No More Festivals!!!

jfm

**this goes straight to Pearl Jam**


Hi guys,

i don't know if you would ever read this but i feel i have to write what i think: i was in Mestre last night and just came back at home after hours and hours of driving out of that hell.
You can't even imagine how much i love you and your music (i'll be in London and Dusseldorf in spite of everything, catching plane for the 1st time in my life only to come and see you...)

BUT

in the name of this love and passion, i wanna ask you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE...

DON'T PLAY FESTIVALS ANYMORE!

DON'T get involved in something set up only to make money and speculate on people's passion. Do your own tours, play shows everywhere you want...we'll be as always in the 1st row enjoying the show, but PLEASE DON'T PLAY FESTIVALS: they've shown in too many occasions they can't absolutely guarantee people's safety that you always proved to care so much. Yesterday in Mestre almost ALL structures collapsed in less than 10 minutes on our heads...this is UNACCEPTABLE and UNJUSTIFIABLE.
We were lucky enough to came back home safe, but maybe next time someone else couldn't be as fortunate.

I really hope you'll read and take in consideration my "request" that - i assure you - reflects a lot of people's thought.
I'm sure you love us as much as we love you so PLEASE don't play festivals anymore.


With love,

Paolo

luxpjamer

First of all I'm glad to hear you're doing well. It must have been terrible. But I on't think that the solution would be that pearl jam stops playing at festivals. I think that even if it was terrible what happened yesterday and all of all in roskilde it's the organization comitee to assure peoples security and most of the time this is guaranteed. How often do you read that accidents happens? There's always a risk that something happens at a big happening and that can also be in a concert of a tour. It's not pearl jam's and the festival's lovers fault.

redlady

What the hell are you talking about this has absolutely nothing to do with festivals it's mothernature and thats one thing that no one can do annything about ...We never see them here in Belgium so were glad we can see them here at Werchter yeah right they were here last year but some of us had to wait for 15 years to see them and i myself 10 years so DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT you gonna piss of manny people by telling those things including me....:mad: :mad:

Rijeka

Well yesterday in Venice, and on my way back I was thinking something like the author of this post, but today when I slept about 4 hrs I realize that it doesn't have anything to do with the band(s) or with the festivals. It's just unpredictable and unstoppable.

No_CoDeyeah

I am understanding that you are dessapointed, sad whatever, but the purpose of your post is a little bit too much dramatic, there is a thing call nature and by definition it's unforeseeable so don't take that too seriously and by the way it's not fair in regards of people who are waiting for them in the following festivals

meme

No_CoDeyeah wrote:

I am understanding that you are dessapointed, sad whatever, but the purpose of your post is a little bit too much dramatic, there is a thing call nature and by definition it's unforeseeable so don't take that too seriously and by the way it's not fair in regards of people who are waiting for them in the following festivals

Sorry, but we Italians are used to organizers/the government fucking up in facing up to "mother nature". Those structures were not properly secured, it seems to me. I trust the Pearl Jam people much more than festival organizers.

mnarob3

redlady wrote:

What the hell are you talking about this has absolutely nothing to do with festivals it's mothernature and thats one thing that no one can do annything about ...We never see them here in Belgium so were glad we can see them here at Werchter yeah right they were here last year but some of us had to wait for 15 years to see them and i myself 10 years so DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT you gonna piss of manny people by telling those things including me....:mad: :mad:

my thoughts exactly!!!!

romybian

I believe they've only accepted to play at festivals that were covered for most of the misfortunes that could happen. But you never know when Mother Nature's gonna hit, and that's not usual I'm sure (what happened at the Heineken gig).
We know for a fact some festivals have even improved their security just cause PJ said they wouldn't play if they didn't, they're doing everything they can, plus, they give us the opportunity to enjoy their music in that enviornment.... wich I believe is great.
Not playing more festivals is like running away from their fears... I think they've been brave enough to overcome it and risponsable enough to make sure it doesn't happen again....
...IMO

duggro

nonsense

solaruppras

I've already written two posts about what happened yesterday, so i won't repeat anything. but saying "it's only mother nature" it's an excuse. we're not talking about hurricane katrina, we're talking about of 3 minutes of heavy rain and hailstones. if a tree collapse, it's mother nature, if 8 iron towers (not a prdocut of our mother nature )are not fixed on the ground because the park it's an ex rubbish dump of toxic residuals still underground do so, it's human fault.


