Vic Theater 2007 Show

Sobelberg8

Hey folks, the next episode we're covering on Live On 4 Legs is going to be the Vic Theater show from Chicago that took place in 2007. This show is in an intimate setting where only about 1,000 Ten Club members were in attendance and the set list still to this day is one of the rarest sets out there. Tracks like All Or None, Undone, Education, Hard To Imagine were all played in the same set.

For this show I want to hear from those who were lucky enough to attend, but I have some specific questions that I'd like to know about the experience.

- How difficult was it to attain tickets for this show? What was the process that you went through in order to get them?
- For people that didn't get to go but tried to get tickets, what was their reaction?
- What was the setting like inside the theater? It's not often that you get to see the band play in front of such a small crowd.
- I know they soundchecked a lot of those rare tracks, but what was the buzz going into the show about what the set would be? Did you know beforehand that you were getting stuff that you'd possibly never hear again? Did they promote it as such?
- How'd you and others react to the set list during the show? Was it that big of a surprise to hear all of those songs?
- What was your overall feeling of the show? Something that you'd never get again, obviously, but would you rather have this as a one time thing or should they do something like this more often?

I know I threw the gauntlet at you here, whatever you can answer is fine. Either comment on this thread or shoot us an email at Liveon4LegsPodcast@gmail.com. Looking forward to what you guys have to say about such a unique experience!

Spiritual_Chaos

DEBUT OF:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCjwOnPH2WU

NWOntario

I'm in the extreme minority with my opinion on the Vic, so take it for what it's worth. I was one of the lucky ones who got in. I appreciated the experience more than I loved it. For me, it was just too surreal seeing Pearl Jam in a venue that size; it took like an hour for me to get over the fact that I was seeing Pearl Jam in a club. And while I certainly enjoyed hearing the rarities, the thing that makes them rare is...well, the fact that they're rare. As it was, hearing one rarity after another actually diminished them somewhat; it got to a point where they'd play, like, "Hard to Imagine" and you'd kinda shrug, y'know? 
Anyway, I wrote a bit about it here: https://snjohns.wordpress.com/2007/09/02/pearl-jam-at-the-vic-theatre/. Look, it was a frigging great experience; I don't think I'll ever see Pearl Jam in a club ever again. BUT, it wasn't the greatest show of theirs I've seen, and a part of me honestly preferred their Lolla set a few nights later. Again, I'm in the extreme minority here. 

KN219077

I’ve always thought the show kinda stunk in comparison to what it could have been for such a deep cut type show. It just didn’t seem to flow.

ledvedderman

D’oh! This was going to be covered on my new podcast. One of the best nights of my life. I’ll go point by point on your questions later. 

danny

excellent setlist personally for me they dont need as much ten yield etc on there live shows 

a5pj

Tickets were a nightmare because everyone was trying in the F5 days. A fellow board member helped me get mine. 
Buzz before the show for me was it could be all rarities or just a normal show.
Big thing I remember was when Ed came out for the preset it was flash overload and you could tell, it just didn't stop. I think that, big time, led to no flash pictures at his shows.
Overall the show was great, but the crowd ruined a bit of this for me, going in was crazy and people appeared out of no where cutting in. And once in people were holding spots like crazy because others were getting merch. I walked up to the rail on Stone's side and was asked what I was doing, and that they were holding the spot. I shouldn't have moved (it's GA!!) but did and didn't even get a thank you. Also overheard fans talking about ed's family that was there and it just seemed stalkerish how much they knew about his personal life and kids (but I stay away from that side).
After 30 some shows it really showed me how entitled (I guess that's the word) some PJ fans have become.
After that I moved towards the center and back and got behind some woman who's kept flipping her hair in my face all night, even after being asked to knock it off. I should have moved again but was already pissed about moving back 4 rows from the rail and didn't want to go farther back.
Aside from the crowd (for me). Show was awesome, very personal. Parachutes stands out when he was looking up at his wife (I think). Band was into it and tried Black Diamond. Had a very different experimental feel to the show, like they weren't afraid to mess up because it was all friends there.

lastexitlondon

The Astoria was a smaller gig of the same kind. I was at that and it was magic

Spiritual_Chaos

lastexitlondon said:

The Astoria was a smaller gig of the same kind. I was at that and it was magic

The club gig they did in London in.... 2009(Shepburds Bush?) I could have been at, now let me tell you the story of the biggest mistake in my life. 

A swedish rock radio channel had a contest where the prize was tickets to the clubgig and travel/hotel. You had to answer some questions about Pearl Jam on their site and then they were to draw 3 people every day from monday to thursday, the first one to call in out of those 3 each day would then compete against eachother in a quiz on friday. 

So I answered the questions on their site just for fun and was so sure there was no chance they were gonna draw me so I didn't care. So at work we were about to leave for our break, but just waited for them to draw the first three people on the monday. I didn't care about having my phone up or checking the number to call or anything. I just wanted to listen to the contest and then go on break.

And the first name they drew was mine - and my name is pretty long (two surnames) so there would have been plenty of time to dial before the second name. But I had not my phone up or anything. So when we understood what was happening it was too late, and the I guess the second name called. 

Then on friday I listened to the 4 guys who had been drawn compete in the quiz. And I knew all the answers and was faster than those 4 with my answers. So I would have won. 

Worst mistake when it comes to my "pearl jam fandom". Fucking idiot.

100 Pacer

Wasn’t Dirty Frank on the Vic setlist but not played?

nuzzer1

Tickets were pure luck on my end - I remember hitting f5 until it was black and all of the sudden I had a pair in my cart and checked out after what must have been 45 minutes to an hour. I was taking my buddy (who to date has only gone to this, Lolla 07 and the Borgata shows - spoiled haha). HE ended up getting 4 more from someone he randomly met that week which led to me giving a ticket to a friend of a friend from NY and what is now one of my closest friends because of that night. 

That part of the story is my favorite. I called him that Wednesday and introduced myself. He was at the airport going out early to try to get a ticket. You've never heard more gratitude. We were fast friends, equally tone deaf during In Hiding, and consider each other brothers now. 

I was on a plane during soundcheck so didn't see any spoilers at all - I sprinted to (what is now, maybe was then) Big City Tap - gave the bartender $20 to stash my carry-on bag and then ran back to the venue. This was probably ~6:30ish. I remember being offered $1500 cash for my ticket and not even thinking twice about saying no (graciously, of course). 

The show's energy was fantastic. We were in the back because of the late arrival, stress free, with easy access to the bar and march. I remember the flashes (didn't Ed address the crowd to stop?) - great pre-set and the show itself was so solid. Great - one of the better - In Hiding sing along and I called Sad right before McCready started into it which we drunkingly all freaked out about. It was a relentless set though - absolutely fantastic and still one of my favorite shows. 

In the end, I think I've hear all of the songs again save for I Used to Work in Chicago (which was funny/great) - but at the time Undone and Parachutes were the ones I was most excited to hear - and, as always, In Hiding. 

Indifference

Got my tickets 30 minutes after on sale via 10c - F5 champ - bring it back!

HardtoImagine 801

nuzzer1 said:

Tickets were pure luck on my end - I remember hitting f5 until it was black and all of the sudden I had a pair in my cart and checked out after what must have been 45 minutes to an hour. I was taking my buddy (who to date has only gone to this, Lolla 07 and the Borgata shows - spoiled haha). HE ended up getting 4 more from someone he randomly met that week which led to me giving a ticket to a friend of a friend from NY and what is now one of my closest friends because of that night. 

That part of the story is my favorite. I called him that Wednesday and introduced myself. He was at the airport going out early to try to get a ticket. You've never heard more gratitude. We were fast friends, equally tone deaf during In Hiding, and consider each other brothers now. 

I was on a plane during soundcheck so didn't see any spoilers at all - I sprinted to (what is now, maybe was then) Big City Tap - gave the bartender $20 to stash my carry-on bag and then ran back to the venue. This was probably ~6:30ish. I remember being offered $1500 cash for my ticket and not even thinking twice about saying no (graciously, of course). 

