Bushleaguer @ Nassau 2003

JoelInNoCal

The Currents Will Shift wrote:

SVRDhand13 wrote:

Cob wrote:

I always looked at it as there were people who were probably booing because they just wanted a good ol' fashioned rock and roll show, and others were booing because they think talking negatively about the president was unpatriotic. I wish I was there- I would have been cheering. (And my favorite hockey team plays there so I should have attended).

A lot of people here are looking at this moment with sort of rose colored glasses. This was the one moment which could have gotten ugly. I was there that night and live on long island, and that was a completely absurd thing to do that night in my opinion. A lot of people don't realize on this board that long island is a little more "red" than the parts further west. So that crowd wasn't all city folk that would appear at MSG. From my vantage point some fights started in the crowd, and next to me 100's (believe it or not, still fanclub seats) side of stage a lot of people threw things in Ed's direction. The end of the show had absolutely no air in it and many people in the 300's left after he stomped on the mask. Just a stupid moment and could have turned into a real bad situation. He should have learned from playing it a week earlier in Denver (I believe). He pitted fans against eachother and it was a bit naive. That is probably why they stopped playing it after that.

To be fair, PJ did play Bushleaguer about 19 times after this incident. Some overseas. Some in the U.S., particularly in very red Irvine.

Thorns2010

Cob wrote:

hadfiiw wrote:

bootlegger10 wrote:

I think playing the song was a mistake and somewhat disrespectful at Uniondale (not in other cities though). I think they should have known their audience at Uniondale. If it was a free show, play what you want. But this was a show where NY fans paid to go to the show, and it was less than two years after 9/11 so there was still a lot of emotion at that time (and still is I'm sure). Looking back they probably wouldn't have played that song there at that particular time. If they played Uniondale now (or back in 2006), I think the song would have gone over much differently.

It is NOT Pearl Jam's job to get political at shows, but they CAN choose to get political and can choose when. Maybe it was the right time at Uniondale, or maybe PJ should have just gone out and given the fans a fun night out not thinking about 9/11 or war.

So I know that the songs have different meanings to different people but what part of Bu$hleaguer has to do with 9/11? I always saw it as an anti-Bush song and nothing to do with 9/11. Not sure how the two are getting linked.

Just asking as I must be missing something.

This is the same thing I am asking.

I think the connection people are making is that Bu$hleaguer is picking on the president, who wants to go to war to 'avenge' the 9/11 attacks. Therefore Pearl Jam must be anti-America.

VinylGirl

I was there, but not down in 10c seats- I wa higher up, and I can tell you that there were plenty of boos during Bushleager. I know because I kept saying 'wtf is the matter with these people'. But I was saying that the whole night. I don't know if you all remember, but it wasn't just that song, Ed made some comments throughout the night about Bush- and the crowd didn't want to hear it. It was a hard time and they just wanted to hear the band. Most of us lost someone (if not more) we knew or cared about on 9/11 and peoples feelings were all mixed about Bush. Now, I don't want to hear from the glee club how "oh, those weren't 10c seats so they weren't real fans booing". Bullshit- plenty of us NYer's get shut out of 10c seats every tour.

The Currents Will Shift

SVRDhand13 wrote:

Cob wrote:

To be fair, PJ did play Bushleaguer about 19 times after this incident. Some overseas. Some in the U.S., particularly in very red Irvine.

I understand they played many times after that incident, but the next ime they played stateside was in mountain view a full month later. There were many shows in between Uniondale and mountain view. The reason that they pulled it for a little while was because of that reaction in Uniondale. That was the first time I had taken my wife to one of their shows and she was pretty damn worried about the possibility of a riot as well as some of my fellow jammers sitting next to me. It was the most uncomfortable I felt at a concert. I've been to over 100 shows, 20 of them were PJ.

I'm just glad they toned down the mask thing after that.

on2legs

I was there at the show and it was truly bizarre. It was really unbelievable to hear people booing their favorite band, but I do understand why they did it.

Living less than an hour drive to NYC, I have many relatives and friends that live or work in the city. My brother-in-law worked at 7 World Trade Center at the time of the attack, one of my best friend's wife worked in the Trade Center Towers and fled when the first plane hit, and a kid from my hometown was killed in the attack. Being from the NYC area, everyone I know either knows someone who worked in the towers and escaped or knows someone who wasn't so lucky to make it out. It dominated the news here more than anywhere else.

Regardless of the politics of George Bush, many people in this area remember him as the guy who came to ground zero shortly after the attack and stood up for New Yorkers. He showed up at the World Series at Yankee Stadium a month later when everyone was convinced that terrorists were going to blow the stadium up. The paranoia was unreal. I remember being at all three world series games at the stadium that year and how the entire crowd would stop watching the game and look up whenever a plane flew over the stadium. You literally held your breath until the plane made it past the stadium.

