Pearl Jam Mailed It In On Monday Night

nicknyr15

This thread is out of control. Lol

mcgruff10

pjhawks said:

mcgruff10 said:

(I posted this in another thread)
Since the set lists from the past msg shows have been heavily discussed I did some research on the prior 8 shows. I'm sure I messed up so let me know.

9/10/98 and 9/11/98 (in support of yield)
9/10/98 23 songs 9/11/98 26 songs
49 songs total 36 different songs
13 repeats
repeats: corduroy, brain of j, given to fly, animal, daughter, even flow, better man, do the evolution, alive, wishlist, rvm, hail hail, black,

7/8/03 and 7/9/03 (in support of Riot Act)
night one: 30 songs night two: 30 songs
54 original songs. 48 different songs
six repeats
repeats: save you, even flow, I am mine, do the evolution, crazy mary, yellow ledbetter

6/24/08 msg and 6/25/08 (no supporting album)
night one: 30 songs night two: 29 songs
59 total songs. 50 different songs total.
9 repeats.
repeated songs: why go, all night, corduroy, given to fly, who you are, even flow, do the evolution, no more, i believe in miracles, alive

5/20/10 and 5/21/10 (no supporting album)
5/20/10: 33 songs 5/21/10: 34 songs
67 songs total 60 different songs
7 repeats.
repeat songs: the fixer, unthought known, dte, the end, lukin (same lyrics different arrangement), just breathe, alive

2016: 10 repeats (i'll update this year later)

so other than 2010 they played more songs this year but with more repeats so really no discernible differences.

to meet 2010 %s they would have needed to play 3 different songs over 2 nights or take 1 repeat off the set lists each night this year and not replace it. so yea not much of a difference to be honest.

exactly. the exception is 2003 (which I originally messed up but now have fixed my calculation). 60 original songs and only six repeats. so you had 54 original songs over a two night period. that my friend is pretty damn good.

mcgruff10

2016 night 1: 34 songs night 2: 30 songs 64 songs total 11 repeats 53 different songs

mcgruff10

so the final tally for the most to least diverse msg setlist are:

5/20/10 and 5/21/10 (no supporting album)
67 songs total 60 different songs

7/8/03 and 7/9/03 (in support of Riot Act)
60 original songs. 54 different songs

5/1/16 and 5/2/16
64 songs total 53 different songs

6/24/08 msg and 6/25/08 (no supporting album)
59 total songs. 50 different songs total.

9/10/98 and 9/11/98:
49 songs total 36 different songs

Bdog10

nycrats said:

Ugh phish fans are so annoying. They don't know the difference between a rock band and a jam band.

Bdog10 said:

tbergs said:

seanwon said:

Bdog10 said:

Phish and Widespread Panic go on 4 night runs with not one single repeat. I'm so tired of hearing that argument "no other band". You are just simply wrong my friend! I've seen Phish 45 times in the past 5 years...including most of their MSG shows, and they sure as hell have more than 54% unique songs.

Right, but the downside is that you are listening to Phish......and Widespread Panic....

LOL!

Tell that to the 20+ sold out MSG shows in the past 5 years!

Phish has become very stale and very predictable, and I've probably seen more shows than you(not to measure dicks here but I'm not just the typical "phish sucks" guy) Sure you'll get different shows with no repeats on runs but it's become very formulaic. One show out of 10 has "it" and the rest is all the same motions with all the same jams. Again the difference is phish is a jamband with zero hits and pearl jam is a rock band with a ton of hits. Big difference. Trey is still pretty good at what he does but if pearl jam were playing at 2/3 the level as they were in the mid 90s people would have stopped packing arenas a long time ago. Trey can get away with it because they're still the best jamband around, but you're comparing apples to oranges when looking at jam bands vs rock and roll bands. Have you ever seen trey break a sweat? Tell me again Eddie mailed it in and didn't give 100 percent. Jambands don't have a lot of vocals nor do they need to worry about their voice like EV does busting his ass for 3 hours straight. I get we all wanted some of Quebec city's set at msg2 but considering each msg night was a harder ticket than any phish nye I can see why they didn't stray as much each night and once you get past those 10 or so repeats for us diehards, the other 20 had some gems and some scorchers. I'll take msg2 any day over getting the dwd night and another first set of moma funky bitch sugar shack. Yawn. As long as you are comparing the two, tell what are the pearl jam equivalents of let me lie, winterqueen, the line and yarmouth road? Sure potentially one out every few shows those could be played interestingly but mostly they just suck. Phish has a lot more songs but a lot more sucky songs too, and they use them to fill 4 nights at msg w no repeats. And 90pct of first sets are throwaways. That's half the show. I can think of 1 or 2 3.0 msg first sets that felt remotely like the energy and excitement of the first half of 5/2.

