Also I respect a group like The Replacements but they did have some dick fans. My wife and I were sitting and picked out spot for Pearl Jam along with several other PJ fans and all they did was complain about being in their way and how without their band we wouldn't have PJ blah blah. We and most the PJ fans in the area just ignored them and let the old punk hippies dance to their 3-chord band but ah well not everyone can have fans as great as our.
Lets be real though. Pearl Jam is a hard band to open for because most of their fans arent known as being up to date on their history. We've seen Frank Black and Sonic Youth ignored to the highest degree and now probably the most important rock band of the 80s in the Replacements. Im hearing that the rail was much more responsive during weekend 2 so thats good. But yeah i dont recommend mega fans of the opening band ever going to a PJ concert just for them. It gets akward. LOL. Glad both bands tore it up on Sunday
So back in June I had posted on the Porch that I had just got married and my wife surprised me with weekend 2 ACL tickets during the wedding reception..... Fast Forward to this last weekend
I don't know if words can really sum up how great of an experience this was for me. It had been about 10 years since I've got to see PJ play (saw Ed in Houston night 2 though). I wont bore you with ALL the details I but it was FANTASTIC. I want to thank TheLostSoul for taking the time the week before to email me some really helpful tips for my first festival experience, they paid off ten fold. I would also like to Thank Brian and his wife from Houston and also the couple right next to us from Charlotte who we met on the center rail. We were all where we wanted to be early and "held our perimeter" valiantly. It was great meeting the people around us. Loved hearing everyone's PJ stories. There were a couple of kids (18ish) that waited next to us all day. I didn't even notice until my wife told me after the show that she noticed they hadn't drank ANYTHING all day so right before PJ started she gave them a couple of bottles of water. The one kid told her "thanks, you just saved me from having to get pulled out of here by security." That's what its all about! Helping each other. This was her first show and she is a converted fan so looks like she will fit right in. Anyway, Fest was awesome, people were awesome, Austin is a great city. Great weekend!
Can't wait to see them again!!
Byrn, (bye - earn)
"I wanna live my life with the volume full"
Really good show - killed it. And the casual fans knew it (one comment overheard during the exodus "I've never seen them live before so I dunno if they're always like that, but that was killer." Hit three of my checklist points: Small Town opener, Down and Immortality. Shocked they ticked off those last two items considering this was a festival.
The setlist was festival-sized, but that's not a festival setlist with Immortality and Down and You Are - definitely some chum for the fans.
Every time I see them I wonder how in the f--- Rolling Stone omitted Mike from its greatest guitarists list. Good gosh. Maybe RS wasn't smoking something organic . . .
Also I respect a group like The Replacements but they did have some dick fans. My wife and I were sitting and picked out spot for Pearl Jam along with several other PJ fans and all they did was complain about being in their way and how without their band we wouldn't have PJ blah blah. We and most the PJ fans in the area just ignored them and let the old punk hippies dance to their 3-chord band but ah well not everyone can have fans as great as our.
Yeah, PJ has zero dick fans. They're all the greatest and perfectly behaved! So great that a large % of the fanbase would take up prime real restate and then act as if no other bands were worthy of their time. Week 2 seemed a lot better, but the week 1 crowd was pathetic. The zombies were in the way of people who actually cared about the earlier bands.
I didn't see any grievances in the areas I was in, but It's easy to see how some could be annoyed by being surrounded by folks who didn't give a shit about how lucky they actually were to be witnessing one of the greatest bands of all time.
Dismissing them as some 3 chord band for old punk hippies might be a throwaway line, but it is still very ignorant and I doubt that you really respect the 'Mats. They may not have been super popular, but they will go down in history as far more influential and critically important than Pearl Jam.
Been to various festivals and ACL is best run and organized. Clean lotsa portapotties, free water bottle refills. Crowd chill and when PJ stopped playing and the herd headed to busses never got stuck or even stopped. Had us penned in but we kept going and bus waiting on us. Incredible. Highly recommend this destination.
Went first weekend and PJ nailed it. True professionals.