And by the way, i guess the sense of jfm post is that since we know how much pearl jam care about security, the only way to ensure security it's playing only thier own proper shows under their entourage responsibilities, and i will add only in inside venues, and seats only. nobody is praying for next festivals already scheduled to be cancelled. And sorry but since yesterday i never thought something like "shit, i missed pearl jam", only "luckily me and my lady are safe".

No_CoDeyeah

solaruppras wrote:

I've already written two posts about what happened yesterday, so i won't repeat anything. but saying "it's only mother nature" it's an excuse. we're not talking about hurricane katrina, we're talking about of 3 minutes of heavy rain and hailstones. if a tree collapse, it's mother nature, if 8 iron towers (not a prdocut of our mother nature )are not fixed on the ground because the park it's an ex rubbish dump of toxic residuals still underground do so, it's human fault.


And by the way, i guess the sense of jfm post is that since we know how much pearl jam care about security, the only way to ensure security it's playing only thier own proper shows under their entourage responsibilities, and i will add only in inside venues, and seats only. nobody is praying for next festivals already scheduled to be cancelled. And sorry but since yesterday i never thought something like "shit, i missed pearl jam", only "luckily me and my lady are safe".

Come on man you are not talking about a massacre, or a total war, things like that happens sometimes, it's nobody's fault in particular, if you are desagree with organiation of festivals or whatelse sent message in the right place

solaruppras

No_CoDeyeah wrote:

Come on man you are not talking about a massacre, or a total war, things like that happens sometimes, it's nobody's fault in particular, if you are desagree with organiation of festivals or whatelse sent message in the right place

well, maybe i was not clear, so this is my last post about it and that's it.
1). i'm not saying it's pearl jam fault, i'm just sharing impressions because i was there. i don't know if you were there, so maybe you don't know how it's like to be there in the middle of the storm, thinking about that just 20 minutes before you were sitting and chatting with friends under one of the towers that collapsed;
2) it was 5 o clock, and it was a moment of pause between le mani (an italian supporting band) and my chemical romance (the first of the main act). there were not much people aorund the stage and even a lot of people was still not even inside the venue. let's now imagine if that mess happened during the pearl jam (30000 tickets sold, so 30000 thousand people packed like sardines).
3) imagine if that happened on sunday, when the most famous italian singer was scheduled to play, wih 106000 tickets already sold and 150000 people supposed to be there.
4)imagine now if the storm lasted more than only 5 minutes, like it was.
Does it sound like a possible massacre or still not?

Eraserhead

Indoor, seated shows all the way!

mAci

seated shows????you are just kidding,dont you???the best solution is to play inside venues of course,but you cant guarantee that nothing can happen...and btw. in katowice,there were 45000 people on the show,more than in venice,so not playing festivals is absolutly nonsense

Rijeka

Eraserhead wrote:

Indoor, seated shows all the way!

yeah right, and The Vienna Boys Choir as opening band on every show

jfm

Someone could lost his life out there so we can only feel grateful it didn't happened. I'm not saying it's Pearl Jam's fault: we were so excited about the show, drove all night to be there as soon as possible, all ready to enjoy the evening.
Saying that was Mother Nature's fault is a convenient excuse to cover the lack of organization and HUMAN's responsibility...i'm sorry but i can't accept this.
For those who said that, my purpose wasn't to piss off people or anything like that: we're here for the same reason, the same love for this band so i really hope you will enjoy shows you're gonna be at. I'm just saying that in my opinion Pearl Jam should play only their own shows, where they can directly control security. It's pretty obvious that something bad could happen even in that situation, but i think there's an higher risk at festivals. That's all.

Peace,

Paolo


@ luxpjamer: yeah, it was terrible and scary but luckily me and my friends didn't get hurt. Thanks for caring.

bootlegger10

No one is forcing you to go to a festival show. They are doing their own shows as well, which you are going to. I'm skipping Lollapalooza, it isn't that difficult.

Dercheef

bootlegger10 wrote:

No one is forcing you to go to a festival show. They are doing their own shows as well, which you are going to. I'm skipping Lollapalooza, it isn't that difficult.

