The PLAY MINNESOTA Thread!

kdiddy

nooram said:

Taking the week off before and after this show.  Driving my motorcycle from Minnesota and exploring Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho during the days around the show.  Will meet up with my buddy from Colorado and my brother from Seattle as we explore the twisties in and around the mountains.  Also, have a buddy flying in for the weekend.  Pearl Jam is a great prodder for travel and adventure.  And don't forget to indulge in some huckleberry ice cream . . .

This sounds amazing... enjoy! and agreed.. PJ is great for traveling. Z and I have seen many new places thanks to PJ. Every year, we wait to see where they take us next. This year, it's just Wrigley again, but that is quite alright!

vant0037

I just looked at the Foo Fighters tour dates for this year the other day...dang.  If PJ ever played a schedule like that again, I think this place would spontaneously combust.

Dirty Frank Z

I wonder what it would take for Pearl Jam to not be such a heavy draw. I would think it would have to be relentless touring to the point of "tapping out" a market to force themselves into smaller markets. AKA play St Paul too much that Duluth becomes the option.

I doubt this will happen. I'll just revel in the memories of seeing Dylan in venues around the state.

vant0037

Dirty Frank Z said:

I wonder what it would take for Pearl Jam to not be such a heavy draw. I would think it would have to be relentless touring to the point of "tapping out" a market to force themselves into smaller markets. AKA play St Paul too much that Duluth becomes the option.

I doubt this will happen. I'll just revel in the memories of seeing Dylan in venues around the state.

I think at this point its either: (1) play less shows, sell out every one, get paid the same, or (2) play more shows, sell out less shows, and so get paid the same.  Obviously, the experience of us, the anxious fans trying to get tickets doesn't factor into their calculation.  And I guess I can't blame them: they can play their favorite venues around the country in less tour time, and make the same amount of money.  They get the time off and the credibility of retaining their reputation as a prime draw.

From out standpoint, it kind of stinks because options for shows become limited by availability, location and frequency.  Also, any thought about how expensive they have gotten?  Chicago 2009 = $148/pair.  Now, $245/pair.  I think they've aged very well, but wow...that's an inexplicably steep price jump for a band that's playing markedly less shows now than they were then.

Dirty Frank Z

It would be nice if they saturated the market by playing a lot, but I probably couldn't afford it given the rise in ticket prices.

evenflow82

Hopefully PJ takes note of this article. :-)
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/03/06/best-state-for-women/

CM189191

evenflow82 said:

Hopefully PJ takes note of this article. :-)
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/03/06/best-state-for-women/

this headline is misleading

evenflow82

Why?

Dirty Frank Z

I don't get why the article would have any thing to do with Pearl Jam

CM189191

Dirty Frank Z said:

I don't get why the article would have any thing to do with Pearl Jam

LL Pearl J

vant0037

Bump

vant0037

Bump

Dirty Frank Z

What crazy song(s) does everyone want to hear at the upcoming run of shows?

For me....Dirty Frank, Just A Girl and Undone (not so crazy, but still)

vant0037

Hitchhiker.  Missed it by a couple shows in 2012.

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Bump!

adusick

Evacuaaaaation!!!!

evenflow82

Hard to imagine.

Dirty Frank Z

evenflow82 said:

Hard to imagine.

I said it in 2016, this would be a greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat opener considering the circumstances and place

vant0037

BUMP!

adoffin

Back to Vant's stat tracker setlist....I need to hear Tremor Christ to close out Vitalogy, Leash to close out Vs, and Getaway to close out LB...then hit me with a bunch of Riot Act and Binaural...hahaha...just don't throw in Johnny Guitar

kdiddy

adoffin said:

Back to Vant's stat tracker setlist....I need to hear Tremor Christ to close out Vitalogy, Leash to close out Vs, and Getaway to close out LB...then hit me with a bunch of Riot Act and Binaural...hahaha...just don't throw in Johnny Guitar

why no Johnny Guitar?

AndySlash

johnny guitar is so good i hope they play it twice

vant0037

AndySlash said:

johnny guitar is so good i hope they play it twice

Ill take that bait.  Johnny Guitar is in the top half of songs on Backspacer.  There I said it.

kdiddy

vant0037 said:

AndySlash said:

johnny guitar is so good i hope they play it twice

Ill take that bait.  Johnny Guitar is in the top half of songs on Backspacer.  There I said it.

*applause* 

vant0037

Haha thanks Kate

evenflow82

No love for Johnny and his guitar. Never liked the song. Only other song I dislike more on Backspaced is The Fixer.

Dirty Frank Z

I've always liked Johnny Guitar. And I don't understand the hate for that song

vant0037

Well, I'm no fan of Backspacer as a whole; I've always thought that even in it's best moments, it felt very un-Pearl Jam (a thought that calls to mind the question raised in a great film I Heart Huckabees: "how am I not like myself?"  How can an album made by Pearl Jam not feel like Pearl Jam?  Alas, here is Backspacer).

Anyway, the record was supposed to be "garage rock" and what we got was a collection of rushed, poppier songs that all felt as though they were written to suit a preconceived album as a whole (similar to writing music for a soundtrack), rather than any music that occurred organically in a session and comprised the album.  Further, one of the trademarks of PJ's music - the live experience of the song - hasn't been kind to the album either, as some of the more yawnworthy parts of any PJ show tend to be midset renditions of songs like "Speed of Sound" (which I actually don't mind as a standalone track), "Just Breathe," "Amongst the Waves" or "Unthought Known."

Additionally, the album as recorded sounds too polished, too soft, too studio (if that makes any sense) for a Pearl Jam record.  Ed's lyrics don't help ("...live my life with the volume full!"  What are you, selling Doritos?), and even at his angstiest moments, when typical PJ records really tend to pop (see: "Not For You," "Comatose," "Breakerfall" etc), the "hard" songs come off as flat, emotionless, just plain tired.

So why does "Johnny Guitar" rise above the rest of the sluice?  To start, it has none of the sap of songs like "Just Breathe" or "The End," which have their own place in music but should be nowhere near a "garage rock" album.  Second, it's the most closely akin to what I believe they were trying to accomplish: it's a tight, quirky track where the drums really drive the song (instead of the half-hearted attempts at melody and guitar on songs like "Amongst the Waves" or the lackluster anthemic aspirations of "Unthought Known").  Say whatever you want about who is doing the drumming on any PJ song, but make no mistake: some of the best PJ moments are on songs where the drums are driving things (e.g. "Why Go," "Whipping," "Mind Your Manners," "Go," "In My Tree" etc).

Finally, "Johnny Guitar" hits the right notes in content that a great garage rock song can.  It talks loosely about sex without being gross.  It never gets too heavy or aims toward any great question.  It just hums along like a car on a back highway in July, getting you someplace by being pleasantly aimless.

There you have it.  My backhanded review of Backspacer by way of a direct endorsement of Johnny Guitar as a good song.

Dirty Frank Z

Maybe this is lame or cliché or unpopular or too fanboy but....

I like all their albums....in a certain order, yes..

Does that order change as I grow and evolve as a person, yes..

But, I like all of their albums. They are all good to me. I can put any of them on and get into the music they made in that place in time.

Dirty Frank Z

Bump