The Pearl Jam Problem: Superfans Have Ruined My Favorite Band (Article)

northerndragon

mcgruff10 said:

Bentleyspop said:

weddingparade said:

^ vedder not into it anymore^
that is funny cause i just saw 4 shows in canada and i couldn't disagree anymore with you say on that statement. he's still way WAY into it.
i do agree with the nonsense of people lining up all day to see pj from the rail and missing out on a full day of music by other bands. that to me is totally whacked.
my thoughts about roo is that mickey dosed ed's wine and ed had an "off" night....

U2 fans are famous for leaving a show early to get back in line for the next nights show.

Haven't heard yet about PJ fans doing that

I saw fans leave early from ga at brooklyn 1 just so they could line up for brooklyn 2.

I was going to say the same thing. Yup folks left a perfectly good PJ concert to go and sit in the rain so that they could rail again the next day. It takes all kinds I guess, I have done the waiting all day(no overnights) thing once as it was a special occasion to me. Was it cool yes, is it worth doing every time - not to me.

WhatYouTaughtMe

hedonist said:

Big Bank Hank said:

I just like the music, I am trying to stay away from all the bullshit, I have only been to 14 shows, so I am hardly a Superfan, and I have no desire to try and prove I am any better a fan than anyone else, that is the one thing I see that makes me want to stay away. Some of us just like the music, and it's really that simple.

Then don't bitch about the merchandise and those who may like it in addition to the music.

She has a good point here Hank.

HH140540

Fuck that guy. I don't get the point of his article. Does PJ get every song perfect at every live performance? Obviously no but I've seen them for almost the last twenty years and I've never felt like it wasn't worth it. Some nights were better than others for sure but I think most of us "super fans" don't have to be on the rail, just in the building to know we are getting all they have on a given night. I think there is a difference with festival set lists but maybe I'm wrong. He's entitled to his opinion for sure but maybe he should just funnel his resources into seeing Justin Beiber.

goldrush

The author is on the forums (as Firecloud), but he hasn't posted in a while I don't think. He writes for Antiquiet too, I usually enjoy his stuff but this article was a bit too up-his-own-ass for me!

my2hands

HH140540 said:

Fuck that guy. I don't get the point of his article. Does PJ get every song perfect at every live performance? Obviously no but I've seen them for almost the last twenty years and I've never felt like it wasn't worth it. Some nights were better than others for sure but I think most of us "super fans" don't have to be on the rail, just in the building to know we are getting all they have on a given night.

Mike D88

Everyone in here has decided "superfan" must mean them...

I get what Johnny is on about. Eddie checks out at some shows, the author's no stranger to the band's live acts and probably has been putting off saying something about it for years.

There are also some whacked fans out there and there are some super-entitled fans, who, I swear to god, stand in GA and evaluate the show-in-progress like Comic Book Guy. Oh, they're playing that song? Yeah well, I was there when they played it at...

hedonist

Mike D88 said:

Everyone in here has decided "superfan" must mean them...

I get what Johnny is on about. Eddie checks out at some shows, the author's no stranger to the band's live acts and probably has been putting off saying something about it for years.

There are also some whacked fans out there and there are some super-entitled fans, who, I swear to god, stand in GA and evaluate the show-in-progress like Comic Book Guy. Oh, they're playing that song? Yeah well, I was there when they played it at...

Everyone in here? Nah.

I love this band.

I love their music.

I love who I've come to love via the music.

And I've seen them twice, last time...ten years ago.

There are some things to which I feel entitled (ie, earned in the true sense), but in this vein? Laughable.

Nice Comic Book Guy reference, by the way!

MayDay10

Mike D88 said:

Everyone in here has decided "superfan" must mean them...

I get what Johnny is on about. Eddie checks out at some shows, the author's no stranger to the band's live acts and probably has been putting off saying something about it for years.

There are also some whacked fans out there and there are some super-entitled fans, who, I swear to god, stand in GA and evaluate the show-in-progress like Comic Book Guy. Oh, they're playing that song? Yeah well, I was there when they played it at...

Yeah, I get it. There are 'annoying fans' of all sorts. So is true of our society as a whole. Another annoying fan is the kind who spends the entire show getting worked up about people around them for no reason. People aren't cheering enough, people are cheering only for Jeremy and Even Flow. People are on their phone too much. people are taking too many pictures. etc... I have started to learn to let it all slide and focus more on my own self. Of course there are times where people are inconsiderate and something needs to be said, done, or just ignore it.... but overall, I think the fan on fan judgement should be tempered.

Someone could probably sit there for a 3 hour show and stew and pass judgement on everyone around him/her... but what does that make him/her? Everyone enjoys this shit in their own way. You owe it to yourself to try to be positive about things (not you who I quoted, just people in general).

PJ_Soul

Yeah, you have to get your Zen on at concerts. Let the little annoying things just roll off of you. Getting irritated by that stuff when you're in the moment just isn't worth it. All it takes is an internal decision to calm the fuck down and not sweat it. It's pretty easy unless you are dealing with something truly egregious (which does happen, but rarely. I have only had someone bust through my concert Zen twice in my whole life. That's a pretty good record).