Good comment. If you think it's not save enough at a festival or at an outdoor gig or at a standing gig (where most of the time seats are available too) just don't go there. It's not like stuff like that happens all the time at festivals or people get seriously hurt at standing gigs. In fact, it's pretty rare. I'm not saying it wasn't anybodys fault that those towers collapsed and by the looks of things we can be very happy that noone was seriously hurt but when even cars get turned upside down you can hardly expect nothing to happen like it did.
In my opinion outdoor or standings gigs are secure if they get organised well.

lazygun_99

Yeah but remember the roof fell in on that hall in I think it was Poland the other year. No matter how careful you are things can go wrong and standing in a big crowd of lots of other people tends to mean that when it goes wrong it goes really quite wrong.

dave grolsch

jfm wrote:

**this goes straight to Pearl Jam**


Hi guys,

i don't know if you would ever read this but i feel i have to write what i think: i was in Mestre last night and just came back at home after hours and hours of driving out of that hell.
You can't even imagine how much i love you and your music (i'll be in London and Dusseldorf in spite of everything, catching plane for the 1st time in my life only to come and see you...)

BUT

in the name of this love and passion, i wanna ask you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE...

DON'T PLAY FESTIVALS ANYMORE!

DON'T get involved in something set up only to make money and speculate on people's passion. Do your own tours, play shows everywhere you want...we'll be as always in the 1st row enjoying the show, but PLEASE DON'T PLAY FESTIVALS: they've shown in too many occasions they can't absolutely guarantee people's safety that you always proved to care so much. Yesterday in Mestre almost ALL structures collapsed in less than 10 minutes on our heads...this is UNACCEPTABLE and UNJUSTIFIABLE.
We were lucky enough to came back home safe, but maybe next time someone else couldn't be as fortunate.

I really hope you'll read and take in consideration my "request" that - i assure you - reflects a lot of people's thought.
I'm sure you love us as much as we love you so PLEASE don't play festivals anymore.


With love,

Paolo

firstly i am pleased everyone is still breathing,but c,mon after 2000 our boys dont need to be hearing what you are saying, just think of all the bands playing festivals or outdoors every year,yeah tonnes,and millions of people(bands and fans) have had the time of there lives,you might as well say dont ever play new orleans(in door or other) again,mother nature cannot be taken for granted EVER.yeah i,ve been in a crowd at a festival when people have lost there lives and it will probably happen again,as will the great white accident,or the dimebag incident,i know you are probs still in shock,but pj are performers,theatre,arena,club and festivals,accidents happen anywhere,but you are asking alot to suggest pj dont play outdoors/festivals again for your needs,cmon more chance of been hurt en route.loadsa love.

HKP

mAci wrote:

seated shows????you are just kidding,dont you???the best solution is to play inside venues of course,but you cant guarantee that nothing can happen...and btw. in katowice,there were 45000 people on the show,more than in venice,so not playing festivals is absolutly nonsense

...yeah, and in Katowice it was pretty fucking scary for entirely different reasons.

luxpjamer

It's nonsense to blame every festival because there were accidents in two of them in the last 7 years. There are more deads or injuries because of car accidents, plane crashes, train but you are still using it, or?

Look what happened in 1985 in the Heysel stadium during the game liverpool-juventus, it was dramatic but people are still going to football games !!!

The Cayzer

I can see both sides of this argument, but for what it's worth, here's my opinion.

I've seen a lot of PJ shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including festival shows in Europe, so I guess that put's me in a small group of people who have seen the differences in the organization first hand.

PJ only shows are organized VERY differently to festival shows and the band have much more control over what's happening in all aspects of the show. For me, a PJ only show comes with a greater sense of security.

With a festival, they are very much in the hands of the local organizers / security etc, despite any specific demands they may make before agreeing to play the show.

My experience of festival organization / security has been overwhelmingly bad and it's very different to the way that PJ now handles things at their own show.

Anyone who has spent anytime at the front will have seen how demanding PJ's own security are, they are VERY specific about how things should be done, where security should stand etc. This involvement is often reduced at a festival show.

The issue in Italy was clearly a freak of nature and so it's difficult to point fingers of blame, however, I know from experience that organizers of festivals in Europe, given the choice, would much rather save money than go the extra mile with safety and security. They tend to do what is considered adequate, which sometimes is not enough. I think PJ has a very different approach for obvious reasons. The level of acceptable safety measures also varies massively from country to country.

