a few observations from my 45th show and first in my home town.
First time I can remember back to back shows with no EF.
Ed was wasted by the end. not sure how he made it through the show, looks like he has a cold too. he had a pile of tissues by his side.
I liked Eds reference to the Led ZEP arena and Mike tossing out some classic LZ riffs. Ive always joked that the John Paul Jones arena is named after the bass player.
While waiting to go in my line-mates and I wiki'd both John Paul Jones to make guesses at which one it was named after. I think we settled on that it was the guy in the American Revolution who said "I have not yet begun to fight", but it SHOULD have been Led Zep's JPJ. Also learned while in line that JPJ was in the Butthole Surfers at some point, which led to me finding out Gibby Haynes had been voted "Best in Accounting" in college!!! But I digress, I digress...
Incredible show. Great setlist. But I am surprised at the amount of praise the crowd is getting. While I'm sure the 10c sections were great, I thought it was a pretty weak crowd. Especially in 307.
I SOOO agree. This will be a big part of my review. It's also why I think the show was that amazing - I think the only other alternative for the band was to give up, and they would NOT do that! So instead of giving up, they turned internally and just BROUGHT IT. And it worked, the crowd was much more on by the end.
But seriously, the majority of the crowd was awful for the 1st half.
"Over the Hills" was definitely one; I think a part of "How Many More Times" with Jeff joining in on bass and can't remember if one was "Custard Pie" or "Sick Again"...
Although I was in a haze, he definitely played:
1. Over the Hills
2. Heartbreaker
3. Bring it on home
I don't remember anything from Graffiti.
Mcready was also playing a Sabbath riff towards the end of alive when he was over on Stone's side. This was after his walk through GA.
So last night we got:
Zeppelin, Floyd, the Who, Sabbath and Hendrix. PJ is the 'keepers of the flame' when it comes to classic rock now. And that is no insult. It's the highest compliment in my book.
I think the Sabbath riff was from the end of War Pigs, but I was in a haze myself
All that's sacred, comes from youth...
'92 Stanhope, '98 Washington, DC (VFC), '00 Merriweather Post, MD, '03 Nashville, TN, State College, PA, Holmdel, NJ, '04 Reading, PA (VFC), '05 Philadelphia, PA, 06 Camden, NJ, East Rutherford, NJ, '08 Camden, NJ (I and II), 09 Philadelphia, PA (II and III), '10 New York, NY, '13 Baltimore, MD, Charlottesville, VA, '16 Hampton, VA, Philadelphia II, '22 MSG II, 08 Newark, NJ (Vedder Solo), '16 TOTD Upper Darby (I)
I would also like to add that I know it has been mentioned on the Porch already, but the HD video feeds that they are using for the screens is out of this world. It's like some Palladia looking shit and the thought that someone is sitting on all this footage and what could be done with it makes my mouth water. I'm sure we'll never see it though since we can't even get bootlegs for some of the more recent shows. :roll:
Awesome show the set list was great I went to Baltimore show and this one killed it both were great but this show was a gem. Dose anyone have a poster for sale?
You must have been right behind or slightly to my side. It was a GREAT crowd!
Salt Lake City, Utah - Sept 28, 2009
East Troy, Wisconsin - Sept 3. 2011
East Troy, Wisconsin - Sept 4, 2011
Charlottesville, Virginia - Oct 29, 2013
Hampton, Virginia - Apr 18, 2016
Awesome show the set list was great I went to Baltimore show and this one killed it both were great but this show was a gem. Dose anyone have a poster for sale?
Incredible show. Great setlist. But I am surprised at the amount of praise the crowd is getting. While I'm sure the 10c sections were great, I thought it was a pretty weak crowd. Especially in 307.
I SOOO agree. This will be a big part of my review. It's also why I think the show was that amazing - I think the only other alternative for the band was to give up, and they would NOT do that! So instead of giving up, they turned internally and just BROUGHT IT. And it worked, the crowd was much more on by the end.
But seriously, the majority of the crowd was awful for the 1st half.
I think a lot of people who were in GA or in good 10C sections are just basing their opinions on the crowd based on the people who were near them. They didn't notice that half the audience was indifferent for half of the show. At other shows, like BK and Baltimore, EVERYONE, from the front row to the last row of the upper level, were totally rocking out and on their feet the entire show. This was absolutely not true in Charlottesville.
I agree that the band must have made a conscious decision to surprise the hell out of us. They gave it 125%, which more than made up for the indifferent members of the audience, and won everyone over by the end.
I still can't believe I was there for this one. It was UNREAL.
I came about a foot from hitting a deer on Rt 29 North on my way home. It more than woke me up for the long drive. So much adrenaline last night!
I don't think anyone mentioned Cameron slamming that bottle of wine! That was great.
One thing I will say is that I think the audience was surprised that Little Wing ended the show. I think we all expected it to flow into YB. But hey, who's bitching about 3 hours and 35 songs or whatever it was.
3rd show on the tour (both Philly's) and I thought they were at their best tonight. I'm worried that Charlotte will be anti-climatic...
I would also like to add that I know it has been mentioned on the Porch already, but the HD video feeds that they are using for the screens is out of this world. It's like some Palladia looking shit and the thought that someone is sitting on all this footage and what could be done with it makes my mouth water.
This. I was in section 103 and at times I found it hard not to watch the video. The next dvd should be unreal.
