Pearl Jam still Alive -- but they're no U2

thunder_balls

Well, I love Pearl Jam. I love U2. But Pearl Jam is a much more talented band. They beat them in all aspects. Better bassist, better singer, better drummer, and better guitarist. Plus, a lot of the times, U2's sound can be boring, and sound the same. I like U2 a lot personally, but Pearl Jam definately beats them in my aspect. But hey, I'm sure it would've been cool to see Bono with Pearl Jam. Also, U2 is over-rated, especially compared to Pearl Jam. Bono is a great frontman, and U2 can put on a great show. But Eddie Vedder is a better frontman. Especially with all the crowd diving, and all that stuff I saw in the "Even Flow" video(does anyone know, what show the Even Flow video was from?). Plus, Ed Vedder, and Pearl Jam, are much better people. They actually care about their fans. I know Ed interacts with the crowd all the time, from the footage I've seen. And like, I just got "rearviewmirror" their greatest hits cd. That thing is filled with TONS of pictures in there. Anyways, Pearl Jam is a better band. I can't wait for a new album to come out.

SENROCK

Red Lukin2 wrote:

Judging by the drunken, university-aged crowd, the Lollapalooza generation has abandoned them, but Gen Y has fully embraced Pearl Jam as the new Grateful Dead.

As Bono's presence only highlighted, they're certainly no U2.

ayight thats IT. Who's the A$$HOLE that wrote this STOOOOOPID review?! I'd like a minute ALONE with them.......

Pastor JeffD

Jesus, if some of you people got this excited over the genocide in Darfur, poverty in America, or global fuckin warming, shit, maybe we COULD change the world.

You are all getting worked up over a fucking CONCERT REVIEW? Writing letters? GMAB.

Look, the reporter is an idiot.
That much is clear.
So what.



Pearl Jam is the new Grateful Dead? Believe me, I ate, drank, and breathed all things Grateful Dead for close to 10 years... and Ive NEVER thought PJ as the new Dead. Although, if PJ would stretch out their songs a tad more, they'd make one hellva "jam band" -- I think this everytime I hear Even Flow.

PJ and U2 - again apples and oranges. While I think it's fabulously ignorant to call U2 a "pop" band(Sunday Bloody Sunday, Out Of Control, New Years Day, Desire, All Because Of You, The Fly, Vertigo, etc... THESE ARE ROCK SONGS).

But they are from totally different places and are in totally different places today.

Ugh, but I digress (didnt want to get into the whole U2 v. PJ thing, sorry).




Let it go. Save your anger and energy for fucking things that matter, not stupid reporters from some rag ass paper who obviously doesnt GET what PJ is all about.

Jeremyfanforever

Red Lukin2 wrote:

havent read it yet, but by going by the title I'd have to disagree


http://www.torontosun.com/Entertainment/Music/2005/09/20/1227294-sun.html


On Saturday night, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder joined U2 on stage at the Air Canada Centre. Last night, Bono returned the favour.

After a two-and-a-half hour set that made multiple references to the "distinguished, dignified" Irish lads, Pearl Jam launched into Neil Young's Keep On Rocking In The Free World for their third encore. With the lights completely raised in the venue, the unmistakable shape of a short rock star in a cowboy hat became clear: Bono was at the mic. The surprise guest appearance raised the show from mediocre to memorable.

Pearl Jam are rock 'n' roll survivors. The Seattle group has outwit, outplayed and outlasted almost all their 1990's "grunge" peers and the fall of the music industry in general by becoming a touring machine. They haven't had a hit in years, and their activities hardly generate a mention in the media these days. But 14 years after their groundbreaking debut disc, Ten, they're still alive, selling out shows at stadiums like the Air Canada Centre with little effort or promotion.

Last night's ACC gig is part of an extensive cross-Canada tour that hits such oft-neglected markets at Thunder Bay and St. John's.

And the crowds follow, trailing them from town to town, obsessive over the ever-changing set lists.


The band has even developed a successful authorized bootleg system. They've sold more than 3 million live discs so far, and you could buy a CD of last night's show for $10 just hours after it ended.

The band that was considered leaders of a brand new movement a decade ago has now become like a very old one.

Judging by the drunken, university-aged crowd, the Lollapalooza generation has abandoned them, but Gen Y has fully embraced Pearl Jam as the new Grateful Dead.

Pearl Jam don't do much in the way of spectacle these days. They don't have to. They simply launch into a classic like Given To Fly or Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, singer Eddie Vedder reaching his arms and voice up to the rafters to grab hold of the faithful, and the sold-out crowd responded with much enthusiastic nodding and pot smoking. Yes, just like Deadheads.

"Good evening, a toast," saluted Vedder. "My hotel room window looks out at something," he continued.

"I don't know what it's called, a big tower in the middle of the city. It makes me homesick because we have one, too. It's comforting to know that our big cities have something in common: They are both sporting rather large erections."