Yeah ACL beats everyone in running a clean and organized festival. Very family friendly. Amazing food and a more relaxed atmosphere than any of the other big ones.
We brought our toddler this time and after taking the usual common sense parental precautions we had zero worries.
Always love ACL and this year was extra special. Best 80s band and the best 90s band closing the fest together.
My bro and I got to lift Aldo up in the air for Ed to see. His buddies had to tell/show him every song playing on their phones through text during the concert. He could definitely feel the music though. Makes you appreciate the little things, especially good friends.
San Antonio, Texas 04-05-2003
Austin, Texas 10-04-2009
Vancouver, British Columbia 09-25-2011
Amsterdam, The Netherlands 06-26-2012
San Antonio, Texas 11-16-2012 (EV)
Chicago, Illinois 07-19-2013
My bro and I got to lift Aldo up in the air for Ed to see. His buddies had to tell/show him every song playing on their phones through text during the concert. He could definitely feel the music though. Makes you appreciate the little things, especially good friends.
We must have been right next to you, because Aldo was right next to us.
everybody wants the most they can possibly get
for the least they could possibly do
The ACL crowd was so much bigger and rowdier (mostly in a good way) the second weekend. Some of those singalongs down front were pretty phenomenal.
It was my 22nd PJ show, and the first I didn't hear a song I'd never heard before. However ... got Immortality, You Are and Baba for the first time in 11 years. So I'll take it.
And I'll always take Black. Always.
everybody wants the most they can possibly get
for the least they could possibly do
ACL 2 was awesome. Made ACL 1 look like the red headed step child, which it kinda was. I wouldn't have changed one thing about this setlist. All the songs and the order in which they played were spot on. I was there for both ACL shows and the songs they played both weekends sounded so much better on ACL 2. Sometimes you get lighting in a bottle and that's what that show was. The crowd was amazing and never let up and neither did the band. Eddie sounded great and I didn't notice any voice concerns. He did lose his spot in the middle Do The Evolution but his and the band's smile showed they were having as much fun as the crowd. My tenth show and this one ranks right up there. I was with a PJ first-timer and she was blown away by the performance as well. I left the venue on such an emotional high. My highlights were You Are, Yellow Moon and Black. My lowlight was that my beer only lasted me about 3 songs into the set and there was no way was I leaving my spot (about 30 yards back on Stone's side). Thanks guys for showing 70,000 people what a rock show is all about.
I am positive I'm in the minority here: I've seen this great band many, many times in the SoCal Region (going all the way back to Indio in '93 and SD in '95), and I prefer their shorter shows (25ish-plus songs). Of course, this is very relative, as our definition of their shorter shows would be considered a semi-long for other acts, sans Paul Macca and a few others.
Shorter set note: doesn't matter if it's a festival gig or a regular pj gig - of course, these days fest gigs are really the only time they do a "shorter" set.
p.s. Is anyone else not a fan of the LB tour template of opening every show with 3 of their more mellow songs?
p.s.s. Don't get me wrong - I was in Santa Barbara in '03 for the PJ and Friends gig, where they opened with the mellow, acoustic set (like they did a few times in those years) and it was great, but that's apples n' oranges with their current tour, dare I say, formula (haha, bad term, I know)?
Gaslight and the kongos were really good. 1st time seeing all the earlier bands. The Replacements killed it (in a good way) not really my thing but they were really good and there was this guy across the rail from me completely rocking out to them. I was super happy for him. He knew every word to every gaslight song and every replacements song. I was like damn I really need to open up my musical horizons lol.
Byrn, (bye - earn)
"I wanna live my life with the volume full"
p.s. Is anyone else not a fan of the LB tour template of opening every show with 3 of their more mellow songs?
I am actually a *huge* fan of this. Also like opening the encore with a few "sit-down" songs. It helps that this is where the majority of my favorite songs of all time are played.
everybody wants the most they can possibly get
for the least they could possibly do
p.s. Is anyone else not a fan of the LB tour template of opening every show with 3 of their more mellow songs?
