Just got home and wow am I exhausted and my body is still in pain, but it was well worth it. My buddy and I took the MARTA straight from the air port and started standing in line at 10:00 AM and were one of the first people in the park when the gates opened at noon. Met a really cool group of PJ fans from Florida waiting in line with us and our entire group was together for the entire show and partying and rocking. Nice to meet new friends from Florida (thanks Trevor). After standing all day for almost 12 hours, my body is in pain.
Was on the rail on Mike's side RIGHT in front of Mike and I think that alone can describe the kind of night I had. Nothing but PJ fans down in the pit and I thought the band's energy was off the charts - especially Ed. They were really feeding off the crowd's energy (sold out 52,000 people) and PJ absolutely killed it. Loved the set - even though it was a pretty typical festival with a lot of hits, but wow, the energy was crazy. Why Go opening was just fucking rocking and the first 3 songs they really came out and hit the crowd in the face. Ed's face after letitng crowd take the sing along during Betterman was priceless. Loved hearing Porch and Reviewmirror in the same set, as well as opening the first encore with Crazy Mary. That was probably one of the greatest jam sessions that I've heard on Reviewmirror and the strobe light effects were awesome.
Needless to say, just a great night and quick trip for me. I know I sound biased because I was on the rail right in front of Mike, but the energy of the band and the crowd really was off the charts. I just knew it was going to be a great night when they first took the stage and I yelled Matt's name and pointed at him, he looked at me, gave a wink with a smile and head nod and gave me a point back. Caught two of Mike's picks - one of my highlights of the night was a moment when Mike was playing and one of the thousand times I yelled "McCREADY!!!" and he looked at me and flung a pick at me, but nailed one of the security event staff people in front of the stage in the back of the head. Mike thyen looked at me like "Oh well, what can you do?" and shrugged his shoulders.
Just a great show and a great crowd. A LOT of PJ fans there. I heard some even staff people tell me that there probably 15,000 more people there the second night than the first night, which was more than likely due to PJ. Awesome show and a great tiem - I needed this very badly.
Post edited by YLed2 on
Bristow, VA - 5.13.10
East Troy, WI - 9.3.11
East Troy, WI - 9.4.11
Atlanta, GA - 9.22.12
Las Vegas, NV - 10.31.12 (EV)
Las Vegas, NV - 11.1.12 (EV)
Chicago, IL - 7.19.13
Dallas, TX - 11.15.13
Oklahoma City, OK - 11.16.13
Seattle, WA - 12.6.13
Lincoln, NE - 10.9.14
Moline, IL - 10.17.14
St. Paul, MN - 10.19.14
Milwaukee, WI - 10.20.14
New York, NY - 5.1.16
New York, NY - 5.2.16
Boston, MA - 8.5.16
Boston, MA - 8.7.16
Chicago, IL - 8.20.16
LOVED IT!! Managed to make a mad dash for the rail and ended up right in front of Jeff. Hours and hours of waiting, two liters of water, one bathroom break and a protein bar. The guys came out right away with no intro music and some techs still on stage when they tore into Why Go. Mainly hits as with any festival, but the energy was amazing. You can tell they really appreciated the feedback from the crowd. I've been pretty close before and have gotten beaten and pushed near to death but the group around us was fantastic this time around. We all looked out for each other and that resulted and in a fantastic experience that I never though could happen being that close. I'm normally on Stone's side so it was great to finally feel the energy from Mike and Jeff. These guys stay stoked throughout the whole show!! The high points of the festival for me: Getting a drumstick from Florence's drummer and a pick from Mike. The best was watching Ed scramble around stage telling the guys to start Alive because they were short on time. After Alive he ran off stage to try and negotiate more time with this guy but was rejected. When he saw that Stone was still setting up his equipment for RITFW he said "Fuck it. I'll pay the fine" Eddie is and always will be the man.
Thanks guys for a great show. Thanks Ed for taking a dent in the wallet. Thanks superfan2442 and his whole Chi-town crew. Thanks pumpkinhead for waking your ass up to join me at the rail. And thanks to Eli from Athens (Georgia or Greece depending on who you ask ) for not judging me for my actions between 9pm and 11:03. Hope you and Kristin had a great first show and decide to join the Tenclub. Hope to see a lot of you at the EV shows. Until then..
Well, as someone who hadn't seen PJ in a *long* time (since I live in the South :( ).... I knew this night was gonna be special. We wound up braving the heat and the crowds and staying in front of the stage from 1:30 on. COMPLETELY worth it. I've never been closer or had such an intense time at a PJ show before. Yeah, the setlist was mostly hits, but it didn't really matter when everyone around you is singing along and the band is just feeding off the crowd's energy.
24 (?!) songs in just over 2 hours... Pretty amazing. Can't wait to see the guys come back around in 2013... Maybe Charlotte this time??!!
I live in Atlanta so this show meant a lot to me. The wife and I headed out late Wednesday night for Pensacola to see them at Deluna fest and left almost immediately after their show there to head back to Atlanta. We arrived in Atlanta in time to take a nap for a couple of hours before heading to piedmont park. I preferred the Deluna setlists more, but I think that is only because Atlanta had a stupid curfue. Met a father and son who came from California and this 17 year old boy was so excited! It reminded me of my first pearl jam experience. Overall this was one of the most memorable shows I've attended because I live in Atlanta. My buddy also came with me and this was his second time and first in years. He had a blast!
My first PJ show! We had a great time last night Mike was amazing, of course, and I was just in awe as I watched him put his all into his performance. And I was especially thrilled by Matt Cameron. What a stellar performance from him and from all the guys. Since it was my first show I was definitely happy with the setlist and got to hear a couple that were on my personal list of ones that I especially wanted to hear, like Given to Fly and Corduroy. My hubs is not the fanatic that I am and he felt like he knew all the songs too and he definitely enjoyed himself.
