*** Wrigley Field Fanviews Here 7/19/13 ***

81

Rain delay was the best part.

SweetAndLow

pistol3 wrote:

I was in section 239 and by the time the band came back, most of the people who had sat next to me in the beginning were gone. Saddest moment of the evening: looking down on a MOTIONLESS GA pit during RVM! I actually left soon after that cuz I was so annoyed.

This was my 6th PJ concert and so far, all of them have been great, wonderful experiences. I am really sad and still kinda stunned that Wrigleyfield was such a bummer.

Totally agree about GA. I was all about it in there and it was the most dead of the PJ shows I've been to. I loved the band, but the energy from the fans wasn't what I thought it would be. Yes, I realize it was late. But its a damn rock concert, wake up. Did anyone notice the surge forward in GA when Ed went into the crowd? We moved like 20 feet forward and it still wasn't that packed in there. I keep wondering what the hell was going on before that. I hope that's not the norm. I want some damn energy whether I'm in the pit or not. Definitely left a bad taste in my mouth, I felt bad for the band.[/quote]

In the end, your words most closely matches my sentiments over the too-soon-after-the-show rant I posted earlier. Pistol, if you find post-delay GA crowd pics, there's a lot of emptiness in the pit. It's sad to look at. For me, the crowd response to a badly performed Do The Evolution - a double-whammy deflator where both the band and the crowd sucked ass during this rendition, when the opposite typically would occur - was hugely deflating, and the flat effort of Even Flow unfairly put me over the edge because it was at that moment when I was so overcome by cigarette smoke that I felt very nauseous. We left mid-song. Sadly, the crowd of mostly 35-plus-year-olds was too dazed, dehydrated and tired to find a second wind at midnight in spite of the band's stellar setlist offering (sound quality offering on the night will be debated ad nauseum for or against for years; the hotly rumored reason for why the band didn't release PJ20 boots out of embarrassment of its own performances that weekend are credible indeed).

SweetAndLow

That said, for me Friday their versions of All Night and Corduroy were outstanding.

dimitrispearljam

F5 wrote:

dimitrispearljam wrote:

alot to be said about tonight...

but ill stay in 2 things...

1,this is the best band ever...When Eddie said,can you trust me on this,i knew that band,wll play,will find the way to keep us safe,deal with the curfew and makwe it special for all of us..
from the other hand all those 41k fuckers,..they stay there waiting,cos they believe..
they believe that this band is sometghing fuckin different...

so much love and respect to the band and the fans today at Wrigley

2,..Thank You Eddie..Thank YOU for Chloe Dancer & Crown Of Thorns





and after..I was at Amsterdam 2,I can say now

I SAW PEARL JAM AT WRIGLEY......

I SAW PEARL JAM IN THE RAIN......

More importantly, did you get your grass!!!???

cc136053

Only this band would wait out the storm like they did. They literally started taking the stage apart (for our safety) but still made this thing happen. Not a lot of bands would do that. Example: Phish was playing nearby and they tweeted out to their fans that the night was over. I got a tweet from Pearl Jam that said, "The show must go on." I don't know anything about Phish or where they were playing. Maybe they were in an area that was worse or maybe they had another show to get to. I'm sure they are a great band and great people. But what I do know is that it was killing PJ to not be able to play. And they made it happen. Although the wait was much longer than we anticipated, Eddie kept his promise and came back on and 'rocked out". Thank you to the crew who took down the stage and then put it back up. Thank you to the Wrigley Field staff who worked much later than anticipated. There was so much more behind PJ coming back on than just the band staying late and deciding to come back on. It truly reminded me why I love this band and their crew so much. They made it happen!! I have seen Eddie play while he was sick multiple times. Now, I have seen the whole band and crew battle Mother Nature! What a great feeling to know they wanted to play for us that bad!!

Wicksta

I travelled from Australia just for this show and I don't regret a second or a cent of it.

Nuff said.

dimitrispearljam

Wicksta wrote:

I travelled from Greece just for this show and I don't regret a second or a cent of it.

