1) May '93 Slims -- After running into Ed (1st time meeting him) at another band's show weeks before and him telling us PJ would be doing a few warm up shows for Vs. under a different band name (ended up being "David Gunn"?)... and then word about the show in San Francisco at Slims leaked in the local paper and the whole show being in jeapordy because so many people swarmed Slims hoping it would happen... my boyfriend was so NOT feeling my newfound interest in PJ that we fought the whole evening about whether I would go or not. I had enough sense to at least tell my sister (who was the bigger PJ fan of the 2 of us then) about the show and to get herself down to Slims, so she saw the show... but I missed it. The next time that boyfriend and I fought about me going to a PJ show ('94), I went anyway. Great show, so glad I did! And we broke up in '95. Still good friends though... I even went to his wedding to someone else.
2) October '93 I get myself to Santa Cruz, the Catalyst, to try to find a ticket to what would have been my 1st PJ show. There are tons of people and no tickets to be seen. At some point after sound check but before doors opened, another girl who I didn't know and I found ourselves peering through the gates into part of the venue, no one else in the immediate vicinity, both of us probably just silently accepting that fact that we would not be seeing that show. Suddenly Ed walks past us and up to the merch booth (no one's there) and seems to be examining the merch. At the time, I can only assume the other girl thought the same thing as I did... I'd seen a few of those interviews of him looking kinda freaked out by people always screaming or calling his name or asking for things, so we both just looked at him in silence and never said a word. Eventually he turned and walked away, back into the venue (he stood there for a good couple of minutes though). I later came to realize that it probably was no accident he walked up (there were other merch booths inside, he didn't need to walk all the way to the front to see th emerch), and maybe he was giving us a chance to ask but didn't want to assume we wanted to talk to him? I don't know, but I know I regret not saying a quiet hi at least.
There were so many fans who couldn't get in that it was actually fun being outside, and you could hear the show. Then near the end, a security guard let a few of us in, and it was literally just as Ed jumped from I think the balcony into the crowd below, and it was like walking out of a sunny silent field into pure and utter chaos (joyful chaos, but chaos nonetheless), it was insane. Saw the last maybe 2 songs. Still electric, even though it was the end.
3) 3rd one is way too hard to explain, let's just call it the biggest missed opportunity of all.
But there have been so many amazing moments for PJ fans to enjoy, can't dwell on regrets (and of course that applies to everything in life). Learn my lessons and move on. So yeah, the next time PJ is playing a tiny place in Santa Cruz and I find myself alone next to another woman and Ed walks by, and there's no one else around, we won't stay quiet. We'll shriek as loudly as possible and scream "AAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE IT'S EDDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Oh, and dude do you have any spare tickets?" Maybe he'll throw a couple over his shoulder as he flees and calls for security...
I've been lucky enough to go to every show I could have reasonably made.
My regret is when I bought the Toronto 2005 poster. It started the collecting part of being a Pearl Jam fan and years later I think it should be left to the music. Life is too short to waste 5 hours in line for a poster and sticker, or a stupid vinyl that is red instead of black.
Not saying anything to Jeff when he got on the elevator with me in Chicago last summer. He was talking to some people he was with and I didn't want to interrupt. So instead I just stood there and tried not to stare like some sort of lunatic.
-Not joining the 10C til 95, then not renewing again til 2000
-Not seeing them live before 2000. Although my first show was a pretty damn epic one. Opened with Evenflow, Stone got to sing, Amy & the Wash umbrella on stage, closed with Baba O'Riley.
-Only buying Ten (orig) on vinyl and nothing else until Backspacer. Especially since I've had a turntable the whole fucking time. (And I still missed out on Vault #3, wtf?)
-Thinking posters were stupid
-Thinking posters are awesome, now that I need to get them all framed lol
Let's see. I could have joined 10C in fall of 2001 instead of Jan 2003 when I did. I could have gone to PJ20 for free. I could have gone to Cincinnati 2006. I could have gone to Indianapolis 2010.
Wait...I choose to stay dry...maybe not a bad thing??
I could have gone to Cleveland 2010 if I was super crazy...
Presidential Advice from President-Elect Mike McCready: "Are you getting something out of this all encompassing trip?"