Rant over, can't we all get along blah blah, but pj did not mail it in msg2. I think if anything they fell victim to expectations, they knew a lot of people couldn't make both nights, they wanted everyone to be able to be in on the ten @ 25 party and probably played to the NYC vip crowd a bit if they had all these famous people falling over themselves to come.

I never said PJ mailed it in...that was the OP. So you might want to pay attention a little more. And please keep your dick in your pants...Thanks. My biggest gripe is the repeats. PJ has the potential and talent to go back to back shows without a repeat, but they choose not to and that annoys me. Considering that probably most of the crowd was there the night before...thats just my take...obviously a lot of people around here feel differently.

So if you hate Phish so much...why do you go to so many shows? Doesn't really make sense. And yes I agree with you they are two completely different bands and it is comparing oranges to apples. I only brought them up because I'm tired of PJ fans constantly saying "no other band mixes up their setlist's more than PJ". I mean that just simply laughable. I have some phish friends that like PJ, and some who think that they absolutely blow. They can't stand the sing alongs and think that they are a lazy band (not energy, but song selection...hence second encore). Phish takes risks, and yes some shows are not as good as the "it" shows. But at least the fans realize that and don't lap everything up like the PJ fans do. Now that's annoying!

I just want to finish up by saying that I'm a huge PJ fan, and they changed my life back in 92 when I was a senior in high school. I know it sounds like I'm shitting on them but they are still #1 in my heart. I'm just frustrated by the repeats because like I said before they have the potential and catalog to do so. As much as I love Corduroy, I could do without it on the second night of a run. I'd rather hear another kick ass tune like hail, hail or WWS in that slot. Make sense?

rollings

I can honestly say, there is no place on earth that I would rather be than a Pearl Jam concert.

If your place in the venue is getting a direct hit from their speakers, it is pure bliss.

At one of the concerts I went to, they played Ten right through. If somebody had not mentioned this to me, I probably wouldn't have even recognized they were doing this. I was excited and lost in each song they played.

If I had to pay attention to what era or album each song came from or how big a hit each song was--instead of how awesome and emotional the song sounded at that moment--I would probably just stay home to tell you truth.

The only thing I am ever disappointed at at a concert, is if my seat is between the direct hit of the speakers....then the sound is muddled and not as crisp & clear; but then I just simply move to where it is.

ceska

Merkin Baller said:

To each his own, but Pearl Jam has for a long time been regarded as a band that constantly changes up their setlists every night. It doesn't seem like this is the case in recent years. I get what you're saying about being caught up in the moment of the show, but with this band the 'strength of the setlist' has for many, been a huge part of the live experience.

The last few arena shows I've been to have all probably had 60-70% of the same songs. (Maybe I need to take a break for a couple of years, I'll gladly own up to the role I play in this).

Outside of one-off's like the "Boston Experiment," when have their multi-night stands been 100% different? McGruff's post has made it clear these shows are right in line with what they've been doing all these years, in terms of mixing it up from night to night. 53 different songs over two nights is pretty damn impressive.

tbergs

It seems that we all agree they didn't mail it in at this point, but there is a difference in satisfaction level based on the repeats. No one is going to change either of those opinions with facts or any other justifications because it's based on individual preference and what each of us find acceptable when it comes to a PJ concert.

Here's to the death of this thread and any other accusations of mailing it in!

rollings

Suziemay said:

what dreams said:

my2hands said:

what dreams said:

I don't understand people who research set lists. That's obsessive in a way I do not wish to be. My friends make fun of me for flying away to one or two shows per tour. I tell them that there are fans way wackier than I am but they don't believe me. This thread is my evidence.

So it's cool to fly across the country to a rock concert but it's not cool to check out rock concert setlists?

Got it... lol

It's okay to check out setlists as a curiosity. To research them as a measure of the concert experience is foreign to me. I can honestly say that when I go to a show, there might be one song I'd like to hear -- because I like the song and it fits my mood. But the day after the show, I could probably only name five songs I remember hearing. I have to check the setlist to see what songs I heard. In the moment, I'm so caught up, I'm not comparing my show to something else. That's my experience and I don't understand the importance of critiquing the band because of the songs they play. Maybe the problem isn't the band.

It's more normal than you think. I'm an analytical person and while I don't research stats the way some others do, I appreciate that I have access to it (thank you PJ Stat Tracker!). It's fun to know how many times you've seen a song, or if you just saw one that's uber rare, or that you've "competed" and album. It's part of the experience for some people and frankly has zero impact on the people who don't care. Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it's a problem.

it's a problem if you are "hugely disappointed" in a concert based on it, in my opinion.

I'd suggest taking up a baseball instead of music if someone is that into statistics of the songs played, instead of paying attention to the quality and kickassness of the songs themselves.