I would personally be happy if they never played a festival ever again, but I do understand the reasons for wanting to play them as they reach a wider audience and generate a lot of money for the band (not a criticism).

luxpjamer

The Cayzer wrote:

I would personally be happy if they never played a festival ever again, but I do understand the reasons for wanting to play them as they reach a wider audience and generate a lot of money for the band (not a criticism).

a Festival ain't just a money thing, man!!!
It's an experience, all this people just there for the music and fun, sleeping in a tent, dancing in the mudd, making new friends,...it's like a camp fire and pearl jam is performing. I never saw pj at a festival and I would love too.

The Cayzer

I know..i've been to plenty of festivals...both good and bad....when they are good, they are very very good.....when they are bad....well...we've all been there.

I didn't say it was just about money, and even if it was, it's not necessarily as bad thing - but it's a huge factor in the decision making process.

If PJ needs to justify a trip to Europe by making several festival appearances then it's fine by me, it saves me a ton of money as I don't have to make as many trips to the US to see them, but given the choice, I'll take PJ only shows every day of the week and twice on a sunday

tinorangi

I compleatly disagree.

was at mestre for the festival, and pearl jam would of been the highlight of it for me. going along, and watching a cornacopia of music is fantastic, we had been talking about the lineup all week, such a melting pot of fans and music, and if its organised well (and someone deciceds it might be a good idea to secure scafolds to the ground!) they are simply a fantastic experience. whats bad with sitting in a field for a few days seeing different bands and too have it all topped of with PJ!! yea there can be problems with them, though the double barrier thing they have at (i think) all festivals PJ play at removes some of the danger. watched them at reading and at dusseldorf and although dusseldorf was a better PJ gig, the Reading experience tops it hands down (even if i did have to sit through placebo first) if they pick the right festivals there just as good as solo gigs

parel jam

The only reason I could imagine why Pearl Jam shouldn't play festivals anymore is because all the non-PJ fans, who only want to hear Alive...

redrock

solaruppras wrote:

8 iron towers (not a prdocut of our mother nature )are not fixed on the ground

I understand that the initial findings showed the towers had passed safety inspection and were fixed as they should have been.

A storm that can break a tree in two can easily topple towers.

Lets not be over dramatic... I am sorry for those who were hurt, but we should not go ott.

redrock

jfm wrote:

Pearl Jam should play only their own shows, where they can directly control security.

But this wasn't a security issue.. you're getting things mixed up.

vedder_soup

redrock wrote:

I understand that the initial findings showed the towers had passed safety inspection and were fixed as they should have been.

A storm that can break a tree in two can easily topple towers.

Lets not be over dramatic... I am sorry for those who were hurt, but we should not go ott.

as it has been mentioned it was a freak of nature, had there been no wind with that storm, everyone would be jumping around in the mud and having a great time. everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but in the end, the bad will play where the band want to play

Mine

I don't think there is anything wrong with the idea of festivals per se. However I don't think it makes much sense to make festivals with line ups as they are done now. I'd be more than happy to have been around in the late 60s or early 70s, now those were line ups. I'm not talking just about the big ones like Monterey pop, Woodstock or Isle of wight. There were a lot of smaller festivals around america with bands that made sense to be together and jammed with each other, now that would be a festival to go.

Pearl Jam, lp, mcr... how much sense does that make, and not financial, since for the festival goer it's not a pro? Heineken jammin festival was all about the money not about rock&roll.

About the weather and the storm. Wild storms do happen in the upper Adriatic in summer, being the festivall site plane and above the see, the storm comes as violent as it is and wind up to 100km/h and above are not that rare, ask people from Trieste. I live on the other side of the Adriatic and less than a month agoo a simillar tornado hit the cost, but where it hit the cost is very high so it didn't make it far and made no harm.
The fact that the towers were made to resist a wind speed up to 90km/h sounds naive knowing stronger winds are not all that rare here. At least a little norther they are not.

The people were great, that's what saved it.

As for Pearl Jam, i highly doupt anybody would rather see them on a festival gig than a solo show. Needles to say a storm doesn't blow off an indor gig.