Riot Act...whats the deal?

RD22500

OK, so I know it's not the favorite of most fans. But believe it or not it is my favorite pj album. The songs and themes just fit perfectly for me at the point I was at in my life. Why is it completely ignored now? On the other hand, "Avocado" is represented all the time and (yes I know ppl love the album) but I pretend it's the album that never happened. So we all have our opinions and favorites and feelings. What I am trying to get at is that songs like ghost, cropduster, you are, Thumbing my Way, are all great songs and they should show up in the set from time to time. I wish it could have been when I was there, but I think if anyone feels similarly to the way I do there needs to be a campaign to bring back some songs from riot act because there are those of us that love the album and the songs bring us back to that place and time that meant so much to us.

Thanks for reading.

aurynsdad

You Are is one of my favorite live PJ songs I've ever seen, and LBC and I am Mine are both songs I want to see again live. Hopefully they'll happen soon.

foodboy

couldn't agree more. it would be better than hearing the same hits EVERY show. but the people just lap it up. so for now no riot act. glad i caught the tour in 2003. if the first two shows of this tour are any indication this tour is slick and lacking that dangerous feeling they used to have.using the same line of we have a long evening ahead of us both nights. half the show was the same songs and now feeling formatted. for me this is sad to see as a musicologist . 40 years of shows and this is very disappointing . like a lot of the new songs live though. better than on album.

aurynsdad

foodboy, I have to disagree. The sets for the first two nights are very different.

rustyr

Yeah, I love Riot Act, too as that and Binaural came to me at a pivotal moment in my life musically. But yeah these sets were very different, 30/31 songs each night with 12 shared songs most of which are from a new album. It sucks, but we just have to accept it sometimes. I've seen them 7 times (twice in 03 so also very thankful to get a lot of Riot Act) and still haven't heard enough No Code and I may not ever. I've got three shows coming next week, so I hope one of them gets me "Smile" or "In My Tree" but I'll still walk away happy.

Digital Twilight

I love Riot Act but not all songs translate well live. Half Full is incredible live, some of Matt's best drumming for PJ but it would be nice to but a few more in the mix.

Last-12-Exit

I love LBC as an opener. I am really surprised that I am mine is 0-2.

CO278952

rustyr wrote:

Yeah, I love Riot Act, too as that and Binaural came to me at a pivotal moment in my life musically. But yeah these sets were very different, 30/31 songs each night with 12 shared songs most of which are from a new album. It sucks, but we just have to accept it sometimes. I've seen them 7 times (twice in 03 so also very thankful to get a lot of Riot Act) and still haven't heard enough No Code and I may not ever. I've got three shows coming next week, so I hope one of them gets me "Smile" or "In My Tree" but I'll still walk away happy.

agree that you can't make a generalization about the set lists after two nights. these are two totally different cities so i am not surprised that they are playing the same new songs each night. The more they play the new stuff live the better it will get. figure they may be more inclined to change up the set list back to back in the same city. the only time this wasn't totally the case was the tour where they hauled the strings players along and did The End and Just Breathe EVERY night in the encore but I can understand they were paying these musicians to tour with them and why not play with them every night. (not upset i missed that tour). Having seen pearl jam 6 times in '03 i would be fine with no riot act in brooklyn, but would be happy to hear All or None or You Are.

CO278952

1/2 full and LBC are good songs live for sure, just heard LBC a lot as an opener in '03. side note - check the set lists from '94 or maybe you remember being there - they OPENED with RVM back then..

Bdog10

foodboy wrote:

glad i caught the tour in 2003. if the first two shows of this tour are any indication this tour is slick and lacking that dangerous feeling they used to have.using the same line of we have a long evening ahead of us both nights. half the show was the same songs

This! Yes Ed, we know we need to get comfortable...it's gonna be a long night. Seems like he has been using this line at every show for the past 10 years.

Eraserhead

My 2nd fave album after No Code. Need to hear so many tracks from it live though!

scratched vinyl

Yup I agree. Even if they don't pull out the deeper cuts, with the slow starts to the shows All Or None would fit perfectly, and Save You was always killer live.

scratched vinyl

CO278952 wrote:

1/2 full and LBC are good songs live for sure, just heard LBC a lot as an opener in '03. side note - check the set lists from '94 or maybe you remember being there - they OPENED with RVM back then..

Ya but that was at a show that the crew penned, not Ed.

smarchee

scratched vinyl wrote:

Save You was always killer live.

yes, it is one of my favourite PJ songs, and it's kinda sad that it never gets played, and it seems that when it did show up here and there over the last few years, Ed would fuck the lyrics up quite often

maybe that is why no love for Save You anymore?

Do you think that maybe the theme of the lyrics just doesn't fit Ed's life anymore and maybe that is why he doesn't include it in setlists often?

Jeff needs to speak up, that bass line is fun to play

EchosNobodyHears

I think you will see some of these songs come out when they play 2 shows in one location like Worcester, Brooklyn, and Philly. The band knows many people in the area will attend both nights and will tend to throw in more Riot Act and Binaural.

Gern Blansten

What is also odd is that Riot Act songs are excluded from the MLB list of songs they can pull from for the world series. I'm wondering if there is some kind of lawsuit going on.

decides2dream

smarchee wrote:

scratched vinyl wrote:

Save You was always killer live.

yes, it is one of my favourite PJ songs, and it's kinda sad that it never gets played, and it seems that when it did show up here and there over the last few years, Ed would fuck the lyrics up quite often

maybe that is why no love for Save You anymore?