What an amazing show. I saw many songs I hadn't seen before. It was also my sixteen year old daughter's first show. She is "too cool for school" these days but she walked away impressed. I saw her singing along and smiling throughout. I could tell she was surprised by how many songs she "knew." I wasn't,I've been playing Pearl Jam for her since she was born. I couldn't have asked for a better show to introduce her to them live.
a few observations from my 45th show and first in my home town.
First time I can remember back to back shows with no EF.
Ed was wasted by the end. not sure how he made it through the show, looks like he has a cold too. he had a pile of tissues by his side.
I liked Eds reference to the Led ZEP arena and Mike tossing out some classic LZ riffs. Ive always joked that the John Paul Jones arena is named after the bass player.
While waiting to go in my line-mates and I wiki'd both John Paul Jones to make guesses at which one it was named after. I think we settled on that it was the guy in the American Revolution who said "I have not yet begun to fight", but it SHOULD have been Led Zep's JPJ. Also learned while in line that JPJ was in the Butthole Surfers at some point, which led to me finding out Gibby Haynes had been voted "Best in Accounting" in college!!! But I digress, I digress...
actually it's named after the father of the guy who donated the money to UVA to build it.
Seriously... :shock: forget about taking it to another level- I am on the other side... My review is a page long. Turned it up, on, hard and ....seriously
got a car...got some gas...oh let's get out of here-get out of here fast...
I hope you get this message but your not home...I will be there in just a minute or so...
I want to go but I want to go with you.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. -MT
I've had enough, said enough, felt enough. I'm fine, still in it.
Apologies up front, this is absurdly long. Well, many shows and this is my 1st fanview, so I guess I had a lot of feelings stored up...
Last night was a first for me in many ways, but definitely NOT my first show. Last night was probably about my 56th or 57th show, been going since '93 and have seen them all over the country.
Last night was really different for me though, for a lot of reasons, but mainly because as I was driving down I was thinking about the fact that I have been seeing this band for 20 yrs. Like, other than parenting, what else does anyone do for 20 yrs consistently??? Only if Glen Hansard's band the Frames tours in '14 and '15 will there be any other band I've been seeing for 20 yrs, and other than that and social justice work, which I have consistently done for more than 20 yrs, I was just amazed as I drove and thought about that.
It also made me realize, especially after having been in a car accident a couple of years ago and hospitalized the year before that twice, that one cannot take ANYTHING for granted. PJ has just been something I've always been able to do, they were there, I was there, I could come up with the money (was hard sometimes, but never impossible), and I could make my work schedule work. Now I have a kid, I have much more responsibility in my job, and fuck it, I'm getting older and I can't bounce back like I used to after a late night and driving 5 hrs or something to get to work the next day.
So all this was on my mind as I arrived at Sedona to meet my AWESOME seatmate and 10C Ticket Wizard who sold me his spare. (Hi PJ N DC! Thanks again!) Then over to JPJ to park and wait.
As a result of all this thinking about aging and evolution of life etc, I decided to treat this show as if it was my last PJ show I would attend. I did things I don't usually do: I got there early and just waited in line (usually woulda been socializing until the last minute elsewhere). I bought a poster (I bought 2!). I ate a venue hotdog (SOOO not my usual thing, I don't even usually eat meat). And I didn't worry about checking my seat location or looking for all the people I knew would be there... I just chilled and it was amazing how I found them and they found me.
The magic began when I got to my seat... side section row C, I was psyched to be 3rd row on the side where short me could see and rock out! Only... there's actually no row A or B, so row C is front row! MAGIC!!!
My seatmate arrived and was just the coolest guy, so that was cool and getting to chat with Weenie for ages (hello kindred spirit!) was great. Then the show starts... you already know the magic of the setlist, so that goes without saying.
But the audience!!! After coming down a little from my initial fog of elation because they started so crazy great right out of the gate, I realized that... the audience mostly SUCKED!!! My 10C section was great, and most of the pit and across the way seemed really into it, but the reserved GA and most of the rest of the venue... I'm not saying they looked bored or were on their phones the whole show, but there was SO. LITTLE. ENGERGY. overall. Seriously, Mind Your Manners might as well have been a song no one had ever heard ever, the way the audience looked so blank and mldly amused. But this is where I honestly think the serious stepping up by the band started. It's like they realized, they weren't gonna get fed tons of enegery by the audeince overall. They were putting out so much amazing energy and getting some back from the front and patches of other sections, but overall it was just dissipating into the air, all that hard work and energy they were giving out. That's how it seemed.
So then, somewhere around Down, it was like they looked at each other and said "This is either gonna end badly, or we've got to just draw on each other to do this", and they obviously chose the latter, because Down was great and then WTF, where the hell did they pull that INCREDIBLE Rearview Mirror out of??? RVM is always great, I always love it, I never tire of it. Haivng seen them 56 times I figure I've probably seen RVM live some 35+ times. The '93-'95 versions clearly were intensely awesome, with other awesome versions throughout the years, but WTF last night had me in tears. Yes, that's another thing I don't usually do, I never cry. Nothing wrong with crying at all, just not my reaction usually, but that RVM had me in tears, it was so moving. Amazing!
I don't know if it was earlier than this or then that I noticed the guy in the wheelchair being prevented from going in the pit and told to just stay in the aisle of reserved GA, where it was obvious HE COULD NOT SEE SHIT. The 2 10C seats next to me had been empty the whole show, I motioned to him like "Is ther ANY way we can get you in these seats?" Like, I wondered if we could lift him... but he wisely and resignedly just kind of shook his head like "that is not gonna happen" and it was such a bummer. Then I saw someone I thought might be able to help, flagged him down, pointed out the guy and asked if there was anything he could do to get the guy in the pit. Not more than 5 min later, dude and his friend have wristbands and are in the pit and he can actually SEE THE STAGE!!! Right there, I was done. No matter what else happened that night, seeing that guy helped so he could actually see meant the world to me and lifted me up as high as the music did. I was so happy. Sounds like 10C fans continued to look out for him in the pit, but more on that later... For now, I figured that was the peak, done.
But no, that was not it, we were so NOT done! HELLO Encores 1 and 2!!!
Encore 1:
20. The End
21. Thumbing My Way
22. Sleight Of Hand
23. Footsteps
24. Future Days-(from the new album “Lightning Bolt”)
25. Mother-(Waters)
26. Given To Fly
27. Whipping
(“This one doesn’t get played a lot. There are more surfers in Virginia than people realize”)
28. Big Wave
29. Sad
30. Porch
Thumbing My Way also had me in tears, I was shocked and thrilled to hear it. Footsteps, awesome. And MOTHER? Huge Floyd fan here, wow, Mother! Then the whole Given to Fly -> Whipping -> Big Wave (WOW!) -> Sad (WOW! -> Porch was just... there aren't words.
During the next break, I did another thing I never did before: I left my seats, ran along the front row of the side, and ended up at the very very end, catty corner to the stage. I was on a little mission, which I accomplished quickly, and had intended to go back to my seats once I was done. But the 2 guys I was next to were SO NICE (Hi guys from Syracuse!) and they were so welcoming... and the view was SO INTENSELY AWESOME... I stayed there for Encore 2. And Jayzus what an encore it was, Breath -> SOLAT?? Baba -> full LIttle Wing? I was done. Done. LITERALLY MY FAVORITE LIVE PJ SONGS!!! (or, fave songs peformed live by PJ, obviously Baba and Little Wing not PJ songs. Although I did like the fan who heard people leaving last night saying "Teenage Wasteland is my favorite Pearl Jam song!" LOL!)
31. Breath
32. State Of Love And Trust
33. Alive
34. Baba O'Riley
35. Little Wing
And when did Mike walk in the pit? Was that Alive? He literally walked RIGHT by us, I could have touched his fauxhawk! So cool t osee him, playing guitar as he walked by, like, right there. Lots of Mike and Ed at the corner right there, so cool to watch them interact, see people, give them stuff, audience reaction, awesome.
Which leads to the last and final thing that I've never done, that never happens, that happened. Because I've been fortunate to have been in the front a lot, I usually am helping OTHER people get what the band is throwing them. I once totally cursed out a guy who snatched an Ed pick out ofthe air from teh girl it was clearly meant to go to until he gave it back to her. Another time Ed signaled to me and another person that he was throwing his tamboruine to a shorter girl, and we caught it and gave it to her. I have always felt so blessed by the number of shows and experiences I've had, I've never wanted or gotten a PJ pick or anything. But the nice guys from Syracuse weren't having it... when Ed came to the side one last time, with his last tamborine, they yelled "ED!! HER!!" and pointed, and kept yelling. It was so funny, I swear he actually gave me a look like, "Really? You want one?" And I just kinda sheepishly smiled (wish there'd been time to discuss my "new attidtude about treat this show like it's my last" but, yeah, conversation is not gonna happen at that moment!) so he threw it to me, and now after years of not asking for anything from PJ onstage, I have my first tambourine as well. And, well, I do kinda like it. a lot. My 5yr old REALLY likes it LOL!
The sweetest icing on cake and cherry on top of the whole entire night though was seeing my friend in the wheelchair again as he left the pit. We looked at each other's tambourines and started laughing and hugged. He had such a great time... and someone here said they could swear he was in tears a few times, he was so happy.... that was truly THE BEST part of the night, getting to talk to him again. Hey friend, if they ever open Las Manitas in Austin again, you better FedEx me some Migas pronto!!!
And HUGE SHOUT OUTS to the Pit fans who parted like the Red Sea apparently and let him up to the front, you guys rule tremendously, truly, that was so so so so so awesome!!!
Hitting submit will be my last first for this show. 57 shows, member of the fanclub since '94 (but lapsed for years so crappy number now), and first ever fanview. But posting this because... I take nothing for granted, who knows when I'll get to do this again.
THANK YOU PEARL JAM, goddammit you made my show-that-hopefully-won't-be-my-last-but-just-in-case-show truly unforgettable. You are the best. But we all knew that, didn't we... Because why else would we spend precious time and funds going to see them for 20+ years? Because they bring it. Thank you!
The Porch jam was incredible! It went on forever and just got better and better. The guys all started knocking the hell out of the hanging light bulbs and Ed hopped on one and sang while swinging in the air!
2006 - Washington D.C.
2010 - Bristow, VA
2013 - Charlottesville, VA
Sincerely, genuinely ASTONISHED. This was my first show in the front row, on the rail, and its as if this was a frigging gift! I will never forget this experience, from Eddie tipping his hat at my thank you sign, to Mike coming over to Stone's side during Alive, shaking our hands and coming back with picks, to Eddie giving my wife the wine bottle during the second encore (State, I believe bc I can't remember from all the excitement!), to him locking eyes with me during Baba and teasing a leap onto us with a huge smile...the boys were having a blast with all of us last night Charlottesville! They gave us an EPIC show bc of our energy and Eddie looked surprised and excited about this crowd. He def seemed to make it clear they wanted to come back, so we all need to find our way back next time and blow the roof off JPJ again! Instant, legendary, classic. What a night. Didn't think I'd ever get one for the ages. I absolutely love our boys. THANK YOU PJ!!! From the thank you sign guy!