Not seeing them live at Newark 2010... Not seeing them live at Borgata 2005... Not seeing them at the Vic 2007... Not seeing them at Bonnaroo 2008... Not seeing them live before 2003... Not being born earlier to be able to see shows before 2003....
2003: 7/14 NJ ... 2006: 6/1 NJ, 6/3 NJ ... 2007: 8/5 IL ... 2008: 6/24 NY, 6/25 NY, 8/7 EV NJ ... 2009: 10/27 PA, 10/28 PA, 10/30 PA, 10/31 PA 2010: 5/20 NY, 5/21 NY ... 2011: 6/21 EV NY, 9/3 WI, 9/4 WI ... 2012: 9/2 PA, 9/22 GA ... 2013: 10/18 NY, 10/19 NY, 10/21 PA, 10/22 PA, 10/27 MD 2015: 9/23 NY, 9/26 NY ... 2016: 4/28 PA, 4/29 PA, 5/1 NY, 5/2 NY, 6/11 TN, 8/7 MA, 11/4 TOTD PA, 11/5 TOTD PA ... 2018: 8/10 WA ---- http://imgur.com/a/nk0s7
Mi biggest regret is what happened while seeing the band at The Cathouse in Glasgow early 1992. I was howling drunk and could only remember parts of Alive & State Of Loving Trust afterward. It was 8 long years before I saw them again. Stayed sober at that one!
Biggest regret was listening to a friend when I was moaning about a lack of U.K. shows around Vitalogy time. I'd been a fan since Alive was released. Was on the mailing list straight away. They sent me the first 2 fanclub singles for free. I was a huge fan. My friend said if they didn't tour I shouldn't buy their albums. So I did just that. I remember seeing No Code and not buying it. I did buy Given To Fly and Wishlist singles. I rediscovered PJ at Avocado. Boy, it's one of my biggest regrets in life that I gave up on them. I quickly bought everything I'd missed and saw them in 2009. Needless to say I'm a massive fan again but all those lost years pain me
Not coming back down from maine for 7/11/2003 after going to 7/2/2003.
PJ: 2003 Mansfield: July 2 2004 Boston: Sept 28 & 29 2005 Montreal: Sept 15 2006 Boston: May 24 & 25 2008 Hartford: June 27, Mansfield: June 28, 2010 Boston: May 17 2013 Worcester: Oct 15, Hartford: Oct 25, 2016 Hampton: April 18, Raleigh: April 20 (cancelled), Columbia: April 21. Quebec: May 5. Boston (Fenway): August 7
I didn't become a fan until November of 2013, so I missed out on a lot. The biggest regrets for me are missing the Spectrum shows (which happened less than 10 miles away from my house) and PJ20 (getting to see QOTSA and PJ in the same day would have been amazing).
2013: Wrigley Field, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn 1, Brooklyn 2, Philly 1, Philly 2, Baltimore
2014: Cincinnati
2015: Global Citizen Festival
2016: Philly 1, Philly 2, MSG 1, MSG 2, Fenway 1, Fenway 2, Wrigley 1, Wrigley 2
2017: Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2018: Krakow, Chicago 1, Chicago 2, Boston 1, Boston 2
My take is this... Appreciate everything you've experienced, rather than the things that might have been. After all, who knows... maybe if you went to that show you regret missing... you might have been hit by a drunk driver on the way there. Just figure, things that happened in the past have gotten you to the present.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
My take is this... Appreciate everything you've experienced, rather than the things that might have been. After all, who knows... maybe if you went to that show you regret missing... you might have been hit by a drunk driver on the way there. Just figure, things that happened in the past have gotten you to the present.
Best post yet! You just never know what would have been different, but yes it could definitely have been LESS fun/good than whatever did happen. It's too easy to miss out on appreciating the good things of the present and past if the focus is on what the past wasn't and what the present isn't. Learn good and bad from the past, and make the most out of the present.
Thanks for the reminder Cosmo!
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buck502000
Birthplace of GIBSON guitar Posts: 8,951
Seeing S/T in the used vinyl bin for $30 and thinking the cover seemed "worn" and passing on a playable copy. X_X
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on2legs
Standing in the Jersey rain… Posts: 14,453
I regret I never submitted my own demo tape to Stone and Jeff way back when.