I cannot believe they jammed 50,000 people into that place. I was seriously afraid of getting hurt on several occasions (I'm all of 5'2" and saw more backs and heads than anything else BUT the sound was good so I was happy). I was on Stone's side but to the extreme right directly in front of the monitor. I was about 5 deep from the rail (and I told my hubs and our friend we should move to the rail and of course, we didn't and Ed runs down through there :fp: ) and had several totally cool fans around me. However, I cannot get over how some people felt that it was their right to push to the front. All in all, most of the guys were cool, maybe a bit overzealous jumping at times but totally cool. The girls, however, were rude and just had to get to the front to see Ed. They didn't know the songs, not even the hits, but they were practically willing to start fights to get past you. But to the hard rocking chick right next to me - you fucking rock! She rocked harder than anyone else there, except for me Sorry I didn't catch her name but if you're on here then thanks for being one of the cool girls! Unfortunately, I will never go to see PJ at a festival again. I want as close as I can get so I'll be holding out for a dedicated show from now on. No regrets though, I had a blast!
Are we getting something out of this all-encompassing trip?
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I was in a pretty solid group of fans... About 10 minutes before the set started, some guy decided he was going to try and maneuver his way through, but was prompty turned around by a guy letting him know that it was "not fucking happening." Most times, I'd consider that an asshole move... But knowing what we'd gone through to hold down those spots, I was only sorry that I didn't say it myself.
I like to be as close as possible for a band, but I pick my spots. If there's a large opening and I can get to it without pissing anyone off, I'll take it. If I'm 6'4, I'm not going to push my way through and stand right in front of a group of 5'0 girls... It's just a dick thing to do. If the size of the crowd puts me in the middle (or even the back of the pack), so be it. If everyone had that mentality, I think everyone would have a little more fun. If you get there early enough to be upfront and put in the work, you're awesome and deserve it. Me? I couldn't do that. I took my bathroom break during Florence and then let the chips fall where they may. But if you go see Girl Talk and leave at 10 til, you need to accept the fact that you're probably not going to be close enough to see Eddie's sweat.
Sorry for the rant... But like I said, I was in with some cool people. Some assholes threw off my groove through the night, but you'll always have that a GA show so I guess I just have to deal with it.
This was my second festival after Lollapalooza last year, and it would take a damn good lineup to get me back to another one. Too many people looking for a social gathering, not enough there for the music.
Great show! I had the view from upper level Super VIP and although we got ripped off with our view of the stage the view of the crowd was spectacular. For the most part this was a greatest hits show which really they have no choice to keep this large of crowd going. But I gotta tell you---it was like hearing all those songs for the first time again and I sang and danced the shit out of them. So I guess this is the positive of such a show and I dig it and the timing was right for it(man these guys are good:)). At a regular show I'd be disappointed to hear alot of these songs (spoiled) but this gave them new life---so awesome. Oh but I still love how Ed will throw stuff out there that they have never heard of----and you can tell it is because he is hoping to convey a message (know your rights, unthought known).
So it was completely awesome even though I could only see 40 percent of the stage. We got ripped but we made the best of it----only PJ can cure that.
Btw- Eddie Vedder tries to give the audience his attention
Dave Grohl seeks the attention of the audience---such a contrast and it speaks volumes. Thanks all for being the best fans in the world, seriously.
96 - Ft Lauderdale
98 - ATL; WPB I & II
00 - WPB I & II
03 - Boston I; Detroit I & II
04 - Boston VFC I & II
05 - Borgata II
08 - WPB; NY MSG I & II
10 - CLE
12 - Music Midtown; EV Jax II; EV Orlando I&II
13 - BWI; CVille; CLT
14 - Memphis
16 - Jax; Gville; Cola; Fenway II
Too many people looking for a social gathering, not enough there for the music.
Exactly!! There were way too many 'frat boys' and 'sorority girls' there that were more interested in socializing and just generally being in the way and the ones that were around me didn't seem to know any of the songs.
I was probably about 20 feet center in front of the sound booth in the middle and the sound was amazing! Have heard a lot about people saying the sound was horrible, but from where I was at, it was good, plus, I was sober and could fully hear it and remember!
This show was my fourth time seeing PJ and first time at a festival. Drove down from Knoxville, TN. I brought along my 11 year old son who loves PJ and he was pumped the whole day! Loved the show, hell, I love every show that I have been to! Look forward to seeing them again...now to find a way to make it to Eddie's show in Memphis!
I had a great time at this show. I was there with my brother and two buddies I hadn't seen a PJ show with in about a decade, but let's call a spade a spade. This was a straight up greatest hits lets take the money and run show. I was thrilled to see my favorite band in my adopted home town but anyone who thinks this show was a barn burner is delusional. The entire setlist was comprised of all the songs on Dave FM's playlist. The only holy shit moment was when i realized they hadn't played Daughter. Still a good time, though.
Too many people looking for a social gathering, not enough there for the music.
Exactly!! There were way too many 'frat boys' and 'sorority girls' there that were more interested in socializing and just generally being in the way and the ones that were around me didn't seem to know any of the songs.
I was probably about 20 feet center in front of the sound booth in the middle and the sound was amazing! Have heard a lot about people saying the sound was horrible, but from where I was at, it was good, plus, I was sober and could fully hear it and remember!
This show was my fourth time seeing PJ and first time at a festival. Drove down from Knoxville, TN. I brought along my 11 year old son who loves PJ and he was pumped the whole day! Loved the show, hell, I love every show that I have been to! Look forward to seeing them again...now to find a way to make it to Eddie's show in Memphis!
