How well can you recall your Pearl Jam concert related experiences?

BinFrog

JimmyV said:

Drank way too much at the Toronto show in 2009. I remember the awesome opening solo sets well, but the show itself after that is a blur. Listening to the boot there are entire stretches I don't remember at all. Never again.

I've gotten drunk at a few shows, but never to the point where I don't remember the show itself. I have a pretty good internal automatic cut-off switch.

my2hands

I see Camden keeps coming up... I recently discussed this with my buddy that the 2006 and 2008 shows were average and pretty lackluster as PJ shows go... 2003 July 4th weekend with RITFW in the first set for the fireworks was fucking awesome though... that's the first and last time you would actually prefer a lawn seat at the urine soaked shit hole called an amphitheater in that bombed out joke of a city

Please don't play there again PJ

SVRDhand13

For my 16 shows I know

- where I sat
- the setlist in pretty good detail
- the openers
- the rarities
- who I went with
- if I got any merch
- what I did beforehand
- what I did afterwards
- how I got my tix
- which songs I heard for the first time that night
- EV's ramblings
- special guests
- opening acts
- people I met

I guess I'm a little obsessive haha

MayDay10

JimmyV said:

Drank way too much at the Toronto show in 2009. I remember the awesome opening solo sets well, but the show itself after that is a blur. Listening to the boot there are entire stretches I don't remember at all. Never again.

Oh yeah, thats a show I remember very clearly.

rssesq

After 80 something shows, "THE COLORS BLEND"
I dont drink but I never saw a show without burning a few down. Even front row center for London, Ont.

samjam

PJ shows are a strange mixture of remembering every detail super duper clear, and it all being a blur because it's so mind-blowing. Can't really explain it haha

Duncs

ldent42 said:

yea I've got the memory of a goldfish. The little things I remember have very little to do with the performance.

Ha...me too.

Mike's Side

After 33 PJ and 10 EV shows.

- where I sat : all
- most of the setlist : few
- parts of the setlist : almost all
- the openers: some
- the rarities : most
- who I went with: all
- if I got any merch : all
- what I did beforehand : all
- what I did afterwards : all
- how I got my tix: all
- my first time live songs : most
- EV's ramblings : some
- special guests : most
- opening acts : all
- people I met : all

baba_o_riley21

I will always remember the downpour in Kansas City 2003. We were super close and since in was at an amphitheater, all the water ran toward the stage, putting us in what seemed like two foot of water. So awesome though. Anyone there?

morello

SVRDhand13 said:

For my 16 shows I know

- where I sat
- the setlist in pretty good detail
- the openers
- the rarities
- who I went with
- if I got any merch
- what I did beforehand
- what I did afterwards
- how I got my tix
- which songs I heard for the first time that night
- EV's ramblings
- special guests
- opening acts
- people I met

I guess I'm a little obsessive haha

Love this list. I'm going back & seeing what I remember about the shows I've been to. B-)

Policeman

Some shows (18 this tour) I can recall more than others depending on how much I drank but after all these years I can remember my first show. Soldier Field July 11th 1995 It was amazing and the start of a life long habit. That was a day/experience I'll never forget!

buck502000

samjam said:

PJ shows are a strange mixture of remembering every detail super duper clear, and it all being a blur because it's so mind-blowing. Can't really explain it haha

A very good explanation.

Chrisilein

Some shows stay in my mind very well, others not! I can clearly remember the Arras festival in 2012..a horrible downpour..soaking wet, back to the hotel to change clothes, heading to the venue only to experience the next downpour...lol
I remember florence and the machine started and the clouds dissapeared immediately, it felt like someone up there in the sky enjoyed her voice. Even eddie mentioned how beautiful it was!
I can hardly remember Berlin 09 though it was a great and intense show. Well, the boots help!

ponytd

I remember most all the things that happened at the 11 shows I've been to over the last 20 years. Don't remember ever detail, but it helps that I have the bootlegs for all of them.There are a few shows that I know I'll remember most everything about them, like my first show, PJ20 and Wrigley

Brane_of_JFK

I find it somewhat difficult to differentiate some shows, especially when you see multiple ones in the same tour, and even worse on back-to-back nights at the same venue. Gorge '06 was memorable for many reasons. But it's a lot easier to remember having the posters, bootlegs and pictures readily available.