Ultimately Bush's handling of the post 9/11 foreign policy proved to be complete disaster, but the band playing that song so close to NYC ripped the scab off a wound that will likely never heal for people in this area. I respect the band's right to play it - its a uniquely American right to mock and criticize the president. But I think in hindsight they would agree it was not the right time or place to to pick that fight. I don't think the band meant any harm or disrespect to the people of New York.

It was just a weird, weird night. In some ways I'm glad I was there and in other ways I wish I didn't have to see that all play out.

The Currents Will Shift

VinylGirl wrote:

I was there, but not down in 10c seats- I wa higher up, and I can tell you that there were plenty of boos during Bushleager. I know because I kept saying 'wtf is the matter with these people'. But I was saying that the whole night. I don't know if you all remember, but it wasn't just that song, Ed made some comments throughout the night about Bush- and the crowd didn't want to hear it. It was a hard time and they just wanted to hear the band. Most of us lost someone (if not more) we knew or cared about on 9/11 and peoples feelings were all mixed about Bush. Now, I don't want to hear from the glee club how "oh, those weren't 10c seats so they weren't real fans booing". Bullshit- plenty of us NYer's get shut out of 10c seats every tour.

You are definitely right about the comments all night. I felt that Ed let this show get away at the end. It kind of pissed me off at the time that I was leaving a show feeling that way. I will say that at least they acknowledged it on the blu-ray /DVD. The band definitely recalled it for a reason, because it was unique and to me a low point in my relationship with the band. It wasn't the right time and place for that.

The Currents Will Shift

on2legs wrote:

I was there at the show and it was truly bizarre. It was really unbelievable to hear people booing their favorite band, but I do understand why they did it.

Living less than an hour drive to NYC, I have many relatives and friends that live or work in the city. My brother-in-law worked at 7 World Trade Center at the time of the attack, one of my best friend's wife worked in the Trade Center Towers and fled when the first plane hit, and a kid from my hometown was killed in the attack. Being from the NYC area, everyone I know either knows someone who worked in the towers and escaped or knows someone who wasn't so lucky to make it out. It dominated the news here more than anywhere else.

Regardless of the politics of George Bush, many people in this area remember him as the guy who came to ground zero shortly after the attack and stood up for New Yorkers. He showed up at the World Series at Yankee Stadium a month later when everyone was convinced that terrorists were going to blow the stadium up. The paranoia was unreal. I remember being at all three world series games at the stadium that year and how the entire crowd would stop watching the game and look up whenever a plane flew over the stadium. You literally held your breath until the plane made it past the stadium.

Ultimately Bush's handling of the post 9/11 foreign policy proved to be complete disaster, but the band playing that song so close to NYC ripped the scab off a wound that will likely never heal for people in this area. I respect the band's right to play it - its a uniquely American right to mock and criticize the president. But I think in hindsight they would agree it was not the right time or place to to pick that fight. I don't think the band meant any harm or disrespect to the people of New York.

It was just a weird, weird night. In some ways I'm glad I was there and in other ways I wish I didn't have to see that all play out.

Thanks for sharing that, because it is exactly how I felt at the time. Just a bizarre moment for me as well.

abhijeet

JoelInNoCal wrote:

To be fair, PJ did play Bushleaguer about 19 times after this incident. Some overseas. Some in the U.S., particularly in very red Irvine.

Irvine isn't 'Red' like say the South of the US, Irvine is 'Red' because it's a bunch of rich guys who want lower taxes. Not quite the same as playing the song somewhere in the Midwest.

JE79371

I heard Bushleaguer in Nashville two weeks earlier and there was a similar crowd reaction. There was a patriotic fervor at the time surrounding the invasion of Iraq that started weeks earlier, and George Bush's approval rating was at 70%. It was uncomfortable to experience so much negative energy at a Pearl Jam concert but Alive ("The freedom of speech is still...alive.") and Sonic Reducer put the crowd back in good cheer.

Byrnzie

bootlegger10 wrote:

it was less than two years after 9/11

All the more the reason why they should have played it IMO. If America doesn't want any more 9/11's then they should be all the more critical of war mongers like George W Bush taking office and increasing the chances of the U.S being attacked again.

NewJPage

JoelInNoCal wrote:

The Currents Will Shift wrote:

A lot of people here are looking at this moment with sort of rose colored glasses. This was the one moment which could have gotten ugly. I was there that night and live on long island, and that was a completely absurd thing to do that night in my opinion. A lot of people don't realize on this board that long island is a little more "red" than the parts further west. So that crowd wasn't all city folk that would appear at MSG. From my vantage point some fights started in the crowd, and next to me 100's (believe it or not, still fanclub seats) side of stage a lot of people threw things in Ed's direction. The end of the show had absolutely no air in it and many people in the 300's left after he stomped on the mask. Just a stupid moment and could have turned into a real bad situation. He should have learned from playing it a week earlier in Denver (I believe). He pitted fans against eachother and it was a bit naive. That is probably why they stopped playing it after that.