The show's energy was fantastic. We were in the back because of the late arrival, stress free, with easy access to the bar and march. I remember the flashes (didn't Ed address the crowd to stop?) - great pre-set and the show itself was so solid. Great - one of the better - In Hiding sing along and I called Sad right before McCready started into it which we drunkingly all freaked out about. It was a relentless set though - absolutely fantastic and still one of my favorite shows. 

In the end, I think I've hear all of the songs again save for I Used to Work in Chicago (which was funny/great) - but at the time Undone and Parachutes were the ones I was most excited to hear - and, as always, In Hiding. 

I still remember sitting at the gate in Newark airport and getting your call that you had a ticket for me to the Vic show. I teared up You are the man and I thank you again.  It was an unreal show with a great energy and vibe. In Hiding was definitely the highlight of the show for me. 

LiteTheMatch

I tried to get tix online  but it was damn near impossible.        I was a little upset, but then I saw them up close at Lollapalooza a few days later                  

P.S. I'm not sure why but I can't get your podcast to play in my iTunes program on a PC.   I look forward to checking out your podcast.

Sobelberg8

NWOntario said:

I'm in the extreme minority with my opinion on the Vic, so take it for what it's worth. I was one of the lucky ones who got in. I appreciated the experience more than I loved it. For me, it was just too surreal seeing Pearl Jam in a venue that size; it took like an hour for me to get over the fact that I was seeing Pearl Jam in a club. And while I certainly enjoyed hearing the rarities, the thing that makes them rare is...well, the fact that they're rare. As it was, hearing one rarity after another actually diminished them somewhat; it got to a point where they'd play, like, "Hard to Imagine" and you'd kinda shrug, y'know? 
Anyway, I wrote a bit about it here: https://snjohns.wordpress.com/2007/09/02/pearl-jam-at-the-vic-theatre/. Look, it was a frigging great experience; I don't think I'll ever see Pearl Jam in a club ever again. BUT, it wasn't the greatest show of theirs I've seen, and a part of me honestly preferred their Lolla set a few nights later. Again, I'm in the extreme minority here. 

Obviously I'll have a lot to say during the episode, but I completely get where your coming from. Rare is rare and that's good and all, but it lacked the depth that a show of theirs should have. I have a lot to say about this I just can't spoil it all here!

ledvedderman said:

D’oh! This was going to be covered on my new podcast. One of the best nights of my life. I’ll go point by point on your questions later. 

Pearl Jam is a free band and can be covered by anyone in any form! Your story will be different than ours. I appreciate you being cognizant of what we're doing to try and not replicate, but its inevitably gonna happen to some shows at some point.

LiteTheMatch said:

P.S. I'm not sure why but I can't get your podcast to play in my iTunes program on a PC.   I look forward to checking out your podcast.

I couldn't tell you why that is, that's very strange. It works just fine on Apple podcasts. I can direct you to SoundCloud.com/liveon4legs if that's an easy solution.

To everyone else, great stories so far! Gonna be tough to decide which ones we use on our show. Keep em coming though!

Father Hubbard

Im not much of a blogger, but I gave it a whirl last year on the 10 year anniversary https://bit.ly/2LUKZzz

ledvedderman

I’m really sorry to read about the fan who had that instance on the rail. He’s spot on, there were a ton of self important fans there. I was on the rail right in front of Stone, myself. I remember feeling bad for others because I’m 6’5”. I just kept telling myself “this will never happen again...just enjoy it.” I was able to come up with an extra ticket and got an old poster, jlew24asu, into the show as well. I’m not sure how that one came about- but it did. I caught a ride back with a great guy named Chris from St. Louis who drove me to my hometown about an hour north of St. Louis on his way home.  Now onto the questions!

I got my ticket through the kindness of a fellow board member. He posted a thread saying he had an extra ticket and would sell the second to whoever answered what the band meant to them. Lucky for me, he chose my story. 

People here were obviously upset about the F5 situation. I was pretty understanding of it. It’s a small venue and a ton of fans we’re going to be in town for Lolla. 