I think that you were close to us...if you were near the big dude, like 6'6", on the center rail with the straw hat and large goatee... we were right behind him...
About 20 yards from the stage on the center rail...not as good as 2nd row center for Amsterdam #1, but better than I've ever had on this side of the pond. Sound was great where we were, although it seemed a bit bass heavy. Better was when Ed ran out to the sound booth...the dude is smaller than I thought!
Hell of a show, great weather, decent music throughout the day. Couldn't have asked for much more.
"Then the Spirit of God hovered over the water, and God said, Let there be music, and there was Pearl Jam."
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
Amazing show! #16 for me. Was about 15 rows back right in front of Stone.
There wasn't anything rare but I really enjoyed all the hits. They were on fire! Especially MIke during all of his solos (Black )!!
All around great show and festival. Got up front, closer than I have ever been, and only had to stand in the crowd for about 3.5 hours before PJ came on
2003: 7/14 NJ ... 2006: 6/1 NJ, 6/3 NJ ... 2007: 8/5 IL ... 2008: 6/24 NY, 6/25 NY, 8/7 EV NJ ... 2009: 10/27 PA, 10/28 PA, 10/30 PA, 10/31 PA 2010: 5/20 NY, 5/21 NY ... 2011: 6/21 EV NY, 9/3 WI, 9/4 WI ... 2012: 9/2 PA, 9/22 GA ... 2013: 10/18 NY, 10/19 NY, 10/21 PA, 10/22 PA, 10/27 MD 2015: 9/23 NY, 9/26 NY ... 2016: 4/28 PA, 4/29 PA, 5/1 NY, 5/2 NY, 6/11 TN, 8/7 MA, 11/4 TOTD PA, 11/5 TOTD PA ... 2018: 8/10 WA 2022: 9/14 NJ ... 2024: 5/28 WA, 9/7 PA, 9/9 PA ---- http://imgur.com/a/nk0s7
looking back it seems like the band was well aware of the curfew, everything was played fast, barely a tag on betterman, no tag on wishlist or black, not much talking between songs. nothing from no code, binaural, or avocado, but that's understandable, it being their first time here since '03, that's what you get. still I had an amazing time, it was awesome to meet some people who drove a long way, hope we represented ourselves well. hopefully we won't have to wait until 2021 for them to come back.
First show since Bonnaroo and I took a longtime friend you had yet to see PJ live. That situation had to be corrected. After hanging back and watching Dave and the Foo work the crowd on Friday, we were all In for Saturday. Made it about 15 feet in front of Stone and Boom for the openers and found ourselves moved to a out 10 feet out once people bailed. It was tight due to massive douchbaggery pushing, but that mentality went away thanks to the cool crew around us where most of us adult men held our ground considering the large number of parents and their kids, teens, and ladies.
When the fellas hit the stage and plowed into 5 out of 6 fast rockers, I just knew they were up for the unique challenge a festival crowd presents. Sure, it becomes mainly a greatest hit set, but the approach made it all sound fresh and alive. The sped up, almost punk pacing to RITFW to beat the curfew produced a fun, unique take. The song didn't have time to wander and breath - Stone and Matt sped it up and the rest of PJ beat it into submission. Good listen if you can find the time.
My highlight of the night was Eddie chucking a guitar pick right at my head. It came so fast it was a blur. As the only one who noticed ("Porch" was rocking at that time) I hit the grass immediately. It was found and claimed (after a little stern persuasion to some younger "fans" behind us) and will be framed along with the super fun and colorful poster for the show.
Great time despite standing for 6 hours straight. I do agree with the rest of you that no more Festivals will be in my future. To quote the great Danny Glover "I'm getting too old for this (stuff)". From here on out, it's got to be seating and it's got to be a PJ only show. Hoping to be able to take my son to the next one for his first show Since he tells me that he's seven & ready to rock 'n roll!!
Atlanta, GA 8/7/00...Atlanta, GA 4/19/03...Columbia, SC 6/16/08...New Orleans, LA 5/1/10...East Troy, WI 9/3/11... East Troy, WI 9/4/11... Atlanta, GA 9/22/12...Greenville, SC 4/16/16...Nashville, TN 9/16/22
^^^ Cool...I think we were just to the right of you, maybe a few yards closer, judging from that last pic.
Had a great time at Midtown, despite the festival annoyances. We started moving toward the stage halfway through Florence's set (and I liked her a lot) and made pretty good progress. Then I heartily encouraged everyone around me to run as fast as they could to the other stage for Girl Talk...and we found a good spot right in line with that owl sign. I won't lie -- we were packed in and people were getting a little chippy, but there were good folks around us and once the show started it was a blast.
It was my 7th show and first at a festival/general admission show. Tons of fun to hear some favorites in the middle of a sea of people. I thought they played as well as any time I've seen them recently...great energy, seemed to respond to the crowd a lot. I have so many favorites but I'll be damned if RVM doesn't kick my ass every time I hear it live. I swore I wouldn't be a Cell Phone Video guy but I had to hold mine up for the strobes at the end.
Wow, just looking at my sig and it's been 4 years since my 08 mini road trip. Too long! Here's hoping they come back to this area again soon.
Philly 05 ~ Camden I 06 ~ DC 06 ~ Columbia 08 ~ Va. Beach 08 ~ Camden I 08 ~ Atlanta 12 ~ Charlotte 13 ~ Columbia 16
My wife and I spent most of the day in the VIP section, right along the fence on Stone's side. We were there at gate open and ventured up to front stage to get a view and good pics of the stage, but had no interest in waiting the 9 hours in that spot despite the temptation to have the best view of our 12 shows. I was a bit disappointed that the standard VIP viewing section (we weren't in the elevated Super VIP area) was so far off to the side, and we also had to view through a 7' tall fence, which was annoying but blended into the background the longer you looked through it. What I did find annoying was the influx of folding chairs from the tent areas and onto the lawn as the afternoon progressed. The front section of the VIP area had signs on the fence clearly indicating that it was a "Standing Area Only, no blankets please", which I interpreted as also meaning "no chairs" which they didn't spell out since event policy was that no chairs were allowed in. Sometime around Florence's performance, more and more people moved chairs up towards the fence and used them to save spots, squeeze people out who had been there for hours, and so on. Again, not a big deal, until people began standing on the chairs and completely blocking the view of people who had been waiting in the same spot for hours. And then people started moving tables close to the front as well. Once it got dark, it was very difficult to navigate to the bathrooms without running into the maze of tables and chairs. It could've been a dangerous situation but fortunately was more of an annoyance than anything, but did serve to verify my feeling that 75% of people are inconsiderate and self-centered. And having a 7' steel fence could've also been very very dangerous (Roskilde ring a bell?), especially since there was ZERO security anywhere in the VIP crowd.
Having said all that, it was overall a fun experience. Aside from PJ20, this is the only festival I've done. I fully expected them to play all the hits, given the festival environment and the lack of southern shows in recent years. Most of the people around us were PJ fans (or more accurately, Ten fans) seeing their first show, and they were thrilled to hear the "hits" more than Crazy Mary, or Know Your Rights, or Supersonic (my 12th show, first time I've seen any of those live). The band sounded great but there wasn't the typical flow since it was obvious they were compressing to hit the 11pm curfew. Free beer and food in the VIP area was very nice, I sure didn't make out on the deal money-wise but it was convenient to grab a beer and sandwich whenever we wanted, and the bathroom lines were reasonable, if you didn't break your leg navigating through the chair maze in the dark. I was very surprised to see them still handing out beer after the show, so it was nice to grab a couple for the road
And kudos for having plenty of posters available, at least from what I saw. After quick sellouts at my last 2 shows (PJ20 and MSG), it's refreshing to be able to attend a show and bring a poster home without having had to make it the priority of the day.
98: Cleveland
2k: Columbus, Seattle I
03: Cleveland, Columbus
04: Toledo
06: Cleveland
10: Cleveland, MSG II
11: Alpine Valley PJ20 I and II
12: Music Midtown Festival (Atlanta)
13: Wrigley, Brooklyn II
14: Cincy
Wow. They played their asses off! I'll echo the comment about Mike... not that he doesn't always kill it, but last night was fantastic.
I really guess I forgot why I hate festivals so much tho... now I remember. So many assholes in the crowd pushing. Not dancing, just pushing. 3 dickwads pushed me aside and then just stood right in front of me about 3/4 of the way through the first set... bathroom situation was horrible too. No line of site down the middle was weird... Ugh. Easily my least favorite show... I forgot to remember that I wasn't going to a Pearl Jam show. That will definitely be the last festival for me if there's a band I really want to see.
Hey, aren't you my new friend from Charlotte? Sounds like our situation in the area on Stone's side. Those 3 shitheads showed up and started smoking right in our faces, yelling at all the wrong times...it definitely changed the vibe of the nice group of fans around us.
In general, though, the show was solid... I've been jonesing for a show since my last one in May 2010. They totally delivered and sounded great despite a few glitches with the sound. Loved seeing Stone with a smile on his face for most of the show, especially when they first came out and saw the huge crowd.
Whoever held up the sign that said, "It doesn't get Eddie Vedder than this," is awesome. So perfect
As usual, I'm having that post-show impulse to quit my job and travel around seeing Pearl Jam shows...if only. Stupid grown-up responsibilities.
Side note about the festival itself...beautiful park, great location, but holy shit, what a mess. Oversold and under-prepared. Outside Lands was not nearly as bad when PJ was there, nor was Firefly earlier this year. I won't come again unless it's my only chance for a PJ show all year.
Hah! Did you just send me the Asheville poster from expressobeans?? Crazy...
I didn't mean to sound quite so negative in my original post. Much about that show was disappointing tho, and those guys pushing me out of the way was the proverbial straw. (Also on Stone's side, also smoking...)
Really looking forward to hearing a recording of this; I don't totally disagree with the UGA guy as it did seem like Ed was tired or getting sick or something at times. I didn't, however, think it took too much away from the show. I also do agree that Piedmont is a beautiful park...
The Florence crowd was so much more awesome. We had plenty of room just behind and to the side of the main beer tent. Stood next to the cutest girl I saw the whole time dancing with her boss's kids (random), and most everyone else just seemed pretty happy.
Then again, I am just *not* a festival guy... especially brutal coming off having been to A'dam 1 a couple of months ago. Got to choose my next show more carefully!
2003-04-15: Raleigh, NC
2003-04-16: Charlotte, NC
2004-10-06: Asheville, NC
2006-05-30: Washington, DC
2006-08-29: Arnhem, The Netherlands
2006-12-02: Honolulu, Hawaii
2012-06-26: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2012-09-22: Atlanta, GA
2013-10-30: Charlotte, NC
2014-01-19: Gold Coast, Australia
2014-06-28: Stockholm, Sweden
2014-06-29: Oslo, Norway
2016-04-18: Hampton, VA
2016-04-20: Raleigh, NC
2016-04-21: Columbia, SC 2018-07-01: Prague, Czech Republic 2018-07-03: Krakow, Poland 2018-09-04: Boston, MA 2020-07-15: Budapest, Hungary 2020-07-17: Zurich, Switzerland 2023-09-19: Austin, TX
LOVED IT!! Managed to make a mad dash for the rail and ended up right in front of Jeff. Hours and hours of waiting, two liters of water, one bathroom break and a protein bar. The guys came out right away with no intro music and some techs still on stage when they tore into Why Go. Mainly hits as with any festival, but the energy was amazing. You can tell they really appreciated the feedback from the crowd. I've been pretty close before and have gotten beaten and pushed near to death but the group around us was fantastic this time around. We all looked out for each other and that resulted and in a fantastic experience that I never though could happen being that close. I'm normally on Stone's side so it was great to finally feel the energy from Mike and Jeff. These guys stay stoked throughout the whole show!! The high points of the festival for me: Getting a drumstick from Florence's drummer and a pick from Mike. The best was watching Ed scramble around stage telling the guys to start Alive because they were short on time. After Alive he ran off stage to try and negotiate more time with this guy but was rejected. When he saw that Stone was still setting up his equipment for RITFW he said "Fuck it. I'll pay the fine" Eddie is and always will be the man.