THIS THIS THIS!!! I truly believe that at first, 70% of the audience SUCKED, and the band sounded good but lost serious energy onstage between Swallowed Whole and The Fixer. Up front was rockin as always (including those cool boys), and patches of the sides were whooping it up, but I think the band realized they had to do something or the whole show might turn mediocre (which, for PJ, is still vastly better than most bands on a good night).
And do something they did! My read on the energy shift was that they realized the energy exchange with the audience was not 2-way enough to sustain the show, so they turned to each other. This started during Down, and Lawd did they BRING IT on Rearview Mirror!!! I've seen 55ish shows, all since Vs. was recorded, which means I've probably seen RVM live 35ish times. It always rocks, but it was like they just said "Fuck it, let's at least have a good time ourselves" and they just WENT for it!
That started turning the tide, and by the end of the 1st awesome encore, they had won that whole arena over. But it was a struggle!
I think that struggle inspired risk taking, which turned into ashow for the record books. But I think the brilliance started with a weird, mostly sucky audience, not a great one as so many have said.
This was only my third Pearl Jam concert - the other two were in D.C. at Verizon Center. After our last time to see PJ at Verizon and ending up in the parking garage that went into the bowels of hell with parking attendants yelling at us to leave our car windows down and keys on the seat, we were SO excited that PJ came to Charlottesville - only an hour drive for us.
I do think it mattered where you were sitting related to the energy of the crowd. We were in section 308 up high but directly in front of the band. In this section it seemed most everyone just sat, barely moving! Except one guy without a shirt who was feeling the music - I wanted to be next to him! It felt weird to even stand up at first which was just bizarre. These were not the usual PJ fans I've sat near at the previous concerts. But it also seemed like this lack of enthusiasm went beyond 308.
From my view, the energy of the band and the crowd (meaning the dud areas) definitely seemed to shift at some point - from then on, it was incredible. Finally everyone around us stood up and danced and sang. I do think the folks in GA and closer in were high energy the entire time. I wanted to be down there!
This concert has made me want to go back and listen more to PJ and the tour debuts songs especially - I didn't know them like everyone else did. How they interact with the crowd is incredible. I loved when they brought the two teenage boys from the front row up - they had on t-shirts that said something like "I Saw Pearl Jam from the Womb" and then Eddie saying that if these two keep coming to concerts, at least we will have TWO fans when we're in our 80s and 90s. Eddie having us on the count of 3 say "We love you Lou" was cool.
JPJ arena, IMO, was an awesome venue. Oh how we loved not going into DC. Getting in and out was easy. The beer deal was kinda weird - you had to stand in long ass lines to get an ID bracelet and then go stand in another line to get beer. I saw some guy with the kind of beer I wanted (Heineken in a can) and asked him where he got it - good call as he told me to go down a bit further in the hall, there were no ID bracelet lines, just go up to get the beer, show your ID, get a bracelet. So we did, no brainer. On our way back, we let other people in the long lines know there were no lines down the way. Seems like the cluster of lines could have been avoided by the event people just directing people to move on down the hall. No one knew. Someone said to me that this ID bracelet/4 max beer was college stuff.
On our way home, we saw a bunch of PJ fans in a Sheetz. I talked to a guy from Maryland who said he had already been to the concerts in Philly and Baltimore and that this show in C'ville topped them hands down. I was envious of the guy who first saw PJ in 1994!
Highlights for me: Release, Why Go, Mind your Manners, Mother (!!! holy shit!!!), Big Wave (no way!), Porch, and always my favorite Given to Fly. Jeff Ament smiling and laughing. Watching the two boys get to go on stage. Eddie swinging from the light globe. When the lights were turned up and seeing everyone having an incredible time and how personal it felt. The DVD is gonna be awesome.
Flew down from NY just for the Charlottesville show. On the train heading back home thinking about what a great show this was. Unreal set list. Thank you Kelsi for hooking me up with a great seat.
This is why PJ is the greatest band, you just never know when they're going to pull a set list like this out of their ass.
Holmdel, NJ; July 14, 2003
Continental Airlines Arena, NJ; June 1, 2006
Madison Square Garden; June 24, 2008
The Prudential Center; May 18, 2010
Madison Square Garden 2; May 21, 2010
Barclay Center 2; October 19, 2013
Charlottesville, VA; October 29, 2013
Tulsa, OK; October 8, 2014
Lincoln, NE; October 9, 2014
Memphis, TN; October 14, 2014
Global Citizen; September 26, 2015
Tampa, FL; April 11, 2016
Madison Square Garden 1; May 1, 2016
Madison Square Garden 2; May 2, 2016
Toronto, Canada 2; May 12, 2016
"Over the Hills" was definitely one; I think a part of "How Many More Times" with Jeff joining in on bass and can't remember if one was "Custard Pie" or "Sick Again"...
Although I was in a haze, he definitely played:
1. Over the Hill
2. Heartbreaker
3. Bring it on homeu
I don't remember anything from Graffiti.
Mcready was also playing a Sabbath riff towards the end of alive when he was over on Stone's side. This was after his walk through GA.
So last night we got:
Zeppelin, Floyd, the Who, Sabbath and Hendrix. PJ is the 'keepers of the flame' when it comes to classic rock now. And that is no insult. It's the highest compliment in my book.
