23 Chicago
2009-08-28 San Francisco
2010-05-01 NOLA (Jazz Fest)
2011-07-02 EV Minneapolis
2011-09-03 PJ20
2011-09-04 PJ20
2011-09-17 Winnipeg
2012-06-26 Amsterdam
2012-06-27 Amsterdam
2013-07-19 Wrigley
2013-11-21 San Diego
2013-11-23 Los Angeles
2013-11-24 Los Angeles
2014-07-08 Leeds, UK
2014-07-11 Milton Keynes, UK
2014-10-09 Lincoln
2014-10-19 St. Paul
2014-10-20 Milwaukee
2016-08-20 Wrigley 1
2016-08-22 Wrigley 2
2018-06-18 London 1
2018-08-18 Wrigley 1
2018-08-20 Wrigley 2
2022-09-16 Nashville
2023-08-31 St. Paul
2023-09-02 St. Paul
2023-09-05 Chicago 1
2023-08-31 Wrigley 2
2023-09-15 Fenway 1