Nuff said.

cc136053

SweetAndLow wrote:

pistol3 wrote:

I was in section 239 and by the time the band came back, most of the people who had sat next to me in the beginning were gone. Saddest moment of the evening: looking down on a MOTIONLESS GA pit during RVM! I actually left soon after that cuz I was so annoyed.

This was my 6th PJ concert and so far, all of them have been great, wonderful experiences. I am really sad and still kinda stunned that Wrigleyfield was such a bummer.

Totally agree about GA. I was all about it in there and it was the most dead of the PJ shows I've been to. I loved the band, but the energy from the fans wasn't what I thought it would be. Yes, I realize it was late. But its a damn rock concert, wake up. Did anyone notice the surge forward in GA when Ed went into the crowd? We moved like 20 feet forward and it still wasn't that packed in there. I keep wondering what the hell was going on before that. I hope that's not the norm. I want some damn energy whether I'm in the pit or not. Definitely left a bad taste in my mouth, I felt bad for the band.

In the end, your words most closely matches my sentiments over the too-soon-after-the-show rant I posted earlier. Pistol, if you find post-delay GA crowd pics, there's a lot of emptiness in the pit. It's sad to look at. For me, the crowd response to a badly performed Do The Evolution - a double-whammy deflator where both the band and the crowd sucked ass during this rendition, when the opposite typically would occur - was hugely deflating, and the flat effort of Even Flow unfairly put me over the edge because it was at that moment when I was so overcome by cigarette smoke that I felt very nauseous. We left mid-song. Sadly, the crowd of mostly 35-plus-year-olds was too dazed, dehydrated and tired to find a second wind at midnight in spite of the band's stellar setlist offering (sound quality offering on the night will be debated ad nauseum for or against for years; the hotly rumored reason for why the band didn't release PJ20 boots out of embarrassment of its own performances that weekend are credible indeed).[/quote]

Sweetandlow, I understand your frustration. I was one who left with the crowd after the very last song. Never in my life have I heard an exiting concert or sporting event crowd that quiet. The streets around Wrigley were lined with people and you would have thought a funeral had just ended. That goes to show you how sluggish everyone was by that point. But I wish you would have stayed for Mike's solo during Evenflow. I would rate it as one of the best I've seen or heard. You are very passionate about your music and concert experiences, I truly hope the next one is better.

rikfw

What is this thing i read about eurthcam? Lease let me know of i missed something.

Greatings from the Netherlands! :

esgam

There's so much I want to say. If you stay with me to the end, I have a present for you.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but if there's one thing I've learned having seen dozens of shows is that YOU create the experience you're going to walk away with and remember for the rest of your life. If you didn't love the show, or if it didn't live up to what you imagined it would be in your own mind, or if you had issues with the weather, the 2.5 hour rain delay, the people around you, etc., blame yourself. Whether you want to call the show epic or not, there is one thing that this show was and will always be no matter what experience you chose to have - UNFORGETTABLE!

I used to think I was lucky when it comes to concerts, this show made me realize that we make our own luck.

Highlights:

1. Release, Nothingman, Present Tense to open!?!?!?! Eddie could have spent the rest of the night yodeling after that trifecta and I would have gone home a happy man!

2. While waiting on field for the majority of the masses to exit for the rain delay, Kyle, the awesome dude working section P of the field pointed out Tom Ricketts (owner of the Cubs) behind us shaking hands and taking photos with fans. I went over and asked him if he was going to let PJ go beyond curfew. His words, "I'll let them play till dawn if they want!" He was the nicest guy! No ego at all. Happened to see him after the show. Went up and thanked him for being a man of his word (in that he let PJ play till 2). Still kinda amazed that he was sitting like five rows back in section P. The guy could have sat anywhere!

3. When exiting the field for the rain, I went over to section 31 to look for some friends. I ended up sitting right above the visitor's bullpen for the entirety of the rain delay. After all that heat and humidity, getting soaked in the rain was a blessing. Not to mention, it was fun! Not quite like Woodstock '94, but awesome!