To be fair, PJ did play Bushleaguer about 19 times after this incident. Some overseas. Some in the U.S., particularly in very red Irvine.

played 19 times without the mask. big difference. uniondale was last time played with the mask

Fighting Hellfish

I was there, maybe the best seats I've ever had. 2nd row sidestage, by Mike, about 15 feet from him. I was also 20 days removed from major neck surgery, and this concert was pretty much my first outing post surgery. I would say i was panicking, but I certainly was nervous, completely unable to defend myself, and obviously with nowhere to go. It was very very tense, and what worried me more than anything was getting hit in the back of the head by something thrown from behind or above

wnh1977

Personally, I love it. I love how they followed up "Bushleaguer" with two more songs that are critical of America... "Know Your Rights" and "Rockin' in the Free World". What's wrong with challenging people to think a little bit?

Eddie seemed to be totally antagonizing the crowd at the end of the show, chanting "USA, USA, USA". Watch the quarter hit Eddie at 5:50... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQW2PPO0pPI

Also, love Ed slamming the microphone and just walking off the stage. "Thank you, good night" (SLAM!!)

How do you think the material of the late comedian, Bill Hicks would have went over??? : Go back to bed, America. Your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control again. Here. Here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up. Go back to bed, America. Here is American Gladiators. Here is 56 channels of it! Watch these pituitary retards bang their fucking skulls together and congratulate you on living in the land of freedom. Here you go, America! You are free to do as we tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!

Markiemark70

NewJPage wrote:

played 19 times without the mask. big difference. uniondale was last time played with the mask

Not true. It was played with the mask in Toronto on June 28 2003. I loved it. It was great theatrics and one of my favourite concert moments.

Fighting Hellfish

Markiemark70 wrote:

NewJPage wrote:

played 19 times without the mask. big difference. uniondale was last time played with the mask

Not true. It was played with the mask in Toronto on June 28 2003. I loved it. It was great theatrics and one of my favourite concert moments.

Fighting Hellfish

Fighting Hellfish wrote:

Markiemark70 wrote:

NewJPage wrote:

played 19 times without the mask. big difference. uniondale was last time played with the mask

Not true. It was played with the mask in Toronto on June 28 2003. I loved it. It was great theatrics and one of my favourite concert moments.

I was at that show too! My neighbors to the North were much more well behaved than my fellow long islanders

Fastrichie

wnh1977 wrote:

Personally, I love it. I love how they followed up "Bushleaguer" with two more songs that are critical of America... "Know Your Rights" and "Rockin' in the Free World". What's wrong with challenging people to think a little bit?

Eddie seemed to be totally antagonizing the crowd at the end of the show, chanting "USA, USA, USA". Watch the quarter hit Eddie at 5:50... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQW2PPO0pPI

Also, love Ed slamming the microphone and just walking off the stage. "Thank you, good night" (SLAM!!)

How do you think the material of the late comedian, Bill Hicks would have went over??? : Go back to bed, America. Your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control again. Here. Here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up. Go back to bed, America. Here is American Gladiators. Here is 56 channels of it! Watch these pituitary retards bang their fucking skulls together and congratulate you on living in the land of freedom. Here you go, America! You are free to do as we tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!

They actually cut a whole other encore off the set list after that. Was a killer show that would have been even bigger. Wherever they played the next night, Buffalo maybe, got all the left off songs.

foriginalsin

I was there too. I couldn't believe all the boos. Being from LI, I felt misrepresented and was actually cheering. I was completely for the song. It was tense, but I don't think it was uncalled for. All of us from the ny/li area were affected by 9/11 but it was 2 years later so I don't believe that it was insensitive.

Its hard to know why people were booing. Democrats have won both nassau and suffolk that last couple of presidential elections but not by a lot. LI is split I believe fairly evenly. I guess people thought ed was being unpatriotic which I completely disagree with.

Regardless, Im glad I was there for that moment.

Byrnzie

wnh1977 wrote:

Personally, I love it. I love how they followed up "Bushleaguer" with two more songs that are critical of America... "Know Your Rights" and "Rockin' in the Free World". What's wrong with challenging people to think a little bit?

Eddie seemed to be totally antagonizing the crowd at the end of the show, chanting "USA, USA, USA". Watch the quarter hit Eddie at 5:50... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQW2PPO0pPI

Also, love Ed slamming the microphone and just walking off the stage. "Thank you, good night" (SLAM!!)

How do you think the material of the late comedian, Bill Hicks would have went over??? : Go back to bed, America. Your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control again. Here. Here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up. Go back to bed, America. Here is American Gladiators. Here is 56 channels of it! Watch these pituitary retards bang their fucking skulls together and congratulate you on living in the land of freedom. Here you go, America! You are free to do as we tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!

...though I always thought he said 'picture weary retards', not 'pituitary retards'. What does pituitary even mean? Something to do with a gland?

Smellyman

He was right before the war too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfBSXbuQfcw