Pearl Jam Mailed It In On Monday Night

PhishinPearls

I'm going to preface this by saying MSG2 was my first show in six years. Not because I love the band any less, but sometimes life gets in the way, and lots of things happen - before you know it, it's been six years. But I've also seen my fair share of shows - some spectacular shows (Borgata 2 in 05, my first show, followed by the Philly 05 show, the final two shows at the Spectrum) and some mediocre ones (Camden and Mansfield in 08).

Knowing what this band can do, having seen them many times on back to back nights, having seen them really dig into their catalogue, etc., I can honestly say last night's show was a huge disappointment.

I don't come to see Pearl Jam to hear their greatest hits, and I can safely say the majority of us don't come to hear a greatest hits album either, but that's what we basically got. 7 songs off of Ten, 7 covers, 4 from LB, 3 from Vs. and 3 from Vitalogy. 75% of the show was either their newest album, not their stuff, or written before 1995. I know that's how this band actually got popular, but the reason they developed a devout following was because of albums like No Code, Yield, Binaural, and Riot Act.

Yes, it was great to see All or None, great to see Present Tense, great to see Breath. But a few songs in a first encore a show does not make. And frankly, the encore wasn't spectacular even with those songs.

Think of shows like 10/3/05 in Philly - a first set that had Wash, Brain of J, Faithfull, Sad, Alone, and Green Disease in the first 10 songs alone.

It's MSG. It's the second night in the same city, and they chose to play it safe and play their hits, which is their right. But let's not fool ourselves and say what a great show this was. It wasn't, and it wasn't even close. I recognize the guys are getting long in the tooth, I recognize it's the fourth show in five nights, but they can be so much better than what they gave us last night. This isn't sour grapes, it's just an honest assessment.

JC29856

"I just wanna say..."
The only thing that gets in the way of life is death.

SVRDhand13

It was my fifth show of this tour and I had an excellent time. Footsteps, Breath, special guests, the Man trilogy, and some great sing a longs. I think you were expecting too much.

whofeelslikeadrank

SVRDhand13 said:

It was my fifth show of this tour and I had an excellent time. Footsteps, Breath, special guests, the Man trilogy, and some great sing a longs. I think you were expecting too much.

it seems like everyone is expecting too much lately, i don't get it

PhishinPearls

whofeelslikeadrank said:

SVRDhand13 said:

It was my fifth show of this tour and I had an excellent time. Footsteps, Breath, special guests, the Man trilogy, and some great sing a longs. I think you were expecting too much.

it seems like everyone is expecting too much lately, i don't get it

How was I expecting too much? They mailed this show in and played the greatest hits. What sets this group apart is that they, normally, do not do that.

JC29856

Perspective:
MSG holds 18,000 not counting the floor.

PhishinPearls

JC29856 said:

Perspective:
MSG holds 18,000 not counting the floor.

Oh. I didn't know that. Thanks for making that obvious.

I don't think there's anything wrong with healthy criticism. Why are they playing Lightning Bolt again in the second encore? MYM and Corduroy again in 2 of the first 3 songs? Why are they closing the 1st encore again with Porch?

Do I like these songs? Yes. Do they have a ton of other songs they can play in these slots that we all like? Yes. They chose not to play those songs. They chose not to do something different, and that's disappointing.

Caught-A-Bolt-Of-Lightning

PhishinPearls said:

whofeelslikeadrank said:

SVRDhand13 said:

It was my fifth show of this tour and I had an excellent time. Footsteps, Breath, special guests, the Man trilogy, and some great sing a longs. I think you were expecting too much.

it seems like everyone is expecting too much lately, i don't get it

How was I expecting too much? They mailed this show in and played the greatest hits. What sets this group apart is that they, normally, do not do that.

I get this post and the original. However I also see everyone else's points. I saw Greenville (Vs.), Hampton and Columbia. Obviously Greenville was excellent. (Vs. plus lots of other really good songs: Breath, Let The Records Play, Comfortably Numb). Columbia was excellent also (Oceans to open, Infallible, Sleight of Hand, Chloe/Crown, etc) and Hampton which I considered to be a rather average set and the special songs (I am a Patriot, etc) were very "eh" versions.

Here's the heart of the matter I believe:
- As hard core fans we can never get enough of the band live. While I LOVE the studio albums and tend to listen to them more than I do the live shows the band, as we know, simply comes alive (no pun intended) when they play live. The music lives & breathes during their shows. It gives life to the audience which in turn breathes life into the song & the band. It can rise & rise to incredibly powerful heights.

- As the years have gone by the band is touring less & less. This causes a lot of us to want/need to hear/see something special when they do come around. And if/when we get a show that we consider average (because we've seen a lot of the songs played live before or it feels like a "greatest hits" show we get frustrated. I know I do. (I had seen every song played at Hampton live previously..)

I can tell you that after a few weeks I hate the Hampton show a lot less. I simply file it away as another chance to see the Band live. To me I worry a little bit with every tour that it might be the last time we see them on the road as someday they will call it a career. So...for me...Hampton will become a good memory ultimately. I hope this is the case for the OP also as he looks back at Monday's MSG show.