YES! Just like Rolling Stone said in LB review, they are the torchbearers of classic rock. Amazing, amazing night!
Fucking Mike McCready walking through the GA section during the Alive solo, never expected to see that!
!
JUST SAW FOTOS OF IT..WOW
Video?!?!
I have video of the moment, he was right in front of us, got to shake his hand at the end of Alive and he came back to give us picks...how can i post it?! I have it up on fb right now, will post to YouTube soon...but here's me at fb, <!-- e --><a href="mailto:wavesrollinmythoughts@facebook.com">wavesrollinmythoughts@facebook.com</a><!-- e -->
OK so a show finally knocked My Morning Jacket at Red Rocks off the top my personal "post-Who-recent-best-show-perch"
Frankly- I think I might have liked this more than PJ20 (my last PJ show)
My "retirement band" delivered 3 hours of sweetness.
Highlights for me-
-My all timer- "Rearviewmirror"
-Eddie reprising his reckless youth, swinging on a globe hanging from the ceiling during "Porch".
-Incredible number of live rarities.
-Three Rock & Roll classic covers : My first "Mother" (Pink Floyd-Eddie & Mike KILLED their parts; "Do you trust your government" got a big crowd shout down) my second "Baba-(They turn up all the lights during this of course - and the crowd is in a frenzy-I will never get tired of seeing this) and finally "Little Wing"- not just the tag!
-Two kids in the rail getting the royal treatment like the 13 y.o. in Worcester.
-All the speculation about the conservative crowds was crazy- The place was intense and rowdy.
-Jeff & Stone got a lot a love tonight, full band bow and all that. At one point Eddie said he would talk about Mike later, but I don't think he ever did!
Every show seems to be a classic- this is ridiculous!
Charles[/quote
Couldn't agree more, the talk about crowd being poor is INSANITY. Was absolutely amazing and even Eddie was saying so, "if you could see what we are seeing, thank you, thank you..." The band clearly saw it as a rare, special night, too, we all could hear and feel that up front. The boys had fun up there last night, truly honored to have seen it, and so pumped I had the foresight to bring a thank you sign! Never forget Eddie tipping his hat to me as he read it! Goosebumps.
Incredible show. Great setlist. But I am surprised at the amount of praise the crowd is getting. While I'm sure the 10c sections were great, I thought it was a pretty weak crowd. Especially in 307.
Maybe the upper levels were weak, but I was in 108 and the lower levels and floor were great, amazing energy.
sec 103 here....security got on me a number of times for getting too rowdy and dancing in the isle and running up and down the stairs
"Populated with every reject and cutthroat from Bombay to Calcutta. It's worse than Detroit."
This was my 10th show, and definitely the best!!! First time I've been driven to writing a fanview, so here goes....
-Finally got to hear release!!! been waiting 10 years to hear it!!!
(anyone notice the light ball above Ed was out during release? all the others were lit, but his was out. I thought the symbolism fit the song in an eerie way. Don't think it was intentional either as several roadies tinkered with it during the first encore break)
-Set list doesn't get much better for me. So many less frequently played songs that I just love!!! In My Tree, Sleight, Thumbing My Way..... WOW!!!
-Best seats I've ever had, Thank you TEN CLUB!! 312xxx got me second row of reserved floor. From my vantage point the crowd had tons of energy, but then again all I saw was the Pit and Ten Club sidestage areas.
-Mike went along the rail at the back of the GA area during the Alive solo. Amazing, the master was 3ft away from me just shredding!!!!!
-I Loved Little Wing as a closer!!!!
-Venue was great. security and staff were extremely friendly. Organized, traffic seemed to be handled very well, etc... Huge improvement having just been in Baltimore Sunday....
THIS IS THE GREATEST BAND ON THE PLANET, WITH THE GREATEST GROUP OF FANS ON THE PLANET. WORDS CAN'T EXPRESS HOW LUCKY WE ALL ARE TO SHARE IN THESE GREAT EXPERIENCES!!!!
Why all the hating on the crowd? PJ has never hit this town before and I was thrilled at the crowd..I thought the band was very appreciative as well..no need to coax it out of us, as some have implied. I was told 11,000 strong last night and the majority was having a blast..
Comments
While waiting to go in my line-mates and I wiki'd both John Paul Jones to make guesses at which one it was named after.
I SOOO agree. This will be a big part of my review. It's also why I think the show was that amazing - I think the only other alternative for the band was to give up, and they would NOT do that! So instead of giving up, they turned internally and just BROUGHT IT. And it worked, the crowd was much more on by the end.
But seriously, the majority of the crowd was awful for the 1st half.
I think the Sabbath riff was from the end of War Pigs, but I was in a haze myself
'92 Stanhope, '98 Washington, DC (VFC), '00 Merriweather Post, MD, '03 Nashville, TN, State College, PA, Holmdel, NJ, '04 Reading, PA (VFC), '05 Philadelphia, PA, 06 Camden, NJ, East Rutherford, NJ, '08 Camden, NJ (I and II), 09 Philadelphia, PA (II and III), '10 New York, NY, '13 Baltimore, MD, Charlottesville, VA, '16 Hampton, VA, Philadelphia II, '22 MSG II, 08 Newark, NJ (Vedder Solo), '16 TOTD Upper Darby (I)
GA was epic!!!
jumping and singing nonstop all night!!!
best show ive seen since penn state 03...maybe ever
still processing what i witnessed last night...
ill write more later
thanks PJ!!!