1996: Randall's Island 2 1998: East Rutherford | MSG 1 & 2 2000: Cincinnati | Columbus | Jones Beach 1, 2, & 3 | Boston 1 | Camden 1 & 2 2003: Philadelphia | Uniondale | MSG 1 & 2 | Holmdel 2005: Atlantic City 1 2006: Camden 1 | East Rutherford 1 & 2 2008: Camden 1 & 2 | MSG 1 & 2 | Newark (EV) 2009: Philadelphia 1, 2 & 4 2010: Newark | MSG 1 & 2 2011: Toronto 1 2013: Wrigley Field | Brooklyn 2 | Philadelphia 1 & 2 | Baltimore 2015: Central Park 2016: Philadelphia 1 & 2 | MSG 1 & 2 | Fenway Park 2 | MSG (TOTD) 2017: Brooklyn (RnR HOF) 2020: MSG | Asbury Park2021: Asbury Park 2022: MSG | Camden | Nashville 2024: MSG 1 & 2 (#50) | Philadelphia 1 & 2 | Baltimore
A close second place regret is missing them play free at "Day on the Hill" in Lawrence Kansas in 92. I lived 45 minutes away and went to Lawrence to see quite a few bands back then. A lot of friends went and I was offered a ride, but somehow figured I had "something better" to do!
For sure my biggest regret was not going to see Mike Watt on tour in Minneapolis May 8, 1995. There were two bands opening: Foo Fighters and Hovercraft. Ed played in Hovercraft with then wife Beth Liebling and both he and Dave Grohl played in Mike Watts band later that night. The First Avenue venue is such a close, intimate place to see a band. Opportunity of a lifetime!
Comments
1) May '93 Slims -- After running into Ed (1st time meeting him) at another band's show weeks before and him telling us PJ would be doing a few warm up shows for Vs. under a different band name (ended up being "David Gunn"?)... and then word about the show in San Francisco at Slims leaked in the local paper and the whole show being in jeapordy because so many people swarmed Slims hoping it would happen... my boyfriend was so NOT feeling my newfound interest in PJ that we fought the whole evening about whether I would go or not. I had enough sense to at least tell my sister (who was the bigger PJ fan of the 2 of us then) about the show and to get herself down to Slims, so she saw the show... but I missed it. The next time that boyfriend and I fought about me going to a PJ show ('94), I went anyway. Great show, so glad I did! And we broke up in '95.
2) October '93 I get myself to Santa Cruz, the Catalyst, to try to find a ticket to what would have been my 1st PJ show. There are tons of people and no tickets to be seen. At some point after sound check but before doors opened, another girl who I didn't know and I found ourselves peering through the gates into part of the venue, no one else in the immediate vicinity, both of us probably just silently accepting that fact that we would not be seeing that show. Suddenly Ed walks past us and up to the merch booth (no one's there) and seems to be examining the merch. At the time, I can only assume the other girl thought the same thing as I did... I'd seen a few of those interviews of him looking kinda freaked out by people always screaming or calling his name or asking for things, so we both just looked at him in silence and never said a word. Eventually he turned and walked away, back into the venue (he stood there for a good couple of minutes though). I later came to realize that it probably was no accident he walked up (there were other merch booths inside, he didn't need to walk all the way to the front to see th emerch), and maybe he was giving us a chance to ask but didn't want to assume we wanted to talk to him? I don't know, but I know I regret not saying a quiet hi at least.
There were so many fans who couldn't get in that it was actually fun being outside, and you could hear the show. Then near the end, a security guard let a few of us in, and it was literally just as Ed jumped from I think the balcony into the crowd below, and it was like walking out of a sunny silent field into pure and utter chaos (joyful chaos, but chaos nonetheless), it was insane. Saw the last maybe 2 songs. Still electric, even though it was the end.
3) 3rd one is way too hard to explain, let's just call it the biggest missed opportunity of all.