Thanks guys for a great show. Thanks Ed for taking a dent in the wallet. Thanks superfan2442 and his whole Chi-town crew. Thanks pumpkinhead for waking your ass up to join me at the rail. And thanks to Eli from Athens (Georgia or Greece depending on who you ask ) for not judging me for my actions between 9pm and 11:03. Hope you and Kristin had a great first show and decide to join the Tenclub. Hope to see a lot of you at the EV shows. Until then..
Stood on the other side of Eli and Kristin, unbelievable show! First time ever on the rail and I couldn't have had more fun. Definitely worth the road trip from Wisconsin, can't wait to do it again!
And he who forgets, will be destined to remember...
Huh, interesting. The little kid Eddie offered some wine scored a setlist from a cop while they were breaking down the stage -- definitely a few changes from what was written down.
Loved the show! I have seen the band over 40 times in the past 17 years and Saturday night was just as good as any show in the past. I know it might sound ridiculous but I kind of dug the greatest hits set-list. In the past few years I've been lucky enough to see the band at Alpine Valley (pj20) and Philly (10-31-09) where the band brought out crazy once in a lifetime songs (Out of my Mind, Sweet Lou, Bugs, In the Moonlight to name a few) that Midtown's set-list was kind of flashback to why I love this band. Great songs, great memories, and it was also nice to finally see some new bands that rocked (Florence + the Machine, The Avett Brothers and Foo Fighters) while still being able to watch a Pearl Jam show. I also meet some great fans from the board! You all know who you are! Wisconsin and Chicago where in town to show our love for the band! A great time and a great city! I just need to wash myself thoroughly after taking the Marta for three days!
Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked... in the head... with an iron boot? Of course you don't, no one does. It never happens. Sorry, Ted, that's a dumb question... skip that.
UGA sucks. Next time send out an English-speaking reporter to review concerts.
Pearl Jam was incredible.
War Eagle.
Yeah, I felt like I was reading an Onion article, or it was written on opposite day or something. This dude is the sports editor of the paper -- problem no. 1 -- and all of his other reviews were equally poorly written/reasoned. (He even made up some words in his post on the Avett Bros.) The lack of any research at all on his part is somewhat surprising, since he's coming from a university with such a widely respected j-school. He'll probably cringe when/if he reads these reviews after he graduates and is pulling together a portfolio. At least I hope he does. Bonkers!
UGA sucks. Next time send out an English-speaking reporter to review concerts.
Pearl Jam was incredible.
War Eagle.
I don't get that review at all. I didn't go to Midtown but I've been looking at the videos and Eddie looked and sounded great. They all looked like they were having a great time. ???
UGA sucks. Next time send out an English-speaking reporter to review concerts.
Pearl Jam was incredible.
War Eagle.
I don't get that review at all. I didn't go to Midtown but I've been looking at the videos and Eddie looked and sounded great. They all looked like they were having a great time. ???
They were having a great time and their energy was off the charts!! I really don't know where this review is coming from. I have never seen Stone the way he was and Ed was all over the place and on point from the start. You could really tell they appreciated the feedback and energy from the crowd - they really fed off of it. The whole time myself and many others were screaming about how much they were bringing it.
Bristow, VA - 5.13.10
East Troy, WI - 9.3.11
East Troy, WI - 9.4.11
Atlanta, GA - 9.22.12
Las Vegas, NV - 10.31.12 (EV)
Las Vegas, NV - 11.1.12 (EV)
Chicago, IL - 7.19.13
Dallas, TX - 11.15.13
Oklahoma City, OK - 11.16.13
Seattle, WA - 12.6.13
Lincoln, NE - 10.9.14
Moline, IL - 10.17.14
St. Paul, MN - 10.19.14
Milwaukee, WI - 10.20.14
New York, NY - 5.1.16
New York, NY - 5.2.16
Boston, MA - 8.5.16
Boston, MA - 8.7.16
Chicago, IL - 8.20.16
And with all that, I didn't even mention how f'ing AWESOME the show was!! We parked ourselves on the rail right at noon and had great neighbors for the day -- Candace and Ben, I think, and some other nice folks from Baton Rouge. The ten club people definitely take care of one another, which is super cool.
The first big excitement of the day came at the start of Florence and the Machine. Mike McCready came out with the photographers to take pictures from the pit -- he was right in front of us for a minute! (Pics below.) As for the show itself, I was really excited they did Crazy Mary (even though Eddie didn't pass the bottle around) and Save You, and I loved Know Your Rights and Rockin' in the Free World -- always kickass covers. I was hoping for Baba O'Riley, but was happy with the two that we got. I thought Eddie was in great form. He always sounds amazing. It was awesome to be right in front of Stone for this show; I've never seen a show from his side.