jake
1998 - DC RFK Stadium, Virginia Beach, Columbia Maryland, DC Constitution Hall
2002 - Seattle Key Arena I+II
2003 - Raleigh, Charlotte, State College, Bristow, Camden II
2004 - Asheville
2006 - Boston II, Camden I+II, DC
2008 - Virginia Beach, Camden I+II, DC
2009 - Philadelphia I, II, III, IV
2010 - Bristow
2013 - Philadelphia II, Baltimore, Charlottesville, Charlotte
2022 - Camden
East Troy, Wisconsin - Sept 3. 2011
East Troy, Wisconsin - Sept 4, 2011
Charlottesville, Virginia - Oct 29, 2013
Hampton, Virginia - Apr 18, 2016
Charlotte, here we come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXKWOT34Wzc
I think a lot of people who were in GA or in good 10C sections are just basing their opinions on the crowd based on the people who were near them. They didn't notice that half the audience was indifferent for half of the show. At other shows, like BK and Baltimore, EVERYONE, from the front row to the last row of the upper level, were totally rocking out and on their feet the entire show. This was absolutely not true in Charlottesville.
I agree that the band must have made a conscious decision to surprise the hell out of us. They gave it 125%, which more than made up for the indifferent members of the audience, and won everyone over by the end.
I still can't believe I was there for this one. It was UNREAL.
I came about a foot from hitting a deer on Rt 29 North on my way home. It more than woke me up for the long drive. So much adrenaline last night!
One thing I will say is that I think the audience was surprised that Little Wing ended the show. I think we all expected it to flow into YB. But hey, who's bitching about 3 hours and 35 songs or whatever it was.
3rd show on the tour (both Philly's) and I thought they were at their best tonight. I'm worried that Charlotte will be anti-climatic...
This. I was in section 103 and at times I found it hard not to watch the video. The next dvd should be unreal.
What an amazing show. I saw many songs I hadn't seen before. It was also my sixteen year old daughter's first show. She is "too cool for school" these days but she walked away impressed. I saw her singing along and smiling throughout. I could tell she was surprised by how many songs she "knew." I wasn't,I've been playing Pearl Jam for her since she was born. I couldn't have asked for a better show to introduce her to them live.
actually it's named after the father of the guy who donated the money to UVA to build it.
I hope you get this message but your not home...I will be there in just a minute or so...
I want to go but I want to go with you.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. -MT
I've had enough, said enough, felt enough. I'm fine, still in it.
Thanks Sea
"Don't Worry, Be Happy." Avatar Meher Baba
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7/12/11 - EV Oakland 2, 10/22/11 - EV Bridge School
9/25/11 Vancouver, 11/26/13 - Oakland, 11/7/15 - Buenos Aires
Last night was a first for me in many ways, but definitely NOT my first show. Last night was probably about my 56th or 57th show, been going since '93 and have seen them all over the country.
Last night was really different for me though, for a lot of reasons, but mainly because as I was driving down I was thinking about the fact that I have been seeing this band for 20 yrs. Like, other than parenting, what else does anyone do for 20 yrs consistently??? Only if Glen Hansard's band the Frames tours in '14 and '15 will there be any other band I've been seeing for 20 yrs, and other than that and social justice work, which I have consistently done for more than 20 yrs, I was just amazed as I drove and thought about that.
It also made me realize, especially after having been in a car accident a couple of years ago and hospitalized the year before that twice, that one cannot take ANYTHING for granted. PJ has just been something I've always been able to do, they were there, I was there, I could come up with the money (was hard sometimes, but never impossible), and I could make my work schedule work. Now I have a kid, I have much more responsibility in my job, and fuck it, I'm getting older and I can't bounce back like I used to after a late night and driving 5 hrs or something to get to work the next day.
So all this was on my mind as I arrived at Sedona to meet my AWESOME seatmate and 10C Ticket Wizard who sold me his spare. (Hi PJ N DC! Thanks again!) Then over to JPJ to park and wait.
As a result of all this thinking about aging and evolution of life etc, I decided to treat this show as if it was my last PJ show I would attend. I did things I don't usually do: I got there early and just waited in line (usually woulda been socializing until the last minute elsewhere). I bought a poster (I bought 2!). I ate a venue hotdog (SOOO not my usual thing, I don't even usually eat meat). And I didn't worry about checking my seat location or looking for all the people I knew would be there... I just chilled and it was amazing how I found them and they found me.
The magic began when I got to my seat... side section row C, I was psyched to be 3rd row on the side where short me could see and rock out! Only... there's actually no row A or B, so row C is front row! MAGIC!!!
My seatmate arrived and was just the coolest guy, so that was cool and getting to chat with Weenie for ages (hello kindred spirit!) was great. Then the show starts... you already know the magic of the setlist, so that goes without saying.
But the audience!!! After coming down a little from my initial fog of elation because they started so crazy great right out of the gate, I realized that... the audience mostly SUCKED!!! My 10C section was great, and most of the pit and across the way seemed really into it, but the reserved GA and most of the rest of the venue... I'm not saying they looked bored or were on their phones the whole show, but there was SO. LITTLE. ENGERGY. overall. Seriously, Mind Your Manners might as well have been a song no one had ever heard ever, the way the audience looked so blank and mldly amused. But this is where I honestly think the serious stepping up by the band started. It's like they realized, they weren't gonna get fed tons of enegery by the audeince overall. They were putting out so much amazing energy and getting some back from the front and patches of other sections, but overall it was just dissipating into the air, all that hard work and energy they were giving out. That's how it seemed.