4. The cheers from the crowd when it finally started raining - Priceless!

5. The cheers from the crowd when it finally stopped raining - Priceless!

6. Oh, while standing on line for merchandise for 2.5 hours on Thursday was absolutely ridiculous, I gotta say, it was worth every second! I met some great fans/people. Shared cool stories. The only reason I ended up enduring the heat and wait is because of the people. Will I ever experience that in my life time again? Doubt it! I didn't have a single thing to eat until 5:30pm that day. It was crazy. But worth it. Also, the boos and cheers each time they sold out of posters and got a restock, was great. Luckily they got a restock of 100 Cracker Jack posters when we got to the front of the line. (I will say to the friends I made that if you're gonna dip tobacco while in line, don't keep spitting onto the cement right around everyone's feet. Get a cup!)

7. I was confused by many folks in the pit. A lot of them were reserved. Not all. But a lot. Maybe they were exhausted? Maybe they've gotten too old? I was about 4 people deep from Eddie center stage and other than the two guys next to me who really remembered how to let loose like in the early years, there wasn't too much action. At times I felt guilty for jumping up and down and really getting into the music. That's what the pits all about, isn't it? Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I'm not.

8. Did anyone happen to notice the MOON during Unthought Known going in and out of the clouds? I know Eddie did. It was pretty spectacular!

9. Eddie's attempt at crowd surfing... I was literally the guy directly under his back, holding him up. For whatever reason, we failed in trying to pass him back. I'm not sure if he wanted us to or not. But he didn't go anywhere. At the end of the day, I just thought of it as old man crowd surfing. Where you don't move. Ha!

10. On Dennis Rodman. He showed up and was noticed by many in the pit once Eddie started the vocals for Future Days. Most people in the vicinity turned their attention towards Rodman. There was noise. Camera's started flashing. It was totally distracting. Eddie even glanced over to see what was happening. He saw Rodman and by the look on his face, he was definitely pissed.

11. BUGS was the greatest surprise of the evening and I loved every second of it!!!

12. Anyone know what the number 37 means on the necklace Eddie wears?

13. You still with me? Here's a clip from Porch when Eddie came to hold our hands at the edge of GA. VIDEO PROOF that GA was sometimes giving it everything they had as well as Eddie and the band. And this was at about 1:45am!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k7iWAGNrNM

Final thoughts: Who else will ever be able to say, in today's day and age, that they witnessed a PJ concert (or any concert on that level) at Wrigley field, that endured a 2.5 hour rain delay and went on until two o'clock in the morning!?! We can! Shit like this DOESN'T HAPPEN anymore. Be grateful that you were there to witness it! Be thankful! This is one to tell the Grandkids, cause I guarantee, you'll never forget it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Pearl Jam!!!

pureoc

WOW! What an amazing experience, maybe not their best show set list wise, or longest show in terms of actual songs played but to me this show is a defining show, if not the most defining show in the bands career. What other band on the planet would come back and play till 2am after the storm and waiting almost 3 hours? What band that would come back after that long would still have the placed packed (damn near 40,000 strong) till 2am? Sure some people left but not many. Not sure if some of you saw the article in the tribune but they actually had to get the lakeview councils approval to extend the curfew. I was shocked they got it as Tunney and some of the Wrigleyville residents are quite vocal against concerts and crowds and late night noise. For my 2 cents as it's Chicago politics I think PJ may have paid some money out of pocket to do this (again no proof but just my thoughts on it). Knowing this band I'm sure it was a no brainer for them.

Highlights of the show for me, Come Back tribute to Hoosiers wife, just a beautiful tribute and another thing that defines how awesome this band is. As a Cubs fan hearing all the way with ed in a cubs jersey and then having Ernie Banks, MR CUB come out was amazing. My fiance shot a video of one of my best friend and I through the whole song just belting it out and having the time of our lives. I don't think I've rocked out harder to PJ songs at a show than I did to All Night/DTE, so much energy in those songs after the delay. Mother, CD/COT, AMAZING! Thanks again PJ for a night I will never EVER forget. Luckily we were able to catch a cab somehow after the show. Some of our group ended up having to walk 4 miles back to where we were staying. Not sure how they made it, cause I was spent after the show. It was all left on the field for me.