But there have been so many amazing moments for PJ fans to enjoy, can't dwell on regrets (and of course that applies to everything in life). Learn my lessons and move on. So yeah, the next time PJ is playing a tiny place in Santa Cruz and I find myself alone next to another woman and Ed walks by, and there's no one else around, we won't stay quiet. We'll shriek as loudly as possible and scream "AAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE IT'S EDDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Oh, and dude do you have any spare tickets?" Maybe he'll throw a couple over his shoulder as he flees and calls for security...
My regret is when I bought the Toronto 2005 poster. It started the collecting part of being a Pearl Jam fan and years later I think it should be left to the music. Life is too short to waste 5 hours in line for a poster and sticker, or a stupid vinyl that is red instead of black.
-Not seeing them live before 2000. Although my first show was a pretty damn epic one. Opened with Evenflow, Stone got to sing, Amy & the Wash umbrella on stage, closed with Baba O'Riley.
-Only buying Ten (orig) on vinyl and nothing else until Backspacer. Especially since I've had a turntable the whole fucking time. (And I still missed out on Vault #3, wtf?)
-Thinking posters were stupid
-Thinking posters are awesome, now that I need to get them all framed lol
I could have joined 10C in fall of 2001 instead of Jan 2003 when I did.
I could have gone to PJ20 for free.
I could have gone to Cincinnati 2006.
I could have gone to Indianapolis 2010.
Wait...I choose to stay dry...maybe not a bad thing??
I could have gone to Cleveland 2010 if I was super crazy...
i could be in amsterdam 2 in 2012..
Prague Krakow Berlin 2018. Berlin 2022
EV, Taormina 1+2 2017.
I wish i was the souvenir you kept your house key on..
Lawd! That is pretty rad! How were they selling them? Did they just turn up online here later?
Not seeing them live at Borgata 2005...
Not seeing them at the Vic 2007...
Not seeing them at Bonnaroo 2008...
Not seeing them live before 2003...
Not being born earlier to be able to see shows before 2003....
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 ---- http://imgur.com/a/nk0s7
I rediscovered PJ at Avocado. Boy, it's one of my biggest regrets in life that I gave up on them. I quickly bought everything I'd missed and saw them in 2009. Needless to say I'm a massive fan again but all those lost years pain me
Stupid friend!
Not seeing them live prior to 2003
Getting way too fucked up at the LA1 show this past fall....2nd half of the show is pretty cloudy. Oops
Not coming back down from maine for 7/11/2003 after going to 7/2/2003.
2003 Mansfield: July 2
2004 Boston: Sept 28 & 29
2005 Montreal: Sept 15
2006 Boston: May 24 & 25
2008 Hartford: June 27, Mansfield: June 28,
2010 Boston: May 17
2013 Worcester: Oct 15, Hartford: Oct 25,
2016 Hampton: April 18, Raleigh: April 20 (cancelled), Columbia: April 21. Quebec: May 5. Boston (Fenway): August 7
EV Solo: Boston 8/2/08, Boston 6/16/11
I just acquired that poster recently but haven't framed it yet, but will soon - I just love it!
I didn't become a fan until November of 2013, so I missed out on a lot. The biggest regrets for me are missing the Spectrum shows (which happened less than 10 miles away from my house) and PJ20 (getting to see QOTSA and PJ in the same day would have been amazing).
2014: Cincinnati
2015: Global Citizen Festival
2016: Philly 1, Philly 2, MSG 1, MSG 2, Fenway 1, Fenway 2, Wrigley 1, Wrigley 2
2017: Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Induction
2018: Krakow, Chicago 1, Chicago 2, Boston 1, Boston 2
Appreciate everything you've experienced, rather than the things that might have been.
After all, who knows... maybe if you went to that show you regret missing... you might have been hit by a drunk driver on the way there. Just figure, things that happened in the past have gotten you to the present.
Hail, Hail!!!
Thanks for the reminder Cosmo!
For sure my biggest regret was not going to see Mike Watt on tour in Minneapolis May 8, 1995. There were two bands opening: Foo Fighters and Hovercraft. Ed played in Hovercraft with then wife Beth Liebling and both he and Dave Grohl played in Mike Watts band later that night. The First Avenue venue is such a close, intimate place to see a band. Opportunity of a lifetime!
Atlanta 9.1.98
Dallas 11.15.13
Ft. Worth 9.15.23