Pearl Jam Cancels 4/20 Raleigh, NC Concert in Opposition to HB2; Official Band Statement

LukinFan

PJ1973 said:

My state tax dollars are being used to sue the federal government who's using my federal tax dollars to counter sue. This is the most fucked up insane situation I've encountered in a long fucking time. Also, I have no expectations that Pearl Jam will be back anytime soon.. They played NC one time in the past 13 years. It's not a market they can't live without.

They'll be back and the makeup show will be incredible

Jason P

LukinFan said:

PJ1973 said:

My state tax dollars are being used to sue the federal government who's using my federal tax dollars to counter sue. This is the most fucked up insane situation I've encountered in a long fucking time. Also, I have no expectations that Pearl Jam will be back anytime soon.. They played NC one time in the past 13 years. It's not a market they can't live without.

They'll be back and the makeup show will be incredible

You think so? How many times have they played there in the past? Do you think locals may have felt burned and may not be as receptive?

ComeToTX

They rarely play the south so I seriously doubt they make a special trip down to make up a show that left a lot of people with a bad taste.

Also in Mike's talk with RS he said they go where the offers are. I'm not sure PNC Arena will want to offer PJ anytime soon.

lolobugg

Fuck Bruce. Fuck McCrory. Fuck our Legislature.
that is all for now.

bluesuedeitzrad

ComeToTX said:

They rarely play the south so I seriously doubt they make a special trip down to make up a show that left a lot of people with a bad taste.

Also in Mike's talk with RS he said they go where the offers are. I'm not sure PNC Arena will want to offer PJ anytime soon.

I think I am, along with most NC fans are, just feeling pretty jaded right now about the band and Bruce.

This hopefully will all be resolved in a few months, and then we can see what happens with them returning. It's a crapshoot for now, so I rather put my focus into McCrory getting impeached or pushing for whatever democratic candidate there is for governor this fall.

PJ_Soul

bluesuedeitzrad said:

There is zero doubt in my mind – they cancelled because Bruce did.

Yes, they cancelled because Bruce started a movement that entailed cancelling. This is a fact, not a guess or an opinion. The band made it very clear that they were joining that process of protest that Bruce started. I think this is obvious and logical. I assume people who point this out are trying to say something about the band, but I don't think it makes much sense.

bluesuedeitzrad

Thanks captain!

bootlegger10

PJ_Soul said:

bluesuedeitzrad said:

There is zero doubt in my mind – they cancelled because Bruce did.

Yes, they cancelled because Bruce started a movement that entailed cancelling. This is a fact, not a guess or an opinion. The band made it very clear that they were joining that process of protest that Bruce started. I think this is obvious and logical. I assume people who point this out are trying to say something about the band, but I don't think it makes much sense.

It makes sense. They had to make a decision. To play the show or not play the show. If they would have played the show if Bruce hadn't canceled (which a lot of us think is the case), then you have to ask why they did cancel (the law or not going against Bruce's boycott). As a fan with tickets, it would be frustrating to know that they would have been fine playing a show and making a statement at the show, but because their pal Bruce canceled they felt they had to cancel then. Because it really feels like they canceled moreso because of their relationship with Bruce than due to the actual law. I might have done the same thing as them though. Ed loves Bruce Springsteen. Ed would have hung his head in shame the next time he was in Bruce's company because Bruce took on a lot of heat for canceling and his buddy Ed didn't follow. I would not be surprised at all if Ed was thinking "I want to play the show but will Bruce still respect me if we do play".

I get where you are coming from too in that a movement was in place with Bruce and others so they felt like they had to support the movement.

At the end of the day, I think they would have played the show if it weren't for Bruce's cancelation, so if they would have been okay playing the show with the law on the books they should have played it.