I can now say I've survived the coldest show in PJ history (OCT 00 Ice Bowl) and the longest rain delay (Wrigley 13)!!

cincybearcat

I will never understand why people up in the stands would spend so much time watching the GA crowd, especially if it is upsetting enough to make you leave the show??? WTF??? How about people spend time worrying about their own concert experience.


Wrigley could have been epic...if it wasn't for the weather. It was still a really kick ass show, probably in my top 5 of the 28 I've seen though. The rain delay did take a lot out of people, but how can you blame them?

The fact that the band stuck it out and played a full (yet reduced setlist) show is amazing. I am very thankful they did that for the fans. No one can control the weather, but I felt like the band and most of the fans controlled what they could to make it a special night.

I think there were a couple of things not so great about Wrigley:

1) Selling merch outside the venue - good in theory, terrible in practice. And I do believe that before they decided to sell to scalpers, they should have figured out a pre-sale for fans.
2) Wrigley beer selection - hahaha, I know not the bands fault but for the love of god chicago, you have some amazing breweries in your city or very nearby, stop drinking bull piss.

I had a blast. Had they cancelled and rescheduled, I doubt I would be able to make it. I think what they did was one of the biggest favors they could for their fans in that situation. Not going to work out for everyone, but I think it worked best for the most.

Oh, and Lowlight, Hold, On, Mother, Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns, 3 new Pearl Jam songs including 2 premiers, Ernie Banks, and BUGS!?!?!?! That is killer. Sure, would I have switched out some songs (Get rid of Leatherman and black and instead fit in Otherside and Alive)? Yes I would have...but I'm certain Black made someone else's night.

I'm just thankful that they thought enough about the traveling fans to stick it out and deliver. Now, as for Merch - they need to hire an actual business manager to take care of that shit, it was pathetic.

goodforyou19

childofthemoon wrote:

I have been to many shows over the years and this was by far one of the toughest tickets ever. Pretty surprising too since it's a stadium gig with 35,000+ tickets in circulation. I got shut out in the 10C presale and didn't bother with the public onsale. I live in the city but a friend was flying in from Detroit so we definitely had pressure to get in the door. We arrived at Wrigley at 6pm with no tickets and started walking around and were stunned by the prices scalpers were commanding. Hundreds for upper deck and thousands for the field. After making a loop around the stadium we notice that there are two box office windows located all the way at the end that say "closed" but there are about 20 or so people in each line. We split up and one of us gets in each of the the two lines. At this point it's about 7:30 and at least half of the people in line were scalpers. We're told that they have been releasing a pair of tickets every once in a while but not very many. By 8:15 a lot of people had given up and my friend is in the front of the line but we see the box office staff counting out their money and our hope is dwindling. Then we hear from someone in line who works for Chicago PD and knows box office staff that more tickets will be released at 8:30. We decide to hang around for a few more minutes --- by this point the band is coming onstage and we clearly hear "Release" being played and my heart just sinks assuming we aren't getting in to the show. Then suddenly at 8:35 the ticket seller comes back to the window with his money drawer where my friend is first in line and goes "you need 2 tickets, that will be $160." I start going nuts jumping up and down, and as we are running towards the gate to go into the show my friend says we got "Field M, 11 rows behind the GA pit". Needless to say this was an emotional roller coaster but it all worked out in the end. The point here people is that when it comes to tickets, you NEVER give up. Even if the band is onstage, you don't give up!

I was also in that line a few back from you. It was frustrating that scalpers were also still in that line. Haven't they gotten enough? F them. There were also a lot of us fans hoping for a miracle last minute ticket release. Then when you got tickets in the front of the line, it got my hopes up. But at about 9:15, they said no more tickets would be released so I left. Just seemed like all day I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not meant to be I guess.

maj4e

Drove from Birmingham, AL. AC died on the way up. Long hot day. The show was awesome I was in 424 as were several others. The rain didn't get us too bad. I really enjoyed my time and met some cool people around me in my section. Reading these comments, I could predict just about all of them. I think being fans of the best band in the world (my opinion) has many people spoiled. They want 10c tix in front row every time and want only their songs played. I think the whining is funny actually. Having said that, 99% of bands would not have done this, you can really feel the love between the band and us.