I am actually a *huge* fan of this. Also like opening the encore with a few "sit-down" songs. It helps that this is where the majority of my favorite songs of all time are played.
I like the sit-down encore, too.
Also, it just occurred to me that, aside from creative, artistic, etc. choice, there's a always a chance that it has to do with da band wanting things to be mellow to start - GA Floor attendees are still funneling in for the 1st half-hour-ish of the show.
p.s. GA rules! Wish more peeps would pogo dance, regular dance, etc. Too many just want EV to make eye-contact with them. The occasional bit of slam dancing would be fun, too, but I know that's a lot to ask.
Dismissing them as some 3 chord band for old punk hippies might be a throwaway line, but it is still very ignorant and I doubt that you really respect the 'Mats. They may not have been super popular, but they will go down in history as far more influential and critically important than Pearl Jam.
don't know about that........but I love both bands. Replacements and PJ are both in heavy rotation in my home and in my ride.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Dismissing them as some 3 chord band for old punk hippies might be a throwaway line, but it is still very ignorant and I doubt that you really respect the 'Mats. They may not have been super popular, but they will go down in history as far more influential and critically important than Pearl Jam.
don't know about that........but I love both bands. Replacements and PJ are both in heavy rotation in my home and in my ride.
Easily. i LOVE pearljam but you could argue that the Replacements are a top 10 rock band of all time and most critics wouldnt think that you're nuts. Their sound was way before their time and the legend and stories almost seem like fiction. Definitely a more important and influential band than our boys here. Even PJ would gladly admit that.
They may be legends, but I was not particularly impressed with the replacements on weekend 1. Never really understood why people liked them. Wish I had gone to see spoon.
On another note....thanks PJ for playing "Betterman". It was my 9th show so I had heard it but my wife's 3rd show and she really wanted to hear it and it put a huge smile on her face!
Loved Tommy trying to get any applause and also f#cking with the PJ fans on the rail. "Did u guys know we were on the bill? ......silence........Hey guys did u know we're almost done?!" With a big grin
Does anyone know who came out and joined them during Baba O? I was too busy singing and watching Mike and Ed that I didn't even notice him, but you can see him on the video that is on YouTube.
Another cool little tidbit - after Even Flow, Ed commends Mike's playing then credits Stone for writing the music. Ed then says to Mike, "That was some pretty good surfing, but he built the wave (nodding to Stone)."
Also mentioned by others - the Evolution screw up was funny. Mike and Jeff met at the same mic for the hallelujah, but gave Ed a look as he botched the lyrics. Then there was just a fraction of a pause where maybe Jeff and Mike thought Ed might try to recover, so Stone points and smiles, as if to say "don't worry, I got this" then just starts up the hallelujahs anyway.
Also, Ed suggested Austin as the next place to legalize pot because "clearly you all can handle it." Then Ed introduced Matt as someone who has never once smoked pot. Matt held up one finger saying "1 time" so Ed said, "yes 1 time, for 22 years straight". Then Ed quickly added, "It's ok Matt, your kids aren't here."
"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." - Thoreau
No time to be void, or save up on life, you've got to spend it all
Unfortunately couldn't make ACL 1 but took the whole family down to ACL 2. Before I start I have to echo the statement that ACL is the best-run festival around. For a city with the crowding and traffic problems that Austin has it is amazing how they pull this off with the shuttles and parking and everything. Always so well-done. My entire family had a blast. I hope PJ comes back in the next few years.
Second – they did not mail this show in. I am not sure how that comment got started but if you think they mailed this one in just for the paycheck then you have seen them too many times. The energy was just as high as at any show and you can tell from talking to the casual fans around you or looking at tweets after the show or whatever. They impressed. As they always do. Was it a festival set? Sure. But I still love hearing the hits so more power to them. Plus I think it is fun to see them amongst a bunch of people who have never seen them or are just casual fans.
Bummed Release was crossed off. I don’t like Small Town as an opener. Crowd was into it though. Ed struggled quite a bit. His voice cracked often. Found out later he was sick. But he stuck it out. Immortality was a nice surprise. So was Severed Hand. They rocked the hell out of that one. Mike went behind the head for the Even Flow solo again and the crowd went wild.