My only complaint about the whole thing was the damn curfew! I live in the neighborhood a few blocks off the park and am going to write letters to the neighborhood association petitioning for curfew exceptions for this event. I'll probably also write Peter Conlon and suggest that the festival headliners should start at 8:30 instead of 9 so they have a little more room for proper encores and set breaks and whatnot. The only bad thing about it was that they couldn't play for longer! I wish we could have heard Last Kiss and Yellow Ledbetter like they had listed on the setlist the kid got.
I'm so glad Atlanta's PJ drought has ended -- hope we'll see them back here again before too long!
nice^^ florence and the machine was unexpectly good, she is really talented
Atlanta, GA 8/7/00...Atlanta, GA 4/19/03...Columbia, SC 6/16/08...New Orleans, LA 5/1/10...East Troy, WI 9/3/11... East Troy, WI 9/4/11... Atlanta, GA 9/22/12...Greenville, SC 4/16/16...Nashville, TN 9/16/22
Comments
Was on the rail on Mike's side RIGHT in front of Mike and I think that alone can describe the kind of night I had. Nothing but PJ fans down in the pit and I thought the band's energy was off the charts - especially Ed. They were really feeding off the crowd's energy (sold out 52,000 people) and PJ absolutely killed it. Loved the set - even though it was a pretty typical festival with a lot of hits, but wow, the energy was crazy. Why Go opening was just fucking rocking and the first 3 songs they really came out and hit the crowd in the face. Ed's face after letitng crowd take the sing along during Betterman was priceless. Loved hearing Porch and Reviewmirror in the same set, as well as opening the first encore with Crazy Mary. That was probably one of the greatest jam sessions that I've heard on Reviewmirror and the strobe light effects were awesome.
Needless to say, just a great night and quick trip for me. I know I sound biased because I was on the rail right in front of Mike, but the energy of the band and the crowd really was off the charts. I just knew it was going to be a great night when they first took the stage and I yelled Matt's name and pointed at him, he looked at me, gave a wink with a smile and head nod and gave me a point back. Caught two of Mike's picks - one of my highlights of the night was a moment when Mike was playing and one of the thousand times I yelled "McCREADY!!!" and he looked at me and flung a pick at me, but nailed one of the security event staff people in front of the stage in the back of the head. Mike thyen looked at me like "Oh well, what can you do?" and shrugged his shoulders.
Just a great show and a great crowd. A LOT of PJ fans there. I heard some even staff people tell me that there probably 15,000 more people there the second night than the first night, which was more than likely due to PJ. Awesome show and a great tiem - I needed this very badly.
East Troy, WI - 9.3.11
East Troy, WI - 9.4.11
Atlanta, GA - 9.22.12
Las Vegas, NV - 10.31.12 (EV)
Las Vegas, NV - 11.1.12 (EV)
Chicago, IL - 7.19.13
Dallas, TX - 11.15.13
Oklahoma City, OK - 11.16.13
Seattle, WA - 12.6.13
Lincoln, NE - 10.9.14
Moline, IL - 10.17.14
St. Paul, MN - 10.19.14
Milwaukee, WI - 10.20.14
New York, NY - 5.1.16
New York, NY - 5.2.16
Boston, MA - 8.5.16
Boston, MA - 8.7.16
Chicago, IL - 8.20.16
Thanks guys for a great show. Thanks Ed for taking a dent in the wallet. Thanks superfan2442 and his whole Chi-town crew. Thanks pumpkinhead for waking your ass up to join me at the rail. And thanks to Eli from Athens (Georgia or Greece depending on who you ask
EVx5
24 (?!) songs in just over 2 hours... Pretty amazing. Can't wait to see the guys come back around in 2013... Maybe Charlotte this time??!!
I cannot believe they jammed 50,000 people into that place. I was seriously afraid of getting hurt on several occasions (I'm all of 5'2" and saw more backs and heads than anything else BUT the sound was good so I was happy). I was on Stone's side but to the extreme right directly in front of the monitor. I was about 5 deep from the rail (and I told my hubs and our friend we should move to the rail and of course, we didn't and Ed runs down through there :fp: ) and had several totally cool fans around me. However, I cannot get over how some people felt that it was their right to push to the front. All in all, most of the guys were cool, maybe a bit overzealous jumping at times but totally cool. The girls, however, were rude and just had to get to the front to see Ed. They didn't know the songs, not even the hits, but they were practically willing to start fights to get past you. But to the hard rocking chick right next to me - you fucking rock! She rocked harder than anyone else there, except for me
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
I like to be as close as possible for a band, but I pick my spots. If there's a large opening and I can get to it without pissing anyone off, I'll take it. If I'm 6'4, I'm not going to push my way through and stand right in front of a group of 5'0 girls... It's just a dick thing to do. If the size of the crowd puts me in the middle (or even the back of the pack), so be it. If everyone had that mentality, I think everyone would have a little more fun. If you get there early enough to be upfront and put in the work, you're awesome and deserve it. Me? I couldn't do that. I took my bathroom break during Florence and then let the chips fall where they may. But if you go see Girl Talk and leave at 10 til, you need to accept the fact that you're probably not going to be close enough to see Eddie's sweat.
Sorry for the rant... But like I said, I was in with some cool people. Some assholes threw off my groove through the night, but you'll always have that a GA show so I guess I just have to deal with it.
This was my second festival after Lollapalooza last year, and it would take a damn good lineup to get me back to another one. Too many people looking for a social gathering, not enough there for the music.
So it was completely awesome even though I could only see 40 percent of the stage. We got ripped but we made the best of it----only PJ can cure that.
Btw- Eddie Vedder tries to give the audience his attention
Dave Grohl seeks the attention of the audience---such a contrast and it speaks volumes. Thanks all for being the best fans in the world, seriously.