PJ_Soul

Well yeah, the point is that if Bruce hadn't cancelled there wouldn't have been that movement at all, so PJ would not have cancelled. I guess what I'm trying to say is just that the fact that Bruce cancelled, specifically, is more incidental than having something to do with him and PJ being pals. If it had been, say, Paul McCartney or U2 (but someone American, hahaha) or whoever else that happened to start the "wave" instead of Bruce, I think PJ probably would have cancelled for that as well. I'm just getting the feeling that people are "accusing" the band of just doing it because it's Bruce in particular. I don't think there is any reason to assume that.

EM194007

Read what Jimmy Buffett wrote and did. That's what should have happened, IMO.
http://blog.margaritaville.com/2016/04/north-carolina/#.VzUJFvkrJkh

ComeToTX

Buffett + Animal Collective is what should've been done.

http://pitchfork.com/news/65346-animal-collective-release-live-albums-to-fight-north-carolina-anti-lgbtq-law/

PJ has a ton of crazy fans that would've bought any recording they put out to help this cause. To me it was a missed opportunity.

bluesuedeitzrad

I think my comment came off over-simplified. I actually agree with you completely. Having GA tickets to both the Bruce Greensboro show and the Raleigh PJ show, I'm bitter that my two favorite acts cancelled. I get why...and can talk about that all day. Just bummed like the rest of the fans.

lolobugg

I sold my tix to animal collective in protest of them playing NC. j/k
but I did sell them. glad to see they are making a statement too, though.

dogtown

dogtown

EM194007

dogtown said:

EM194007 said:

First, I don't care what bathroom people use. We haven't had any laws about it, don't need any now, IMO.

But the NC Governor is doing the correct thing, regarding the DOJ threat. The DOJ has no authority to threaten to withhold any money from any state for anything.

That's totally inaccurate. Look up Title IX. If you want federal money, you have to treat people equally. Not sure why you think that isn't a good thing.

Please don't try and put words in my mouth. I never said it was good or bad thing. I could care less what bathroom some uses.

But please show me in the ACTUAL BILL where title Title IX states anything about LBGT. In the 2014 the Obama admin took it upon their self to add guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Education. Which isn't 100% legal, only Congress can change the law. Obama isn't a dictator. Now get Congress to change it, and no issues. Until then one person can't change a law, period.

My issue isn't about any gender or LBGT. You can be whatever you want, IMO. But I do have a issue with on person taking it upon their self in changing a law when they can't legally.

How many states/schools will be suing over what Obama did today? You can't blackmail someone into changing things to the way you want. That's what he did by threatening to take their federal money away, if they don't agree with him.

what dreams

My takeaway from the Betterman speech and other references in the Toronto show is that the band thinks the south is made up of closed-minded people, the north is made up of open-minded people, and there's nothing in between. Toronto is diverse, Miami isn't (hahaha), and they were so glad to be home in the north and gone from the south because only in the south do whacked out zealots live. It's all in the subtext. I agree that the cab driver in the story was whacked. But I'm very disappointed with the full implications of what Ed stated. Yes, it was two minute well-intentioned speech from an activist rock star, but it came off to me as a slap to all southerners. I infer that one reason they won't go back to NC or anywhere in the south anytime soon is their generalized notions of bigoted southern people. That really disappoints me and makes me wonder about their seeming lack of wisdom about people.

This tour was weird. Great shows, but a weird under-tone.

green_girl

Saw the Betterman video. Is he really trying to imply there is no racial discrimination in the north?

It's always enlightening to me what some people say when they think they're among like-minded individuals, whether flattering an audience or driving a white guy in their town car. If that's a true story I hope the entire story includes Ed giving that driver a piece of his mind.

bluesuedeitzrad

So my sister-in-law and her husband live in California. They are more conservative than most people I know here in NC and are huge Trump supporters.

Our governor may be a republican, but does the band honestly think all of us in NC are that way? I can't imagine they think we are all backwards thinking idiots. And in Raleigh, its becoming more and more made up of people from outside of the state – and country.

I just hope they have enough sense to know that they are more open-minded, progressive thinking individuals here than they realize.

bluesuedeitzrad

I took the Betterman speech as an attack at "people like that", than people of the south – but with the comment that you don't find people like that in Canada or on the west coast. I am going to blame the talking out of his ass on the tequila, because clearly he wasn't thinking through what he was saying.

Vedd Hedd

Seemed pretty obvious to me that he was just complimenting the majority of Toronto. Toronto has such a "Live and let live" vibe about it, nobody cares what race, nationality, gender religion or sexual preference you are. Do those things exist in the north? Absolutely. Are they as prevalent in the north as the south? Absolutely not.

I think the Miami driver is just one example of one person, and the story has nothing to do with "the south" as it has to do with "Toronto doesn't have this".

That said...I can remember as far back as 2003, when Ed was wearing his Bush mask, I had tickets to the Nashville show, and I was asking a Security guard why we weren't allowed in yet, and he said, "There was a bomb threat. Cause that sonofabitch singer was up there protesting our president!"
Direct quote, btw. Funny how "protesting the president" is totally cool if he is black and liberal, yet its crazy when he is white and conservative.

dogtown

JP Losman

So what has PJ been doing to help fight this recently? an issue they feel so passionately about?

On the other hand, the gun used to kill Trayvon Martin sells for 120K. and people still love their stand their ground laws in Florida that gave justification to it.

On the other hand, over 70% of Trump supporters think Obama is Muslim. What about taking a stand against Trump and his supporters?

On the other hand, Nader (who Eddie was a big supporter of) cost the democrats the election and now there is a lot of Bernie bros wanting him to run as a 3rd party candidate.

...okay, I get it, you pick your issues. You can't fight them all as passionately by cancelling shows. But as far as gay and transgender rights, you have played Italy relatively recently with their bad laws. and you have been very quiet in fighting HB2. I haven't heard of any organization here that has received proceeds from PJ to help fight PJ.

Tim Simmons

There has been no new information that has been made available to the public.

rhinomagic

LukinFan said:

PJ1973 said:

My state tax dollars are being used to sue the federal government who's using my federal tax dollars to counter sue. This is the most fucked up insane situation I've encountered in a long fucking time. Also, I have no expectations that Pearl Jam will be back anytime soon.. They played NC one time in the past 13 years. It's not a market they can't live without.

They'll be back and the makeup show will be incredible

That'd be nice.

I don't think it will happen until after the lawsuits and elections are settled, and--even then--we will probably have to wait for the next eastern US tour (2018?).

DarthMaeglin

I'm not sure it's fair to bring up foreign countries in this discussion. While there are issues in many of the countries they play, they are visitors to those places (kind of a when-in-Rome idea). They still speak up onstage, but when the issue brought up is women's rights/safety (I believe these were mentioned during last year's South American tour), those countries have a LONG way to go on lgbt rights and issues (not saying one is better than the other, but it does add some perspective, I think).
NC's bill is something that is happening in their own backyard, so to speak, so (in my opinion) it is more appropriate for them to take more drastic measures. I still don't agree with how it was done, though I do agree with why it was done.

rhinomagic

bluesuedeitzrad said:

ComeToTX said:

...

This hopefully will all be resolved in a few months, and then we can see what happens with them returning. It's a crapshoot for now, so I rather put my focus into McCrory getting impeached or pushing for whatever democratic candidate there is for governor this fall.

His name is Roy Cooper. And he stands a pretty good chance of unseating One Term Pat.

Also, make sure you're voting in the Supreme Court Primary on June 7. We can turn the court from a Repulican 4-3 majority to a 3-3 with an independent (Feares).

JP Losman

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/house-lgbt-amendment-discrimination-fight-223366

Its not NC...its the entire country that is having this debate.

MayDay10

oh boy

https://www.yahoo.com/news/anti-trans-bigots-trolling-target-151300312.html

JP Losman

When are the Chicago shows getting cancelled? This is a major civil rights issue...on par with HB2 legislation. Take a stand PJ. How in good conscience can you play when your elected officials allow for such a corrupt criminal system and horrible abuse of civil rights. What about fighting for treating people fairly?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/us/chicago-police-arrests-civil-rights/index.html