So then, somewhere around Down, it was like they looked at each other and said "This is either gonna end badly, or we've got to just draw on each other to do this", and they obviously chose the latter, because Down was great and then WTF, where the hell did they pull that INCREDIBLE Rearview Mirror out of??? RVM is always great, I always love it, I never tire of it. Haivng seen them 56 times I figure I've probably seen RVM live some 35+ times. The '93-'95 versions clearly were intensely awesome, with other awesome versions throughout the years, but WTF last night had me in tears. Yes, that's another thing I don't usually do, I never cry. Nothing wrong with crying at all, just not my reaction usually, but that RVM had me in tears, it was so moving. Amazing!
I don't know if it was earlier than this or then that I noticed the guy in the wheelchair being prevented from going in the pit and told to just stay in the aisle of reserved GA, where it was obvious HE COULD NOT SEE SHIT. The 2 10C seats next to me had been empty the whole show, I motioned to him like "Is ther ANY way we can get you in these seats?" Like, I wondered if we could lift him... but he wisely and resignedly just kind of shook his head like "that is not gonna happen" and it was such a bummer. Then I saw someone I thought might be able to help, flagged him down, pointed out the guy and asked if there was anything he could do to get the guy in the pit. Not more than 5 min later, dude and his friend have wristbands and are in the pit and he can actually SEE THE STAGE!!! Right there, I was done. No matter what else happened that night, seeing that guy helped so he could actually see meant the world to me and lifted me up as high as the music did. I was so happy. Sounds like 10C fans continued to look out for him in the pit, but more on that later... For now, I figured that was the peak, done.
But no, that was not it, we were so NOT done! HELLO Encores 1 and 2!!!
Encore 1:
20. The End
21. Thumbing My Way
22. Sleight Of Hand
23. Footsteps
24. Future Days-(from the new album “Lightning Bolt”)
25. Mother-(Waters)
26. Given To Fly
27. Whipping
(“This one doesn’t get played a lot. There are more surfers in Virginia than people realize”)
28. Big Wave
29. Sad
30. Porch
Thumbing My Way also had me in tears, I was shocked and thrilled to hear it. Footsteps, awesome. And MOTHER? Huge Floyd fan here, wow, Mother! Then the whole Given to Fly -> Whipping -> Big Wave (WOW!) -> Sad (WOW! -> Porch was just... there aren't words.
During the next break, I did another thing I never did before: I left my seats, ran along the front row of the side, and ended up at the very very end, catty corner to the stage. I was on a little mission, which I accomplished quickly, and had intended to go back to my seats once I was done. But the 2 guys I was next to were SO NICE (Hi guys from Syracuse!) and they were so welcoming... and the view was SO INTENSELY AWESOME... I stayed there for Encore 2. And Jayzus what an encore it was, Breath -> SOLAT?? Baba -> full LIttle Wing? I was done. Done. LITERALLY MY FAVORITE LIVE PJ SONGS!!! (or, fave songs peformed live by PJ, obviously Baba and Little Wing not PJ songs. Although I did like the fan who heard people leaving last night saying "Teenage Wasteland is my favorite Pearl Jam song!" LOL!)
31. Breath
32. State Of Love And Trust
33. Alive
34. Baba O'Riley
35. Little Wing
And when did Mike walk in the pit? Was that Alive? He literally walked RIGHT by us, I could have touched his fauxhawk! So cool t osee him, playing guitar as he walked by, like, right there. Lots of Mike and Ed at the corner right there, so cool to watch them interact, see people, give them stuff, audience reaction, awesome.
Which leads to the last and final thing that I've never done, that never happens, that happened. Because I've been fortunate to have been in the front a lot, I usually am helping OTHER people get what the band is throwing them. I once totally cursed out a guy who snatched an Ed pick out ofthe air from teh girl it was clearly meant to go to until he gave it back to her. Another time Ed signaled to me and another person that he was throwing his tamboruine to a shorter girl, and we caught it and gave it to her. I have always felt so blessed by the number of shows and experiences I've had, I've never wanted or gotten a PJ pick or anything. But the nice guys from Syracuse weren't having it... when Ed came to the side one last time, with his last tamborine, they yelled "ED!! HER!!" and pointed, and kept yelling. It was so funny, I swear he actually gave me a look like, "Really? You want one?" And I just kinda sheepishly smiled (wish there'd been time to discuss my "new attidtude about treat this show like it's my last" but, yeah, conversation is not gonna happen at that moment!) so he threw it to me, and now after years of not asking for anything from PJ onstage, I have my first tambourine as well. And, well, I do kinda like it.
The sweetest icing on cake and cherry on top of the whole entire night though was seeing my friend in the wheelchair again as he left the pit. We looked at each other's tambourines and started laughing and hugged. He had such a great time... and someone here said they could swear he was in tears a few times, he was so happy.... that was truly THE BEST part of the night, getting to talk to him again. Hey friend, if they ever open Las Manitas in Austin again, you better FedEx me some Migas pronto!!!
And HUGE SHOUT OUTS to the Pit fans who parted like the Red Sea apparently and let him up to the front, you guys rule tremendously, truly, that was so so so so so awesome!!!
Hitting submit will be my last first for this show. 57 shows, member of the fanclub since '94 (but lapsed for years so crappy number now), and first ever fanview. But posting this because... I take nothing for granted, who knows when I'll get to do this again.
THANK YOU PEARL JAM, goddammit you made my show-that-hopefully-won't-be-my-last-but-just-in-case-show truly unforgettable. You are the best. But we all knew that, didn't we... Because why else would we spend precious time and funds going to see them for 20+ years? Because they bring it. Thank you!