And then there was Do the Evolution. I’ve seen them a lot and you know it isn’t a PJ show until they screw something up and boy did they screw this one up. Not sure I’ve ever heard them butcher a song they have played 1000 times like that. But they persevered and stuck with and laughed about it and it was fine. Pretty funny moment.
Best part of the night was when they introduced Steve Gleason and played You Are for him. Great job! Unthought Known right after was brilliant. Yellow Moon was an odd choice and in a weird position in the set. Not my favorite of LB but OK.
That might have been the tightest version of Porch I've seen. The camera was on Matt a lot and it was amazing to see how precise he is. He’s a machine and that extended jam in Porch is a perfect example of what he can do. Mike destroyed one of the light balls and glass or Plexiglas or whatever it was flew everywhere. The look on Jeff’s face was like “WTF dude?”
The broke curfew again. Actually Ledbetter surprised me. We thought for sure Baba would be it because it was already 10:00 when they started.
I hate the festival curfew as much as anyone but still. Its Pearl Jam. Its Texas. I have to go. After this nice run of shows over the past couple of years who knows when they will be back to my home state. So you will get no complaints from me.
Lastly, we lucked out on the weather. It stormed pretty bad the day before but no rain on Sunday. It was muddy, but nowhere near as bad as 2009. They day ended up being cloudy and breezy. We even got a little sun late afternoon. I’ll take that over 90-100 degrees every single day.
Jeremy sounded better than ever to me. Maybe it just shines more in a festival setting.
Unthought Known sounded fantastic and I was thinking I was sick of hearing that song (since I got it about 10 times already and it is only a few years old).
Elderly Woman is probably their worst opener but the crowd liked it so I'm okay with that.
I thought Baba was the last song too, which made YL/SSB even sweeter.
Immortality was fantastic as usual, but I was hoping for NAIS in that spot.
I don't get the Even Flow into Sirens sequence, but the band seems to like that since they do it often.
You Are may be the coolest dedication of all time. Good job Steve!
Yellow Moon was in a weird spot but it sounded great and I'm happy it was played. I got that six shows in a row now but I still want more.
Lukin- the loudest I've ever heard the band. Kudos for that dedication.
The crowd near me went the craziest for Betterman so that was fun.
Some comments praising ACL ... nice to hear, but I have to say that Fun Fun Fun Fest is a much better experience than ACL. I will give ACL points for having to deal with a much bigger crowd, but FFFF trumps it in pretty much most aspects apart from beer selection. I won't even go to ACL anymore (nor will most of my friends), unless there are special circumstances (e.g. NY&CH a few years back, or PJ and 'Mats this year). The late night shows are where it's at. It's kind of odd that the two festivals are within a few weeks of each other.
Comments
I don't know if words can really sum up how great of an experience this was for me. It had been about 10 years since I've got to see PJ play (saw Ed in Houston night 2 though). I wont bore you with ALL the details I but it was FANTASTIC. I want to thank TheLostSoul for taking the time the week before to email me some really helpful tips for my first festival experience, they paid off ten fold. I would also like to Thank Brian and his wife from Houston and also the couple right next to us from Charlotte who we met on the center rail. We were all where we wanted to be early and "held our perimeter" valiantly. It was great meeting the people around us. Loved hearing everyone's PJ stories. There were a couple of kids (18ish) that waited next to us all day. I didn't even notice until my wife told me after the show that she noticed they hadn't drank ANYTHING all day so right before PJ started she gave them a couple of bottles of water. The one kid told her "thanks, you just saved me from having to get pulled out of here by security." That's what its all about! Helping each other. This was her first show and she is a converted fan so looks like she will fit right in. Anyway, Fest was awesome, people were awesome, Austin is a great city. Great weekend!
Can't wait to see them again!!
"I wanna live my life with the volume full"
The setlist was festival-sized, but that's not a festival setlist with Immortality and Down and You Are - definitely some chum for the fans.