The singer isn't normally one for jokes, but he did crack another soon after:

"I want to thank U2 for opening for us" he laughed, referring to the band's multi-night stand at the ACC. Later, he admitted his group drank $1,500 worth of vodka with the Bono and the boys on Sunday night.

There were several musical U2 references throughout the set, too: Impromptu segues into bits of the Irish band's hits A Sort Of Homecoming and Bad, which Vedder called "one of the greatest songs ever."

Comparing themselves to the best live band on earth is a bad idea. While U2 has proven to be vital in the 21st century, their live shows spectacular displays of showmanship and innovative stage design, Pearl Jam in 2005 has little to offer anyone but their, albeit many, diehard fans. The audience knows every word, every nuance and new trick from guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, delighting in the extended solos and clever combinations of hits, album tracks and covers. From the opening riff of Indifference they knew to get their lighters out for the line "I will light the match this morning." They knew to "boo" when touring keyboardist Boom Gaspar was introduced.

For their part, Pearl Jam delivered an upbeat, rocking set heavy on their best known tunes, such as Even Flow, Daughter and Do The Evolution.

When Vedder took the stage solo for the tender Better Man, the audience erupted into a thunderous roar. They cheered and sang along on a sweet version of Neil Young's Harvest Moon, featuring back-up vocals from Carrie Brownstein, of opening act Sleater-Kinney.

But despite the massive love-in, something was missing. A sense of occasion. A sense of danger. A sense of now.

You could call Pearl Jam timeless. You could also call them outdated. They've earned the right to be classic rockers, but even when they play their biggest hit, Alive, it doesn't feel like a classic moment.

Vedder certainly didn't turn up his performance a notch. (Although he did run to one side of the stage instead of just facing drummer Matt Cameron.)

It was just another rock song from by-gone era, back when Pearl Jam actually mattered.

For two and a half hours, Pearl Jam preached to a grateful flock.

Then at the end, they were upstaged by a man in a cowboy hat and tambourine.

Just because they can make a good living being serious, damned good players with a massive back catalogue, doesn't make them relevant in the outside world once the lights go up.

As Bono's presence only highlighted, they're certainly no U2.

---

SELECTED SET LIST

HERE'S WHAT PEARL JAM PLAYED LAST NIGHT AT THE ACC

- Love Boat Captain

- A Sort Of Homecoming (U2 cover, excerpt)

- Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town

- Even Flow

- Daughter

- Better Man (Vedder solo)

- Bad (U2 cover, excerpt)

- Black (extended)

- Do The Evolution

- You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (Beatles cover)

- Present Tense

- Wishlist

- Harvest Moon (Neil Young cover, with Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney)

- Indifference

- Alive

- Jeremy Keep On Rockin' In The Free World (Neil Young cover with Bono)

---

PEARL JAM

LAST NIGHT AIR CANADA CENTRE

Sun Rating: 3 out of 5

Given To Fly isn't a hit, what the hell is he talking about?

redsdisease

Red Lukin2 wrote:

And the crowds follow, trailing them from town to town, obsessive over the ever-changing set lists.

This struck me as strange as it was the second review that I've read this week that mentioned the fact that they change their set lists for every show. Is that unusual? I always kinda' wished that PJ played without a set list like Fugazi, it never occured to me that it was notable to just change it every show, that seems like a no brainer to me.

Anyways, that article was really bad, reads like she really didn't want to be there. She doesn't even get into whether they played well or not, just talks about how much better U2's lighting and stage design was, I for one am very glad that PJ doesn't use cheap gimmicks like that. Maybe she should review plays or something.

Pauk

Most bands either choose a setlist at the start of the tour and stick with it, maybe changing a few songs along the way, or start off with a setlist and change the songs depending on the reaction from the crowd until they find something that works.
Not that many bands change songs as regularly as Pearl Jam. Off the top of my head I can only think of 3 bands I've seen that change a considerable amount of songs: Pearl Jam, Belle & Sebastian and New Pornographers. Other than that most bands I've seen don't change more than 3 or 4 songs a tour, and I've certainly never seen a band give their old material as much priority as the new songs as Pearl Jam do.

stu gee

In my opinion u2 are one of the most overated bands in the world. Pearl jam are my favourite band, but i also listen to many other bands and styles of music, both old and new so im not ignorant of other music at all. Listening to u2 is painfully boring, i can tolerate with or without you, sunday bloody sunday, but the rest is completely lost on me. Bono is a prick as well, and u2's new stuff is getting even worse. Songs like elevation are uncalled for, absolute shit.

bahiense

U2 hasnt made a good song for years!!!
sorry if you still like U2, no probs, but to be honest the last cd sucks!
its true you cant compare the bands, or their shows!!
i used to like old U2 songs, but got tired of them, maybe because theyre too commercial, dunno.
awful article!!!

meme

yuk

45678910

CalAllen

i wonder if u2 fans are on their msg board talking about the same article and saying what great insight this writer has