That last show I saw, Evenflow kicked fucking rock balls like I never heard before. It's too bad somebody missed out on this simply because they recognized the song as "evenflow" and tuned it out, or went to piss or whatever.

karmadefect

ceska said:

Outside of one-off's like the "Boston Experiment," when have their multi-night stands been 100% different?

Well I was at both Amsterdam shows in 2012 and they only had The Fixer and Corduroy on both nights. But I don´t use that as the standard. Still it was pretty sweet.

karmadefect

what dreams said:

I don't understand people who research set lists. That's obsessive in a way I do not wish to be. My friends make fun of me for flying away to one or two shows per tour. I tell them that there are fans way wackier than I am but they don't believe me. This thread is my evidence.

I guess I am obsessive, but I feel fine.;-) I try to rate every single song from every bootleg trying to find the best versions of every song. But then the work is not over. I like to make compilations of those best versions and make it so that it seems that they are one gig. Yes I think it is reasonable to say Pearl Jam is a bit of an obsession.

But my friends don't have a problem with it. In fact some profit from it. Other think it's typical of who I am, if I do something I go all the way.

Get_Right

that is why you have to go to more than one show
you never know what you are going to get
the surrender with the guys from cheap trick was probably the highlight of the three shows i saw
listening to eddie sing for close to three hours, all I could think to my self is how does he do it night in and night out
it is one things to say you did not like the setlist, but it is totally false to say the band mailed it in, they left it all on stage Monday night

rollings

Suziemay said:

No question that MSG2 wasn't the setlist of my dreams (damn you Quebec City ) but I would not have traded the shows for the world. MSG2 gave us the ultimate fan moment, the stuff we all dream about. It was the culmination of so many years of being a loyal fan and even though it did not happen to me, the moment was still every bit as glorious. I tear up with joy every time I look at this picture. I'm sure most of you have already seen it but I'm going to post it again. Because I can and because every Pearl Jam fan needs to see it.

That is a great picture. Is there a story behind it?

ceska

She's the person who started the Breath campaign in 1998. This was her 150th show or something like that.

ceska

karmadefect said:

ceska said:

Outside of one-off's like the "Boston Experiment," when have their multi-night stands been 100% different?

Well I was at both Amsterdam shows in 2012 and they only had The Fixer and Corduroy on both nights. But I don´t use that as the standard. Still it was pretty sweet.

That was the tour where a fan wrote one of the setlists. So that's another one of those "one-offs." You're right that it wouldn't be typical.

karmadefect

Yup that lucky bastard got to write the setlist. I am still waiting for my turn.
I guess you are right the fact that Ed didn't write both probable has something to do with there being so little repeats.

nycrats

Bdog10 said:

nycrats said:

Ugh phish fans are so annoying. They don't know the difference between a rock band and a jam band.

Bdog10 said:

tbergs said:

seanwon said:

Bdog10 said:

Phish and Widespread Panic go on 4 night runs with not one single repeat. I'm so tired of hearing that argument "no other band". You are just simply wrong my friend! I've seen Phish 45 times in the past 5 years...including most of their MSG shows, and they sure as hell have more than 54% unique songs.

Right, but the downside is that you are listening to Phish......and Widespread Panic....

LOL!

Tell that to the 20+ sold out MSG shows in the past 5 years!

Phish has become very stale and very predictable, and I've probably seen more shows than you(not to measure dicks here but I'm not just the typical "phish sucks" guy) Sure you'll get different shows with no repeats on runs but it's become very formulaic. One show out of 10 has "it" and the rest is all the same motions with all the same jams. Again the difference is phish is a jamband with zero hits and pearl jam is a rock band with a ton of hits. Big difference. Trey is still pretty good at what he does but if pearl jam were playing at 2/3 the level as they were in the mid 90s people would have stopped packing arenas a long time ago. Trey can get away with it because they're still the best jamband around, but you're comparing apples to oranges when looking at jam bands vs rock and roll bands. Have you ever seen trey break a sweat? Tell me again Eddie mailed it in and didn't give 100 percent. Jambands don't have a lot of vocals nor do they need to worry about their voice like EV does busting his ass for 3 hours straight. I get we all wanted some of Quebec city's set at msg2 but considering each msg night was a harder ticket than any phish nye I can see why they didn't stray as much each night and once you get past those 10 or so repeats for us diehards, the other 20 had some gems and some scorchers. I'll take msg2 any day over getting the dwd night and another first set of moma funky bitch sugar shack. Yawn. As long as you are comparing the two, tell what are the pearl jam equivalents of let me lie, winterqueen, the line and yarmouth road? Sure potentially one out every few shows those could be played interestingly but mostly they just suck. Phish has a lot more songs but a lot more sucky songs too, and they use them to fill 4 nights at msg w no repeats. And 90pct of first sets are throwaways. That's half the show. I can think of 1 or 2 3.0 msg first sets that felt remotely like the energy and excitement of the first half of 5/2.