Jerry

81

i traveled 30 miles for this show......glad it wasn't 31.

baggio16

Don't post too much, but just want to say this is one of the most, if not the most, memorable time I've had at my 30+ PJ shows.

Started with getting there at 9:00 am to start lining up. Got on some "list" that made standing in line so much easier. I was a little weary it wouldn't work, but actually it was pretty awesome. Saved a lot of headaches and anxiety. Plus, we ended up lining up and waiting next to some incredible people that we enjoyed the whole show with. The "mid-40s" part of the line was so fun, everybody was looking out for each other, anytime somebody would run for water or food they'd bring a bunch back for everyone to share. Especially thanks to Chris for Denver for bringing his Northwestern tent to save us from the sun.

Once we got into Wrigley, a bunch of the group ended up together in front of Stone. Plus we picked up a few friends from Alaska. We all hung out together during the rain delay and ended up, thanks to Bob, somehow, amazingly in the exact same spot. It was so cool being able to rock out the rest of the night with these guys. Ended up with a tambourine and shaking Eddie's hand a couple times. So glad I wore running clothes, I was drenched with sweat and completely exhausted by the end of the night. I was in the Wrigley area for 19 hours! Somebody said earlier had said that the mind was wanting to rock all night but the body wouldn't let it. I think that was happening with me. I was (and still am) so sore and drained.

As for the show itself, what more can be said, it was amazing. Never in a million years did I think we'd see an almost full set after the rain delay. I don't think any band ever has had such devoted fans and had such a devotion to them. I really liked the little speech during the end of "Faithful" as it really helped explained everything. Mother and Crown of Thorns were absolutely amazing. So cool seeing Ernie Banks and his sign along. The whole Dennis Rodman thing is old and was stupid (probably the only thing I'd complain about). So many awesome memories...

I guess a Pearl Jam concert is really just about the music, it's about the experience between the band and the fans. There's nothing that compares to the community. For me, this was right up there with the second day of PJ20 and the Philly shows.

TresentPense

SweetAndLow wrote:

Sorry, but while the opening songs were phenomenal, Ed's voice sounded like shit. Especially during Nothingman. There's a reason the band rarely plays it, and they were better off not playing it here.

To open after the rain delay with All The Way was very weak, as was Ed's flippant, care-free attitude/mention of the rain delay when the band returned at midnight. All The Way could have been played toward the end. Granted, it was not the band's fault at all, and we heard later he did apologize at the end of the show, but knowing the weather approaching, and then coming out an hour late, playing 6 songs or so, and then nobody from Wrigley or band camp giving the crowd an update through 2 hours and 30 minutes of delay after Ed told the crowd 30 minutes to clear (and another 30 minutes to wait) was horseshit.

Highlights of half the show (we left early): Release as the opener, Present Tense, All Night, Mind Your Manners and Lightning Bolt combo. ... the band sounded mediocre/off for a lot of songs. Left dissatisfied. A lot of that was the rain delay, lack of updates, and chain smokers all around us. Last quarter of that was the band not sounding as good as in the past with a mediocre setlist. A decent amount of people left cuz they figured the show would get canceled. We left cuz it was too freaking late. Outside Wrigley, 3 dudes behind us not at the show were wowed that PJ was still playing. "Dude, bands just don't do that, man. Pearl Jam's playing at 1 a.m." Yeah, jackwagon, cuz they decided to play after a 2 hour and 30 minute rain delay. More sensible decision would've been to reschedule to the next afternoon. ... We left during Even Flow. Apropos, if you ask me. Overplayed live song.

You realize there was another concert at Wrigley the next evening, correct? They went with the only option they had, and made the best of it. Phish didn't come out to finish their show, and Pitchfork sent everyone home early. As far as I'm concerned we still got a great show under the circumstances....and had you even stayed the whole time you may not be so sour on it.