rssesq

I cant forget the Gorge shows. That shit was HOTTTTTT!

cydonia

I tend not to drink too much before the shows as I don't want to spend my time in the toilet! I remember the 3 shows are attended well and find the opening song the most emotive, of a girl, long road and go being the openers I've seen. The bootlegs obviously help to recall the gigs and sometimes feels like time travel! Each show is always different and a journey, rearviewmirror always being a highlight for me

PJ_Soul

I've actually found that my emotions during a show can really colour my memories with PJ, and it actually creates altered memories, lol. I haven't drank or gotten high at a PJ show before (not yet), so have pretty clear memories of all the songs and stuff, but I tend to end up with certain impressions that later make less sense than i would have expected once I watch the show on youtube, lol. Or sometimes my memories swap places with one another. Like I remember that an improv moment done where Eddie was sitting down or whatever was actually another song, and the improv moment was half an hour later where Eddie was standing up. Or I get an idea about something Eddie said and then see later that my interpretation pretty much twisted it's message around to mean something that was never really intended. Frankly, this tendency has me a bit concerned about how my brain works. It can be fun, but i really don't want to be making up my own realities either, lol! Perhaps it's actually just that I am so lost in the experience that my perceptions are out of wack even though I'm straight and sober. Seems pretty plausible considering going how totally over the moon i feel at a PJ show... and have actually I only experienced this when I'm in the pit; obviously that increased intensity has an impact. Anyway, thank goodness for youtube and people who like to film shows, lol. It's wonderful that I have a way to straighten these things out in my own head! :P

buck502000

With a couple more tours under my belt and a lack of touring activity I thought this would be a fun thread to revive

buck502000

And I recently picked up a ticket book  

bootlegger10

A big blur mostly. 

PJfanwillneverleave1

All I know is that I continue to perpetuate my memories of seeing Pearl Jam.
It takes months to absorb what you have just witnessed.
Fuck I love Pearl Jam.

oftenreading

I have to say I don't have a great autobiographical memory, and that applies to every aspect of my life, not just PJ shows. And it doesn't have anything to do with drinking, either. Listening to the boots definitely helps me. I do have a clear idea of where I sat and what I could see or not see for every show, but without the boots I have little memory of the setlist and special touches.

For those who say that they remember everything, I am curious as to how much that might be affected by listening to the boots. Would the memories really be as crystal clear without that reinforcement?

ledvedderman

Presently, I can do really well. I can always say who opened, what song opened, rarities played, other special moments. Now, since I'm staring down some possible onset of dementia, I'm looking for ways to document this for the future when maybe it's not so easy to recall these. 
Thank god for bootlegs, guys. Those will really help. I've got official or unofficial boots for every single show. I like to think that while my brain may go, moments like these shows and my son might be etched in my heart and not the brain. Maybe I won't remember the moments, but they're a part of me. Cherish yours mi amigos here. 

Bentleyspop

I've  been to way too many shows over the last 25, almost 26, years to remember all the minutia. I can easily remember  the first couple and the most recent few. But in between has become mostly a blur. And this has nothing to do with alcohol or drugs as I always attend PJ shows sober.

lolobugg

DosimetricPJFan said:

I will always remember my first show. New Orleans, when the Ramones opened. When PJ came out to Animal, that was the most chaotic place I can ever remember being.

+1

but the shows from 2000-2004 are a little blurry due to the copious amounts of alcohol consumed during the tailgating.

cp3iverson

Havent been to a "proper" PJ show since 2003.  Festivals since then tho

i remember....
-all seat locations
-every opening song
-and then just a random memory or two of each show (weather/the drive/Ed comment/etc)

bootlegs help alot

Box Hopkins

1st show was Camden, NJ '98.
aside from opening with Release, I remember during Alive, there was a kid on the side of the stage in a wheelchair with his dad next to him. Eddie is singing, and starts waving to the kid. The kid doesn't notice him (he's looking at the crowd), but Eddie keeps singing and waving until the kid's dad nudges him. The kid looks over, smiles, and waves back. Eddie was also sick that night--it made it that much more surreal. 

cp3iverson

^^^i was at that show. Didnt pick up on that. That's cool

Release was basically played in the dark.  Thats my main Camden98 memory.  Thought it was a nice way to play it

PJ_Soul

I pretty much remember every detail, since I never drink or get high at PJ shows, lol.