98 - ATL; WPB I & II
00 - WPB I & II
03 - Boston I; Detroit I & II
04 - Boston VFC I & II
05 - Borgata II
08 - WPB; NY MSG I & II
10 - CLE
12 - Music Midtown; EV Jax II; EV Orlando I&II
13 - BWI; CVille; CLT
14 - Memphis
16 - Jax; Gville; Cola; Fenway II
Exactly!! There were way too many 'frat boys' and 'sorority girls' there that were more interested in socializing and just generally being in the way and the ones that were around me didn't seem to know any of the songs.
I was probably about 20 feet center in front of the sound booth in the middle and the sound was amazing! Have heard a lot about people saying the sound was horrible, but from where I was at, it was good, plus, I was sober and could fully hear it and remember!
This show was my fourth time seeing PJ and first time at a festival. Drove down from Knoxville, TN. I brought along my 11 year old son who loves PJ and he was pumped the whole day! Loved the show, hell, I love every show that I have been to! Look forward to seeing them again...now to find a way to make it to Eddie's show in Memphis!
I think that you were close to us...if you were near the big dude, like 6'6", on the center rail with the straw hat and large goatee... we were right behind him...
About 20 yards from the stage on the center rail...not as good as 2nd row center for Amsterdam #1, but better than I've ever had on this side of the pond. Sound was great where we were, although it seemed a bit bass heavy. Better was when Ed ran out to the sound booth...the dude is smaller than I thought!
Hell of a show, great weather, decent music throughout the day. Couldn't have asked for much more.
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
There wasn't anything rare but I really enjoyed all the hits. They were on fire! Especially MIke during all of his solos (Black
All around great show and festival. Got up front, closer than I have ever been, and only had to stand in the crowd for about 3.5 hours before PJ came on
2010: 5/20 NY, 5/21 NY ... 2011: 6/21 EV NY, 9/3 WI, 9/4 WI ... 2012: 9/2 PA, 9/22 GA ... 2013: 10/18 NY, 10/19 NY, 10/21 PA, 10/22 PA, 10/27 MD
2015: 9/23 NY, 9/26 NY ... 2016: 4/28 PA, 4/29 PA, 5/1 NY, 5/2 NY, 6/11 TN, 8/7 MA, 11/4 TOTD PA, 11/5 TOTD PA ... 2018: 8/10 WA
2022: 9/14 NJ ... 2024: 5/28 WA, 9/7 PA, 9/9 PA ---- http://imgur.com/a/nk0s7
http://www.redandblack.com/variety/eddi ... um=twitter
When the fellas hit the stage and plowed into 5 out of 6 fast rockers, I just knew they were up for the unique challenge a festival crowd presents. Sure, it becomes mainly a greatest hit set, but the approach made it all sound fresh and alive. The sped up, almost punk pacing to RITFW to beat the curfew produced a fun, unique take. The song didn't have time to wander and breath - Stone and Matt sped it up and the rest of PJ beat it into submission. Good listen if you can find the time.
My highlight of the night was Eddie chucking a guitar pick right at my head. It came so fast it was a blur. As the only one who noticed ("Porch" was rocking at that time) I hit the grass immediately. It was found and claimed (after a little stern persuasion to some younger "fans" behind us) and will be framed along with the super fun and colorful poster for the show.
Great time despite standing for 6 hours straight. I do agree with the rest of you that no more Festivals will be in my future. To quote the great Danny Glover "I'm getting too old for this (stuff)". From here on out, it's got to be seating and it's got to be a PJ only show. Hoping to be able to take my son to the next one for his first show Since he tells me that he's seven & ready to rock 'n roll!!
i had a blast
Had a great time at Midtown, despite the festival annoyances. We started moving toward the stage halfway through Florence's set (and I liked her a lot) and made pretty good progress. Then I heartily encouraged everyone around me to run as fast as they could to the other stage for Girl Talk...and we found a good spot right in line with that owl sign. I won't lie -- we were packed in and people were getting a little chippy, but there were good folks around us and once the show started it was a blast.
It was my 7th show and first at a festival/general admission show. Tons of fun to hear some favorites in the middle of a sea of people. I thought they played as well as any time I've seen them recently...great energy, seemed to respond to the crowd a lot. I have so many favorites but I'll be damned if RVM doesn't kick my ass every time I hear it live. I swore I wouldn't be a Cell Phone Video guy but I had to hold mine up for the strobes at the end.
Wow, just looking at my sig and it's been 4 years since my 08 mini road trip. Too long! Here's hoping they come back to this area again soon.
Having said all that, it was overall a fun experience. Aside from PJ20, this is the only festival I've done. I fully expected them to play all the hits, given the festival environment and the lack of southern shows in recent years. Most of the people around us were PJ fans (or more accurately, Ten fans) seeing their first show, and they were thrilled to hear the "hits" more than Crazy Mary, or Know Your Rights, or Supersonic (my 12th show, first time I've seen any of those live). The band sounded great but there wasn't the typical flow since it was obvious they were compressing to hit the 11pm curfew. Free beer and food in the VIP area was very nice, I sure didn't make out on the deal money-wise but it was convenient to grab a beer and sandwich whenever we wanted, and the bathroom lines were reasonable, if you didn't break your leg navigating through the chair maze in the dark. I was very surprised to see them still handing out beer after the show, so it was nice to grab a couple for the road
And kudos for having plenty of posters available, at least from what I saw. After quick sellouts at my last 2 shows (PJ20 and MSG), it's refreshing to be able to attend a show and bring a poster home without having had to make it the priority of the day.