Kimmiebyrom

From this experience, I now get it. I so completely get it. There's not one moment I regret experiencing (well maybe the part where 2 thugs tried to run me down to rob me at 6am as I walked to the Addison train station) but other than that, every moment waiting was worth what I got in return and then some. The only thing I'd change was where I sat. My seat was great, my section kinda pissy, I just wanted to be around other fans who were as much into/emotional about the show as I was. That is the only thing I missed. But it didn't tarnish my show experience at all. The guys brought it and I feel very lucky to have been a part of it.

Spoony C

TresentPense wrote:

SweetAndLow wrote:

Sorry, but while the opening songs were phenomenal, Ed's voice sounded like shit. Especially during Nothingman. There's a reason the band rarely plays it, and they were better off not playing it here.

To open after the rain delay with All The Way was very weak, as was Ed's flippant, care-free attitude/mention of the rain delay when the band returned at midnight. All The Way could have been played toward the end. Granted, it was not the band's fault at all, and we heard later he did apologize at the end of the show, but knowing the weather approaching, and then coming out an hour late, playing 6 songs or so, and then nobody from Wrigley or band camp giving the crowd an update through 2 hours and 30 minutes of delay after Ed told the crowd 30 minutes to clear (and another 30 minutes to wait) was horseshit.

Highlights of half the show (we left early): Release as the opener, Present Tense, All Night, Mind Your Manners and Lightning Bolt combo. ... the band sounded mediocre/off for a lot of songs. Left dissatisfied. A lot of that was the rain delay, lack of updates, and chain smokers all around us. Last quarter of that was the band not sounding as good as in the past with a mediocre setlist. A decent amount of people left cuz they figured the show would get canceled. We left cuz it was too freaking late. Outside Wrigley, 3 dudes behind us not at the show were wowed that PJ was still playing. "Dude, bands just don't do that, man. Pearl Jam's playing at 1 a.m." Yeah, jackwagon, cuz they decided to play after a 2 hour and 30 minute rain delay. More sensible decision would've been to reschedule to the next afternoon. ... We left during Even Flow. Apropos, if you ask me. Overplayed live song.

You realize there was another concert at Wrigley the next evening, correct? They went with the only option they had, and made the best of it. Phish didn't come out to finish their show, and Pitchfork sent everyone home early. As far as I'm concerned we still got a great show under the circumstances....and had you even stayed the whole time you may not be so sour on it.

I think it's an error to claim the band started "an hour late," as well--it's ultra-rare for any act with no opener to start at the time on the ticket. Springsteen is typically a half-hour later than his printed start time, and when I took my wife to see Bon Jovi earlier this year, they actually had a 30-minute countdown clock on their big screens that started counting at the 7:30 time from the ticket.

And there's a valid, safety-based reason for this: not everyone at the show is as studied on the details of the event as we on the forums are. Not everyone knows that "An Evening With Pearl Jam" definitely means no opener. Not everyone (especially out-of-towners) can predict their commute time to the stadium on a Friday night. For a number of reasons, tons of people still wouldn't be in their seats right at 7:30. If you had thousands of people still in those narrow, crowded concourses at 7:30, with only a couple of access points to field tickets and narrow tunnels to the seating sections, and you started playing "Release?" You could have had a very ugly stampede on your hands. (The incident at the Who concert in Cincinnati in 1979, where there were eleven deaths? Partly a result of the band being late to do their soundcheck, and when fans heard music coming from the building, they thought they were missing the show, so they started pushing to get in, with most of the doors still being closed.)

I expected they'd start around 8:00, not closer to 8:30, but it's still more advisable to have people in their seats thinking "Any minute now...come on, band...why so late?" than to have tons of people racing to their seats because they weren't ready for the music. There could be any number of reasons it was as late as it was--equipment problems, watching the weather to be sure it wasn't hitting sooner rather than later, or monitoring how much of the crowd had moved from the concourse to the seats--but I'm willing to bet it was somewhat safety-related.

F Me In The Brain

Great show, glad to have made the trip and been part of it. Was stunned at how many people I ran into on Saturday or Sunday who said they left early. (And these were people at the hotel who obviously traveled in for it!)
Weather was pretty brutal but I would do it again tomorrow and love it.