Every time I see them I wonder how in the f--- Rolling Stone omitted Mike from its greatest guitarists list. Good gosh. Maybe RS wasn't smoking something organic . . .
I didn't see any grievances in the areas I was in, but It's easy to see how some could be annoyed by being surrounded by folks who didn't give a shit about how lucky they actually were to be witnessing one of the greatest bands of all time.
Dismissing them as some 3 chord band for old punk hippies might be a throwaway line, but it is still very ignorant and I doubt that you really respect the 'Mats. They may not have been super popular, but they will go down in history as far more influential and critically important than Pearl Jam.
No time to be void, or save up on life, you've got to spend it all
Went first weekend and PJ nailed it. True professionals.
We brought our toddler this time and after taking the usual common sense parental precautions we had zero worries.
Always love ACL and this year was extra special. Best 80s band and the best 90s band closing the fest together.
Austin, Texas 10-04-2009
Vancouver, British Columbia 09-25-2011
Amsterdam, The Netherlands 06-26-2012
San Antonio, Texas 11-16-2012 (EV)
Chicago, Illinois 07-19-2013
for the least they could possibly do
It was my 22nd PJ show, and the first I didn't hear a song I'd never heard before. However ... got Immortality, You Are and Baba for the first time in 11 years. So I'll take it.
And I'll always take Black. Always.
for the least they could possibly do
I am positive I'm in the minority here: I've seen this great band many, many times in the SoCal Region (going all the way back to Indio in '93 and SD in '95), and I prefer their shorter shows (25ish-plus songs). Of course, this is very relative, as our definition of their shorter shows would be considered a semi-long for other acts, sans Paul Macca and a few others.
Shorter set note: doesn't matter if it's a festival gig or a regular pj gig - of course, these days fest gigs are really the only time they do a "shorter" set.
p.s. Is anyone else not a fan of the LB tour template of opening every show with 3 of their more mellow songs?
p.s.s. Don't get me wrong - I was in Santa Barbara in '03 for the PJ and Friends gig, where they opened with the mellow, acoustic set (like they did a few times in those years) and it was great, but that's apples n' oranges with their current tour, dare I say, formula (haha, bad term, I know)?
"I wanna live my life with the volume full"
for the least they could possibly do
I like the sit-down encore, too.
Also, it just occurred to me that, aside from creative, artistic, etc. choice, there's a always a chance that it has to do with da band wanting things to be mellow to start - GA Floor attendees are still funneling in for the 1st half-hour-ish of the show.
p.s. GA rules! Wish more peeps would pogo dance, regular dance, etc. Too many just want EV to make eye-contact with them. The occasional bit of slam dancing would be fun, too, but I know that's a lot to ask.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
It was a treasure to see both bands back to back.
Never really understood why people liked them. Wish I had gone to see spoon.
Loved Tommy trying to get any applause and also f#cking with the PJ fans on the rail. "Did u guys know we were on the bill? ......silence........Hey guys did u know we're almost done?!" With a big grin
Also mentioned by others - the Evolution screw up was funny. Mike and Jeff met at the same mic for the hallelujah, but gave Ed a look as he botched the lyrics. Then there was just a fraction of a pause where maybe Jeff and Mike thought Ed might try to recover, so Stone points and smiles, as if to say "don't worry, I got this" then just starts up the hallelujahs anyway.
Also, Ed suggested Austin as the next place to legalize pot because "clearly you all can handle it." Then Ed introduced Matt as someone who has never once smoked pot. Matt held up one finger saying "1 time" so Ed said, "yes 1 time, for 22 years straight". Then Ed quickly added, "It's ok Matt, your kids aren't here."
No time to be void, or save up on life, you've got to spend it all
Second – they did not mail this show in. I am not sure how that comment got started but if you think they mailed this one in just for the paycheck then you have seen them too many times. The energy was just as high as at any show and you can tell from talking to the casual fans around you or looking at tweets after the show or whatever. They impressed. As they always do. Was it a festival set? Sure. But I still love hearing the hits so more power to them. Plus I think it is fun to see them amongst a bunch of people who have never seen them or are just casual fans.