The setting was similar to a club show you’d see a smaller band in. Open floor. I remember looking back expecting to see folks in the balcony, but no one was up there. 

I think the only song that made it through the line to me from soundcheck was All or None. People were expecting some fan favorites given it being for 10C. It certainly wasn’t promoted as anything other than a warm up show for Lolla. I expected it to be a pretty typical show. I went in thinking if there was ever a show I’d get Breath- this might be the night. 

Certainly opening with All or None got attention by everyone. Following with Education was a surprise. Once Sad kicked in, that’s when I remember thinking that this was going to be something amazing. In Hiding. Parachutes. Hard to Imagine. Those all stand out. Like someone mentioned earlier, Ed kept looking to his family during Parachutes. That was kind of touching. This was before Just Breathe, Sirens, and Future Days where he’s been much more open. It’s always nice to see that someone who has impacted your life favorably and they don’t know it are happy in their life. 

Overall it was fantastic. I doubt I get a chance like that again. It was pretty much the perfect show to me. 

goldrush

I got into the Vic out of dumb luck. I only decided to go to the Lollapalooza show a week or 2 before the show. It was one of those drunk late-night conversations that backpackers have when they're full of rum and bullshit - "Should I fly to Chicago next week?", "Why?", "To see Pearl Jam...", "Fuck yeah, why not?"

I flew over from Sydney on my own on the Wednesday in time for Lolla. Jetlag wiped out most of Thursday, but I got a cab to the Vic to see what was happening. I didn't have a ticket but I thought the atmosphere would be fun and maybe I could meet up with some people before Lolla. I started talking to a South African guy who'd been looking for tickets all day. He'd managed to get hold of a couple but his friend hadn't turned up yet. As soon as we heard Ed's preset starting we knew something special was happening. He turned to me, said "Fuck this, man. Let's go!" and gave me his friend's ticket! I'll never forget those words. All it cost me was a 'We Come In Peace' shirt for his friend and a beer or three.

The Vic is part of my personal hat trick of small shows. I was lucky enough to be at The Astoria and Shepherd's Bush club shows in London as well. I think The Vic may be my favourite of the 3. I was right up front for the other 2, but I got a good spot about 2/3 of the way back at The Vic and it sounded amazing. It's a shame to read that some people have negative memories of the atmosphere. I was in the middle of good people and it was a great vibe, everyone was having a good time. I absolutely love the Vault release of this show (vinyl please!) as it always brings back some great memories.

a5pj

ledvedderman said:

I’m really sorry to read about the fan who had that instance on the rail. He’s spot on, there were a ton of self important fans there. I was on the rail right in front of Stone, myself. I remember feeling bad for others because I’m 6’5”. I just kept telling myself “this will never happen again...just enjoy it.” I was able to come up with an extra ticket and got an old poster, jlew24asu, into the show as well. I’m not sure how that one came about- but it did. I caught a ride back with a great guy named Chris from St. Louis who drove me to my hometown about an hour north of St. Louis on his way home.  Now onto the questions!

I got my ticket through the kindness of a fellow board member. He posted a thread saying he had an extra ticket and would sell the second to whoever answered what the band meant to them. Lucky for me, he chose my story. 

People here were obviously upset about the F5 situation. I was pretty understanding of it. It’s a small venue and a ton of fans we’re going to be in town for Lolla. 

The setting was similar to a club show you’d see a smaller band in. Open floor. I remember looking back expecting to see folks in the balcony, but no one was up there. 

I think the only song that made it through the line to me from soundcheck was All or None. People were expecting some fan favorites given it being for 10C. It certainly wasn’t promoted as anything other than a warm up show for Lolla. I expected it to be a pretty typical show. I went in thinking if there was ever a show I’d get Breath- this might be the night. 

Certainly opening with All or None got attention by everyone. Following with Education was a surprise. Once Sad kicked in, that’s when I remember thinking that this was going to be something amazing. In Hiding. Parachutes. Hard to Imagine. Those all stand out. Like someone mentioned earlier, Ed kept looking to his family during Parachutes. That was kind of touching. This was before Just Breathe, Sirens, and Future Days where he’s been much more open. It’s always nice to see that someone who has impacted your life favorably and they don’t know it are happy in their life. 