Rant over, can't we all get along blah blah, but pj did not mail it in msg2. I think if anything they fell victim to expectations, they knew a lot of people couldn't make both nights, they wanted everyone to be able to be in on the ten @ 25 party and probably played to the NYC vip crowd a bit if they had all these famous people falling over themselves to come.

I never said PJ mailed it in...that was the OP. So you might want to pay attention a little more. And please keep your dick in your pants...Thanks. My biggest gripe is the repeats. PJ has the potential and talent to go back to back shows without a repeat, but they choose not to and that annoys me. Considering that probably most of the crowd was there the night before...thats just my take...obviously a lot of people around here feel differently.

So if you hate Phish so much...why do you go to so many shows? Doesn't really make sense. And yes I agree with you they are two completely different bands and it is comparing oranges to apples. I only brought them up because I'm tired of PJ fans constantly saying "no other band mixes up their setlist's more than PJ". I mean that just simply laughable. I have some phish friends that like PJ, and some who think that they absolutely blow. They can't stand the sing alongs and think that they are a lazy band (not energy, but song selection...hence second encore). Phish takes risks, and yes some shows are not as good as the "it" shows. But at least the fans realize that and don't lap everything up like the PJ fans do. Now that's annoying!

I just want to finish up by saying that I'm a huge PJ fan, and they changed my life back in 92 when I was a senior in high school. I know it sounds like I'm shitting on them but they are still #1 in my heart. I'm just frustrated by the repeats because like I said before they have the potential and catalog to do so. As much as I love Corduroy, I could do without it on the second night of a run. I'd rather hear another kick ass tune like hail, hail or WWS in that slot. Make sense?

Yes your last question definitely makes sense. I agree it's sometimes hard to replicate the emotion you felt from a corduroy you heard 24 hours prior, but that usually only lasts about 10 seconds for me because it's such an awesome song. I hear ya but I tend to get over it quickly. Whereas too many phish shows lately I'm bummed the whole night because it's just weak the throug out, you have to really strain to get to any highlights (1/1/15 and 1/1/16 come to mind). So to answer your question after 20 plus years with phish my shows are way down, to the point of semi retired.

I mention rock vs jam bands bc most rock bands, even great ones play a stock set, and few if any even have as big hits as pj. In that regard pj mixes it up the most night to night(well mmj is a good argument for same city runs as they wont repeat, but take 2 one off city shows for mmj and pj and pj will stray a little more from the norm, meaning Tulsa's mmj show won't be that different from detroits if they only play each city once) So yes a jamband is gonna win the setlist argument every time. Just seems a lot of the complainers on here have a phish handle, so apols for mixing you up with the op. I like a healthy discussion and opinions can differ, and yes I wanted something different at times at msg. But everyone I know that could only attend one was floored, and I felt lucky to do both.

nycrats

Also mmj do not have anywhere near the amount of or the scope of hits that pj does so it's easier to them to differ it completely in same city runs.

karmadefect

nycrats said:

Yes your last question definitely makes sense. I agree it's sometimes hard to replicate the emotion you felt from a corduroy you heard 24 hours prior, but that usually only lasts about 10 seconds for me because it's such an awesome song.

I have that same thing with Black and Better man no matter if they are repeats or not. It's just 10 seconds or so that I am like shit this could have been the spot for so and so, after that I get into the song anyway.
I guess that is what alot of people have that with Even flow, which on it's turn is never a problem for me.

mcgruff10

Ya know I do agree with the op to a point. I felt at msg 2 the band sounded and looked visibly tired (probably from the night before). Ed's voice was definitely not the best. There was a ton of tech issues. Corduroy opening was a disappointment and then having mind your manners in the same exact damn spot sucked! I'm not a cheap trick fan or a sting fan so that wasn't a big deal for me. It seemed like every request made on these boards was played by the band so I was definitely bummed when parting ways and moth were not in the set.

Having said that, I must also that: 1. I was tired as hell. 2. I sat in the 200's. This will be the last time I don't sit in a 10c section. There is definitely a tangible difference between the two. 3. Did I mention I was tired as fuck. How do they guys play three hours a night? 4. The prior night I was with my wife, tonight I was with a friend. Yeah I'm sappy but I missed my wife standing next to me.
5. No lie after three shows all sitting on Mike's side my left ear was literally shot. There were points during the show when I could barely hear the crowd at all.

So having thought about all this after a week maybe the show was better than I thought. All I know is it wasn't as bad as Hershey 2003. See everyone at Fenway!