RS65573

Maybe it's because I never had kids or because I'm a little off, but the only thing that can ruin a pj show for me is if my +1 sucks. I'm 41 now but at pj I'm 17 again.

Over 70+ shows, never felt I wasn't part of the wave of fire. If people around me suck I'm pumped enough it doesn't matter or I move.

Even at Uniondale with people next to me throwing things at my hero it was fucking epic. If your having a bad time imagine all those around you who your sucking the life out of. Stay home.

TL170678

P-Town-P-Jam-Fan said:

This article pissed me off way more:
http://townhall.com/columnists/bryancrabtree/2016/06/14/america-attacked--bonnaroo--pearl-jam-exemplify-root-of-us-delusion-n2177833

Guy is not wrong....

RS65573

TL170678 said:

P-Town-P-Jam-Fan said:

This article pissed me off way more:
http://townhall.com/columnists/bryancrabtree/2016/06/14/america-attacked--bonnaroo--pearl-jam-exemplify-root-of-us-delusion-n2177833

Guy is not wrong....

Of course he is. In 94 when Kurt died Eddie said he didn't think being a singer in a band was noble. So he went to learn guitar from Pete Townsend.

He realized the guy with the microphone has a responsibility to try to help people. So that's what he does.

Is he right? Who knows. I'm a republican so I never agree with him, but the dem message at its root is equality and acceptance. And he believes in that.

I think it's totally not realistic to save the world but maybe let the guy try? He earned it.

He doesn't care at all if you like it or agree and that's what it takes to make art. You guys wanting him to stop don't realize if he did he'd lose his fire.

100 Pacer

AceCool said:

The author made some valid points but ultimately he came off as a whiny bitch. His insistence on being right up in the very front is a very large contributing factor in his negative experience. It's the nature of the beast that people jockeying for the closest position will do so most aggressively. I like being close but I never feel the need to be close enough to get inadvertently spit on by the singer.

Perhaps he didn't expect it to be so difficult to snag a tambo...

You don't gotta go to work, work, work, work, work, work, work
But you gotta put in work, work, work, work, work, work, work

WhatYouTaughtMe

TL170678 said:

P-Town-P-Jam-Fan said:

This article pissed me off way more:
http://townhall.com/columnists/bryancrabtree/2016/06/14/america-attacked--bonnaroo--pearl-jam-exemplify-root-of-us-delusion-n2177833

Guy is not wrong....

That guy is a hack. America Attacked? Get real.

hedonist

Hello!

Fits in so many ways tonight, and here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUYf3b8_wj4

PJ_Soul

RS65573 said:

Maybe it's because I never had kids or because I'm a little off, but the only thing that can ruin a pj show for me is if my +1 sucks. I'm 41 now but at pj I'm 17 again.

Over 70+ shows, never felt I wasn't part of the wave of fire. If people around me suck I'm pumped enough it doesn't matter or I move.

Even at Uniondale with people next to me throwing things at my hero it was fucking epic. If your having a bad time imagine all those around you who your sucking the life out of. Stay home.

I totally agree. There is nothing worse than being at a show where your +1 just isn't into it when you are, or they get wimpy about the GA pit, caj#TAXI handle standing for 5 hours, sitting down when everyone else is rocking out, etc. This is actually the reason I decided that going to shows alone is just fine and dandy. It hadn't really occurred to me to do that until my friends started getting older and acting OLD. Like OLD people before they were 40. Wtf?? Once that started happening I thought 'fuck this - the strangers around me are way more fun than the friend next to me!'. And then I also learned that you can get way better tickets to most shows if you buy a single instead of a pair, lol (not applicable to 10C tix though... I wish they'd let us just buy singles).

PJ_Soul

TL170678 said:

P-Town-P-Jam-Fan said:

This article pissed me off way more:
http://townhall.com/columnists/bryancrabtree/2016/06/14/america-attacked--bonnaroo--pearl-jam-exemplify-root-of-us-delusion-n2177833

Guy is not wrong....

Seriously? That is the dumbest thing I've read in a while. Plus the grammar sucks.

Brisk.

I just don't get these people who queue up all day to just stand there at the rail (more noticeable in USA) . How could you love a band and music that much that you just stand there like a statue and not even bob your head!

Ed's voice I've noticed the last year or 2 has really gone. He runs out of breath so much and struggles to reach a lot of notes. It's been downill since 2006 and it's not his fault as that's age and his job etc but it's not something that should be surprising.

As for the stage, I really don't give a shit about that. Nice to see something difference but has 0 factor on the show!

Fact: People turn into savages at PJ shows...

helplessdancer

mickey told ed that roo aint cool anymore cause live nation took it over recently
then mickey said to do a steve miller and take the money and run
fuck live nation

my2hands

Who is Mickey?