Do you think that maybe the theme of the lyrics just doesn't fit Ed's life anymore and maybe that is why he doesn't include it in setlists often?

Jeff needs to speak up, that bass line is fun to play

my husband, a bass player, was *just* playing this today for this very reason. i admit, aftrr no code i don't listen to most pj albums regularly, but b/c he broke this out today i was giving riot act another spin.

smarchee

decides2dream wrote:

Jeff needs to speak up, that bass line is fun to play

my husband, a bass player, was *just* playing this today for this very reason. i admit, aftrr no code i don't listen to most pj albums regularly, but b/c he broke this out today i was giving riot act another spin.[/quote]

exactly, when I picked up the bass, that was one of the first songs I tried to learn, cause it sounds sweet live.

Jeff owns this song and it`s one of the few where his bass carries the song on its own during the bridge

robthepjfan

not my fav album but i love i am mine,save you, and i think Ghost is very underrated

dimitrispearljam

i agree..this album and binaural sometimes feels like they forget them..

Ewank

smarchee wrote:

yes, it is one of my favourite PJ songs, and it's kinda sad that it never gets played, and it seems that when it did show up here and there over the last few years, Ed would fuck the lyrics up quite often

maybe that is why no love for Save You anymore?

Do you think that maybe the theme of the lyrics just doesn't fit Ed's life anymore and maybe that is why he doesn't include it in setlists often?

Jeff needs to speak up, that bass line is fun to play

Well, Save You got played this year in Buenos Aires, so your theory doesn´t properly work.

I agree, I wish they played a couple songs from this album. Help Help would be AMAZING heck, Bushleaguer, with Eddie dancing.....it´s a bit of a stretch, but hey, one can only dream

TheGhost

RD22500 wrote:

OK, so I know it's not the favorite of most fans. But believe it or not it is my favorite pj album. The songs and themes just fit perfectly for me at the point I was at in my life. Why is it completely ignored now? On the other hand, "Avocado" is represented all the time and (yes I know ppl love the album) but I pretend it's the album that never happened. So we all have our opinions and favorites and feelings. What I am trying to get at is that songs like ghost, cropduster, you are, Thumbing my Way, are all great songs and they should show up in the set from time to time. I wish it could have been when I was there, but I think if anyone feels similarly to the way I do there needs to be a campaign to bring back some songs from riot act because there are those of us that love the album and the songs bring us back to that place and time that meant so much to us.

Thanks for reading.

I had a shitty experience hearing it for the first time and it has always tainted my opinion. Basically, had some pals around when I first listened who didn't realize I was into PJ and had a low opinion of them. I never should have tried to listen to it while people were sitting in the room hating it and baffled about why I gave a shit. They playfully mocked it, but it really ruined my experience. As much as I want to, I just can't shake that feeling and hear it with new ears. It's just like hearing an album for the first time while you're young and crazy and happy can make it a part of you forever... maybe this had the opposite effect, but because I was getting older and more cynical...

Anyway I'm saving it for a rainy day to really check it out again. Half Full is my fav. I've always thought the sound of the record was great.

scratched vinyl

smarchee wrote:

scratched vinyl wrote:

Save You was always killer live.

yes, it is one of my favourite PJ songs, and it's kinda sad that it never gets played, and it seems that when it did show up here and there over the last few years, Ed would fuck the lyrics up quite often

maybe that is why no love for Save You anymore?

Do you think that maybe the theme of the lyrics just doesn't fit Ed's life anymore and maybe that is why he doesn't include it in setlists often?

Jeff needs to speak up, that bass line is fun to play

Ya that could definitely play into it, Ed could have just said screw it after a few missteps. Also obviously seems they've made a conscious decision to neglect the album, hopefully with the intention to pull them back out for some nice moments at a few shows.

Gern Blansten

Here's the rundown by track (for PJ...not EV shows)
First number is total times played

Can't Keep: 25: 3 times since 2008, last was 06/25/14
Save You: 167: last played 01/24/14
LBC: 85: played twice since 2008
Cropduster: 43: last played 10/16/13
Ghost: 16: last played 09/30/12
I am Mine: 103: last played 12/02/13
Thumbing my Way: 46: last played 12/04/13
You Are: 64: last played 06/26/14
Get RIght: 17: last played 07/17/03???
Green Disease: 60: last played 07/09/12
Help Help: 10: last played 09/03/11
Bushleaguer: 32:
Half Full: 70: last played 11/19/13
Arc: 9
All or None: 12: last played 06/17/14 (played twice since 2007)

I can understand Arc and Bushleaguer being retired. But Get Right? Ghost?

We all have our own preferences but I consider Cropduster to be a defining PJ song. I don't understand why this album gets ignored.

mcgruff10

Get right , ghost and crop duster are just terrible live. It's tough to accept but their just not good songs. Riot act is pj s weakest album.

London Bridge

I think Riot Act is a well crafted piece of art. I listen to it more than any other PJ album. A Pearl Jam Masterpiece!
Weakest album [-X

Gern Blansten

terrible live? that's like...your opinion man. I've heard great versions of those songs and would love to see them live over and over

Peasant Tents

Completely agree.
LBC
Cropduster
I Am Mine
1/2 Full
All or None

Classics all of them. The whole album has a warm sound that I really like and although I pick out the songs above I really love every track. It's the album I have most t shirts from too!!