2k: Columbus, Seattle I
03: Cleveland, Columbus
04: Toledo
06: Cleveland
10: Cleveland, MSG II
11: Alpine Valley PJ20 I and II
12: Music Midtown Festival (Atlanta)
13: Wrigley, Brooklyn II
14: Cincy
Hah! Did you just send me the Asheville poster from expressobeans?? Crazy...
I didn't mean to sound quite so negative in my original post. Much about that show was disappointing tho, and those guys pushing me out of the way was the proverbial straw. (Also on Stone's side, also smoking...)
Really looking forward to hearing a recording of this; I don't totally disagree with the UGA guy as it did seem like Ed was tired or getting sick or something at times. I didn't, however, think it took too much away from the show. I also do agree that Piedmont is a beautiful park...
The Florence crowd was so much more awesome. We had plenty of room just behind and to the side of the main beer tent. Stood next to the cutest girl I saw the whole time dancing with her boss's kids (random), and most everyone else just seemed pretty happy.
Then again, I am just *not* a festival guy... especially brutal coming off having been to A'dam 1 a couple of months ago. Got to choose my next show more carefully!
2003-04-16: Charlotte, NC
2004-10-06: Asheville, NC
2006-05-30: Washington, DC
2006-08-29: Arnhem, The Netherlands
2006-12-02: Honolulu, Hawaii
2012-06-26: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2012-09-22: Atlanta, GA
2013-10-30: Charlotte, NC
2014-01-19: Gold Coast, Australia
2014-06-28: Stockholm, Sweden
2014-06-29: Oslo, Norway
2016-04-18: Hampton, VA
2016-04-20: Raleigh, NC
2016-04-21: Columbia, SC
2018-07-01: Prague, Czech Republic
2018-07-03: Krakow, Poland
2018-09-04: Boston, MA
2020-07-15: Budapest, Hungary
2020-07-17: Zurich, Switzerland
2023-09-19: Austin, TX
http://pearljam.com/setlists/1048/2012/ ... n_festival
2003-04-16: Charlotte, NC
2004-10-06: Asheville, NC
2006-05-30: Washington, DC
2006-08-29: Arnhem, The Netherlands
2006-12-02: Honolulu, Hawaii
2012-06-26: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2012-09-22: Atlanta, GA
2013-10-30: Charlotte, NC
2014-01-19: Gold Coast, Australia
2014-06-28: Stockholm, Sweden
2014-06-29: Oslo, Norway
2016-04-18: Hampton, VA
2016-04-20: Raleigh, NC
2016-04-21: Columbia, SC
2018-07-01: Prague, Czech Republic
2018-07-03: Krakow, Poland
2018-09-04: Boston, MA
2020-07-15: Budapest, Hungary
2020-07-17: Zurich, Switzerland
2023-09-19: Austin, TX
Stood on the other side of Eli and Kristin, unbelievable show! First time ever on the rail and I couldn't have had more fun. Definitely worth the road trip from Wisconsin, can't wait to do it again!
Huh, interesting. The little kid Eddie offered some wine scored a setlist from a cop while they were breaking down the stage -- definitely a few changes from what was written down.
UGA sucks. Next time send out an English-speaking reporter to review concerts.
Pearl Jam was incredible.
War Eagle.
Yeah, I felt like I was reading an Onion article, or it was written on opposite day or something. This dude is the sports editor of the paper -- problem no. 1 -- and all of his other reviews were equally poorly written/reasoned. (He even made up some words in his post on the Avett Bros.) The lack of any research at all on his part is somewhat surprising, since he's coming from a university with such a widely respected j-school. He'll probably cringe when/if he reads these reviews after he graduates and is pulling together a portfolio. At least I hope he does.
ditto. (still worth it this time, though).
want to be enlightened"
They were having a great time and their energy was off the charts!! I really don't know where this review is coming from. I have never seen Stone the way he was and Ed was all over the place and on point from the start. You could really tell they appreciated the feedback and energy from the crowd - they really fed off of it. The whole time myself and many others were screaming about how much they were bringing it.
East Troy, WI - 9.3.11
East Troy, WI - 9.4.11
Atlanta, GA - 9.22.12
Las Vegas, NV - 10.31.12 (EV)
Las Vegas, NV - 11.1.12 (EV)
Chicago, IL - 7.19.13
Dallas, TX - 11.15.13
Oklahoma City, OK - 11.16.13
Seattle, WA - 12.6.13
Lincoln, NE - 10.9.14
Moline, IL - 10.17.14
St. Paul, MN - 10.19.14
Milwaukee, WI - 10.20.14
New York, NY - 5.1.16
New York, NY - 5.2.16
Boston, MA - 8.5.16
Boston, MA - 8.7.16
Chicago, IL - 8.20.16
The first big excitement of the day came at the start of Florence and the Machine. Mike McCready came out with the photographers to take pictures from the pit -- he was right in front of us for a minute! (Pics below.) As for the show itself, I was really excited they did Crazy Mary (even though Eddie didn't pass the bottle around) and Save You, and I loved Know Your Rights and Rockin' in the Free World -- always kickass covers. I was hoping for Baba O'Riley, but was happy with the two that we got. I thought Eddie was in great form. He always sounds amazing. It was awesome to be right in front of Stone for this show; I've never seen a show from his side.
My only complaint about the whole thing was the damn curfew! I live in the neighborhood a few blocks off the park and am going to write letters to the neighborhood association petitioning for curfew exceptions for this event. I'll probably also write Peter Conlon and suggest that the festival headliners should start at 8:30 instead of 9 so they have a little more room for proper encores and set breaks and whatnot. The only bad thing about it was that they couldn't play for longer! I wish we could have heard Last Kiss and Yellow Ledbetter like they had listed on the setlist the kid got.
I'm so glad Atlanta's PJ drought has ended -- hope we'll see them back here again before too long!