I love this community. The passion for the music & the band is simply amazing...

HesCalledDyer

Surrender w/ Cheap Trick
Leatherman
Save it for Later tag
Garden
Deep
Leash
All Or None
Present Tense
Breath/SOLAT back to back
Driven to Tears w/ Sting
Sonic Reducer

Hardly mailing it in! Once I invent the time machine, I'll gladly go back and trade places with ya, man!

Suziemay

Disagree. Sorry you feel that way. I had an amazing time!

whofeelslikeadrank

HesCalledDyer said:

Surrender w/ Cheap Trick
Leatherman
Save it for Later tag
Garden
Deep
Leash
All Or None
Present Tense
Breath/SOLAT back to back
Driven to Tears w/ Sting
Sonic Reducer

Hardly mailing it in! Once I invent the time machine, I'll gladly go back and trade places with ya, man!

right? or did i miss something?

whofeelslikeadrank

Suziemay said:

Disagree. Sorry you feel that way. I had an amazing time!

caught you rocking out on the rail, Stone side. pretty awesome show!

PhishinPearls

HesCalledDyer said:

Surrender w/ Cheap Trick
Leatherman
Save it for Later tag
Garden
Deep
Leash
All Or None
Present Tense
Breath/SOLAT back to back
Driven to Tears w/ Sting
Sonic Reducer

Hardly mailing it in! Once I invent the time machine, I'll gladly go back and trade places with ya, man!

Leatherman - a bustout, nice to see.
Save it for later tag - okay? It was nice.
Garden - not played much, but again, off of Ten
Deep - regular rotation this tour
Leash - never have a problem with Leash
All or None, Present Tense, Breath - yes, I said these were the highlights
SOLAT - played all the time
Driven to Tears w/ Sting and Sonic Reducer - cool, part of 5 covers at the end of the show. they have a huge catalogue. play some of it.

Suziemay

whofeelslikeadrank said:

Suziemay said:

Disagree. Sorry you feel that way. I had an amazing time!

caught you rocking out on the rail, Stone side. pretty awesome show!

I'm such a mess today, but sooooo worth it!!!!

MayDay10

No mailing it in. Eddie was drenched head to toe 5 songs in

MayDay10

Not a Leatherman fan

HesCalledDyer

Sorry you didn't enjoy it as much, OP. To each their own; I would love to have been there! Better luck next show!

pjhawks

when did people start to feel like this band owes them something in their set lists? the guys can play whatever the fuck they want. no matter what 30-35 songs this band plays in a night there are always going to be 20-25 that others would want to hear instead. stop worrying about what wasn't played and enjoy what was played. get the fuck over it already. it gets so annoying between the 9000 requests (yea everyone has issues in life and people die, stop burdening PJ and Ed with your problems...that's just my opinion on the requests) and posts like the OP here.

to the OP: do you go to a Rangers game and whine if Lundquist doesn't play? or a Mets game and Harvey doensn't pitch?

CapnBob

SVRDhand13 said:

It was my fifth show of this tour and I had an excellent time. Footsteps, Breath, special guests, the Man trilogy, and some great sing a longs. I think you were expecting too much.

the Man trilogy in itself is such an awesome get.. would love to be at a show where they did this, that is right up there with hearing the mini opera - Footsteps, Alive and Once back to back to back IMO... anyways... 3 months from Thursday ..

PhishinPearls

pjhawks said:

when did people start to feel like this band owes them something in their set lists? the guys can play whatever the fuck they want. no matter what 30-35 songs this band plays in a night there are always going to be 20-25 that others would want to hear instead. stop worrying about what wasn't played and enjoy what was played. get the fuck over it already. it gets so annoying between the 9000 requests (yea everyone has issues in life and people die, stop burdening PJ and Ed with your problems...that's just my opinion on the requests) and posts like the OP here.

to the OP: do you go to a Rangers game and whine if Lundquist doesn't play? or a Mets game and Harvey doensn't pitch?

I don't think i whined. I think i gave an honest review of the show.

this is what I said: "It's MSG. It's the second night in the same city, and they chose to play it safe and play their hits, which is their right. But let's not fool ourselves and say what a great show this was. It wasn't, and it wasn't even close. I recognize the guys are getting long in the tooth, I recognize it's the fourth show in five nights, but they can be so much better than what they gave us last night. This isn't sour grapes, it's just an honest assessment."

They indeed can play whatever they want. My point is in the past, they've done a much better job of mixing up their sets, and not playing much of the same stuff. There's nothing wrong with healthy critiques.

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MayDay10 said:

No mailing it in. Eddie was drenched head to toe 5 songs in

Absolutely, I agree!! There is a BIG difference between you saying they "mailed it in" and there not being enough rarities and B-sides for you.

Did they play a lot of similar or repeat songs from the night before?
Maybe.....

Did they just go through the motions and wish they didn't have to play MSG on Monday?
C'mon man.....