Bummed Release was crossed off. I don’t like Small Town as an opener. Crowd was into it though. Ed struggled quite a bit. His voice cracked often. Found out later he was sick. But he stuck it out. Immortality was a nice surprise. So was Severed Hand. They rocked the hell out of that one. Mike went behind the head for the Even Flow solo again and the crowd went wild.
And then there was Do the Evolution. I’ve seen them a lot and you know it isn’t a PJ show until they screw something up and boy did they screw this one up. Not sure I’ve ever heard them butcher a song they have played 1000 times like that. But they persevered and stuck with and laughed about it and it was fine. Pretty funny moment.
Best part of the night was when they introduced Steve Gleason and played You Are for him. Great job! Unthought Known right after was brilliant. Yellow Moon was an odd choice and in a weird position in the set. Not my favorite of LB but OK.
That might have been the tightest version of Porch I've seen. The camera was on Matt a lot and it was amazing to see how precise he is. He’s a machine and that extended jam in Porch is a perfect example of what he can do. Mike destroyed one of the light balls and glass or Plexiglas or whatever it was flew everywhere. The look on Jeff’s face was like “WTF dude?”
The broke curfew again. Actually Ledbetter surprised me. We thought for sure Baba would be it because it was already 10:00 when they started.
I hate the festival curfew as much as anyone but still. Its Pearl Jam. Its Texas. I have to go. After this nice run of shows over the past couple of years who knows when they will be back to my home state. So you will get no complaints from me.
Lastly, we lucked out on the weather. It stormed pretty bad the day before but no rain on Sunday. It was muddy, but nowhere near as bad as 2009. They day ended up being cloudy and breezy. We even got a little sun late afternoon. I’ll take that over 90-100 degrees every single day.
BOS-9/28/04,9/29/04,6/28/08,6/30/08, 9/5/16, 9/7/16, 9/2/18
MTL-9/15/05, OTT-9/16/05
PHL-5/27/06,5/28/06,10/30/09,10/31/09
CHI-8/2/07,8/5/07,8/23/09,8/24/09
HTFD-6/27/08
ATX-10/4/09, 10/12/14
KC-5/3/2010,STL-5/4/2010
Bridge School-10/23/2010,10/24/2010
PJ20-9/3/2011,9/4/2011
OKC-11/16/13
SEA-12/6/13
TUL-10/8/14
Jeremy sounded better than ever to me. Maybe it just shines more in a festival setting.
Unthought Known sounded fantastic and I was thinking I was sick of hearing that song (since I got it about 10 times already and it is only a few years old).
Elderly Woman is probably their worst opener but the crowd liked it so I'm okay with that.
I thought Baba was the last song too, which made YL/SSB even sweeter.
Immortality was fantastic as usual, but I was hoping for NAIS in that spot.
I don't get the Even Flow into Sirens sequence, but the band seems to like that since they do it often.
You Are may be the coolest dedication of all time. Good job Steve!
Yellow Moon was in a weird spot but it sounded great and I'm happy it was played. I got that six shows in a row now but I still want more.
Lukin- the loudest I've ever heard the band. Kudos for that dedication.
The crowd near me went the craziest for Betterman so that was fun.
2010: Newark 5/18 MSG 5/20-21 2011: PJ20 9/3-4 2012: Made In America 9/2
2013: Brooklyn 10/18-19 Philly 10/21-22 Hartford 10/25 2014: ACL10/12
2015: NYC 9/23 2016: Tampa 4/11 Philly 4/28-29 MSG 5/1-2 Fenway 8/5+8/7
2017: RRHoF 4/7 2018: Fenway 9/2+9/4 2021: Sea Hear Now 9/18
2022: MSG 9/11 2024: MSG 9/3-4 Philly 9/7+9/9 Fenway 9/15+9/17
2025: Pittsburgh 5/16+5/18
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com/2014/10/austin-city-limits-101214-audience.html
Pearl Jam bootlegs:
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com