2010 - Bristow, VA
2013 - Charlottesville, VA
Video?!?!
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
dont know how the energy was but this setlist is CRAZY!
Hope to get something like this when I'm doing Portland through Seattle next month
This was only my third Pearl Jam concert - the other two were in D.C. at Verizon Center. After our last time to see PJ at Verizon and ending up in the parking garage that went into the bowels of hell with parking attendants yelling at us to leave our car windows down and keys on the seat, we were SO excited that PJ came to Charlottesville - only an hour drive for us.
I do think it mattered where you were sitting related to the energy of the crowd. We were in section 308 up high but directly in front of the band. In this section it seemed most everyone just sat, barely moving! Except one guy without a shirt who was feeling the music - I wanted to be next to him! It felt weird to even stand up at first which was just bizarre. These were not the usual PJ fans I've sat near at the previous concerts. But it also seemed like this lack of enthusiasm went beyond 308.
From my view, the energy of the band and the crowd (meaning the dud areas) definitely seemed to shift at some point - from then on, it was incredible. Finally everyone around us stood up and danced and sang. I do think the folks in GA and closer in were high energy the entire time. I wanted to be down there!
This concert has made me want to go back and listen more to PJ and the tour debuts songs especially - I didn't know them like everyone else did. How they interact with the crowd is incredible. I loved when they brought the two teenage boys from the front row up - they had on t-shirts that said something like "I Saw Pearl Jam from the Womb" and then Eddie saying that if these two keep coming to concerts, at least we will have TWO fans when we're in our 80s and 90s. Eddie having us on the count of 3 say "We love you Lou" was cool.
JPJ arena, IMO, was an awesome venue. Oh how we loved not going into DC. Getting in and out was easy. The beer deal was kinda weird - you had to stand in long ass lines to get an ID bracelet and then go stand in another line to get beer. I saw some guy with the kind of beer I wanted (Heineken in a can) and asked him where he got it - good call as he told me to go down a bit further in the hall, there were no ID bracelet lines, just go up to get the beer, show your ID, get a bracelet. So we did, no brainer. On our way back, we let other people in the long lines know there were no lines down the way. Seems like the cluster of lines could have been avoided by the event people just directing people to move on down the hall. No one knew. Someone said to me that this ID bracelet/4 max beer was college stuff.
On our way home, we saw a bunch of PJ fans in a Sheetz. I talked to a guy from Maryland who said he had already been to the concerts in Philly and Baltimore and that this show in C'ville topped them hands down. I was envious of the guy who first saw PJ in 1994!
Highlights for me: Release, Why Go, Mind your Manners, Mother (!!! holy shit!!!), Big Wave (no way!), Porch, and always my favorite Given to Fly. Jeff Ament smiling and laughing. Watching the two boys get to go on stage. Eddie swinging from the light globe. When the lights were turned up and seeing everyone having an incredible time and how personal it felt. The DVD is gonna be awesome.
This is why PJ is the greatest band, you just never know when they're going to pull a set list like this out of their ass.
Continental Airlines Arena, NJ; June 1, 2006
Madison Square Garden; June 24, 2008
The Prudential Center; May 18, 2010
Madison Square Garden 2; May 21, 2010
Barclay Center 2; October 19, 2013
Charlottesville, VA; October 29, 2013
Tulsa, OK; October 8, 2014
Lincoln, NE; October 9, 2014
Memphis, TN; October 14, 2014
Global Citizen; September 26, 2015
Tampa, FL; April 11, 2016
Madison Square Garden 1; May 1, 2016
Madison Square Garden 2; May 2, 2016
Toronto, Canada 2; May 12, 2016
YES! Just like Rolling Stone said in LB review, they are the torchbearers of classic rock. Amazing, amazing night!
I have video of the moment, he was right in front of us, got to shake his hand at the end of Alive and he came back to give us picks...how can i post it?! I have it up on fb right now, will post to YouTube soon...but here's me at fb, <!-- e --><a href="mailto:wavesrollinmythoughts@facebook.com">wavesrollinmythoughts@facebook.com</a><!-- e -->
sec 103 here....security got on me a number of times for getting too rowdy and dancing in the isle and running up and down the stairs
-Finally got to hear release!!! been waiting 10 years to hear it!!!
(anyone notice the light ball above Ed was out during release? all the others were lit, but his was out. I thought the symbolism fit the song in an eerie way. Don't think it was intentional either as several roadies tinkered with it during the first encore break)
-Set list doesn't get much better for me. So many less frequently played songs that I just love!!! In My Tree, Sleight, Thumbing My Way..... WOW!!!
-Best seats I've ever had, Thank you TEN CLUB!! 312xxx got me second row of reserved floor. From my vantage point the crowd had tons of energy, but then again all I saw was the Pit and Ten Club sidestage areas.
-Mike went along the rail at the back of the GA area during the Alive solo. Amazing, the master was 3ft away from me just shredding!!!!!
-I Loved Little Wing as a closer!!!!
-Venue was great. security and staff were extremely friendly. Organized, traffic seemed to be handled very well, etc... Huge improvement having just been in Baltimore Sunday....
THIS IS THE GREATEST BAND ON THE PLANET, WITH THE GREATEST GROUP OF FANS ON THE PLANET. WORDS CAN'T EXPRESS HOW LUCKY WE ALL ARE TO SHARE IN THESE GREAT EXPERIENCES!!!!
Hampton 2016