Overall it was fantastic. I doubt I get a chance like that again. It was pretty much the perfect show to me. 

That was me who gave you the ticket haha!!
Thanks for reminding me that Education was played, that was a big highlight, even better at Lolla when they played it 2nd, love that song!
I remember rats was very cool too and a fan got to sing part of it.
Someone got a mask Ed threw out after a song, was it bushleaguer??
Ah Sonic Reducer was awesome too, Ed high fived the whole front row and I was just a hair back too far and missed him.

And as for my negativity I wasn't trying to super negative, just show how a few entitled fans can impact the vibe of the show. Great night, but I still rate Lolla higher up on my list. I was as dead center/left, got an Ed a few Mike picks (and Kings of Leon pick) and rocked out the whole night with my buddy who for some reason decided to pass on the Vic lol, hence the extra ticket .

ledvedderman

a5pj said:

ledvedderman said:

I’m really sorry to read about the fan who had that instance on the rail. He’s spot on, there were a ton of self important fans there. I was on the rail right in front of Stone, myself. I remember feeling bad for others because I’m 6’5”. I just kept telling myself “this will never happen again...just enjoy it.” I was able to come up with an extra ticket and got an old poster, jlew24asu, into the show as well. I’m not sure how that one came about- but it did. I caught a ride back with a great guy named Chris from St. Louis who drove me to my hometown about an hour north of St. Louis on his way home.  Now onto the questions!

I got my ticket through the kindness of a fellow board member. He posted a thread saying he had an extra ticket and would sell the second to whoever answered what the band meant to them. Lucky for me, he chose my story. 

People here were obviously upset about the F5 situation. I was pretty understanding of it. It’s a small venue and a ton of fans we’re going to be in town for Lolla. 

The setting was similar to a club show you’d see a smaller band in. Open floor. I remember looking back expecting to see folks in the balcony, but no one was up there. 

I think the only song that made it through the line to me from soundcheck was All or None. People were expecting some fan favorites given it being for 10C. It certainly wasn’t promoted as anything other than a warm up show for Lolla. I expected it to be a pretty typical show. I went in thinking if there was ever a show I’d get Breath- this might be the night. 

Certainly opening with All or None got attention by everyone. Following with Education was a surprise. Once Sad kicked in, that’s when I remember thinking that this was going to be something amazing. In Hiding. Parachutes. Hard to Imagine. Those all stand out. Like someone mentioned earlier, Ed kept looking to his family during Parachutes. That was kind of touching. This was before Just Breathe, Sirens, and Future Days where he’s been much more open. It’s always nice to see that someone who has impacted your life favorably and they don’t know it are happy in their life. 

Overall it was fantastic. I doubt I get a chance like that again. It was pretty much the perfect show to me. 

That was me who gave you the ticket haha!!
Thanks for reminding me that Education was played, that was a big highlight, even better at Lolla when they played it 2nd, love that song!
I remember rats was very cool too and a fan got to sing part of it.
Someone got a mask Ed threw out after a song, was it bushleaguer??
Ah Sonic Reducer was awesome too, Ed high fived the whole front row and I was just a hair back too far and missed him.

And as for my negativity I wasn't trying to super negative, just show how a few entitled fans can impact the vibe of the show. Great night, but I still rate Lolla higher up on my list. I was as dead center/left, got an Ed a few Mike picks (and Kings of Leon pick) and rocked out the whole night with my buddy who for some reason decided to pass on the Vic lol, hence the extra ticket .

Dude! Yes! I’m always in debt to you for that. Outside of any night associated with my son, The Vic will likely be my favorite night of my lifetime. Well, in debt to your buddy who passed on the gig!

Sobelberg8

Episode available now. Thanks to Dave from LiveFootsteps.org for helping us on this one.

2-feign-reluctance

"EDDIE WOULD GOOOOO"

Ugh.

ledvedderman

Awesome! I look forward to checking it out!