For fans outside of NY, What’s with the hype about MSG.

SB129840

I was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. I’ve seen a ton of major acts at the Garden, including Aerosmith, REM, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Metallica, U2, DMB,
Chili Peppers, and of course Pearl Jam. I’ve never said I need to see these bands here, but I get tickets because its close to my house. I’m sure I take this for granted living in the area, but I’m really curious why people need to see PJ here. There are many major cities in the US including Chicago, Boston, Philly, LA to name a few. There haven’t been many “iconic” shows at the Garden. People talk about night 2 ‘98 and night 2 2010, but that’s really it. The most talked about NY show is Randalls Island night 2, not even an MSG show. My wife is a
Philly girl and at her first PJ show at MSG, she said “this place is a dump, why do people make a big deal about this venue” (this was before they redid the venue). Is it bc it’s NY or MSG?  I’m really just curious. 

rollings

What hype do you mean?

Long Red

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SB129840

I’ve seen people post, I’m so excited, my first time at MSG. Fans fly from all over the world to see them here. Why not another venue? People are saying this this the hardest PJ concert to get into ever! While there aren’t that many tour dates to chose from, why do fans that aren’t from the area, put in for MSG?

pages_in_a_book

Going back more than half a century, rock bands have aspired to play MSG. Playing MSG meant you "made it" as a band, joining the ranks of Elvis, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, U2, or whoever the rock or music icons of the era were. Many famous bootlegs from rock's long and storied history were "so and so at Madison Square Garden." Because the venue has such a history, it almost always sells out, meaning a packed stadium full of energy. Because of this energy and history, many bands pull out all the stops, putting their hearts and souls into powerful performances. In other words, it's not just a Pearl Jam phenomenon.

Long Red

OK fine I'll answer. Every single show they've played there has been legendary. It has nothing to do with the state of the building or how new it is or how much of a dump it might be. There's a reason everyone and their damn friends wants tix to see them at MSG. The band gives everything on that stage and the audience gives everything back. 

SB129840

LongRed_again said:

OK fine I'll answer. Every single show they've played there has been legendary. It has nothing to do with the state of the building or how new it is or how much of a dump it might be. There's a reason everyone and their damn friends wants tix to see them at MSG. The band gives everything on that stage and the audience gives everything back. 

I respectfully disagree with the statement that every show here has been legendary. The 2008 shows weren’t legendary. Nobody talks about those shows. The 2003 shows were great, but from what I’ve seen,  most people talk about the Boston shows from 2003 or the Penn state
show. I’m not here to start an argument, I’m just curious  to hear what out of towners  think. I’ve seen bands in both New York and Philly snd
i wouldn’t say, “wow this show was so much better in NY than Philly.

rollings

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FiveBelow

I honestly think the locals do most of the hyping. Because tickets are hard to get it gives them a good story for all the people that missed out. My wife has family from the area and they are very prideful, I always enjoy listening to them tell stories. For the act it is always a Mecca because you’ve made it if you are booking the Garden.

Lerxst1992

SB129840 said:

LongRed_again said:

OK fine I'll answer. Every single show they've played there has been legendary. It has nothing to do with the state of the building or how new it is or how much of a dump it might be. There's a reason everyone and their damn friends wants tix to see them at MSG. The band gives everything on that stage and the audience gives everything back. 

I respectfully disagree with the statement that every show here has been legendary. The 2008 shows weren’t legendary. Nobody talks about those shows. The 2003 shows were great, but from what I’ve seen,  most people talk about the Boston shows from 2003 or the Penn state
show. I’m not here to start an argument, I’m just curious  to hear what out of towners  think. I’ve seen bands in both New York and Philly snd
i wouldn’t say, “wow this show was so much better in NY than Philly.

No one ever talks about 5.1.16 but I have never been to a concert that shook the ground so violently like that night. Seconds after they took the stage. The transformation from house lights to 7.7 on the Richter scale was stunning.

Everyone talks about the next night with its inferior setlist and Sting and Cheap Trick. That’s a yawn for me, glad I missed having to sit thru that.But it was still msg.

Part of it has to do with being in the biggest American city. Part of it is the history and it’s name is historical and iconic. Every other city has the stapler center and td bank olive garden. No history with those names.

  

Lerxst1992

“Dude remember when we saw them back in 1998 at the Wells Fargo center?” Said by no one, never.

but “dude, remember that iconic Halloween Spectrum show!” Yeah, that’s been said thousands of times.

rollings

Omg, I hate the naming of stadiums and arenas after banks . WTAF.  How embarrassing for both the bank and the establishment

SB129840

Lerxst1992 said:

SB129840 said:

LongRed_again said:

OK fine I'll answer. Every single show they've played there has been legendary. It has nothing to do with the state of the building or how new it is or how much of a dump it might be. There's a reason everyone and their damn friends wants tix to see them at MSG. The band gives everything on that stage and the audience gives everything back. 

I respectfully disagree with the statement that every show here has been legendary. The 2008 shows weren’t legendary. Nobody talks about those shows. The 2003 shows were great, but from what I’ve seen,  most people talk about the Boston shows from 2003 or the Penn state
show. I’m not here to start an argument, I’m just curious  to hear what out of towners  think. I’ve seen bands in both New York and Philly snd
i wouldn’t say, “wow this show was so much better in NY than Philly.

No one ever talks about 5.1.16 but I have never been to a concert that shook the ground so violently like that night. Seconds after they took the stage. The transformation from house lights to 7.7 on the Richter scale was stunning.

Everyone talks about the next night with its inferior setlist and Sting and Cheap Trick. That’s a yawn for me, glad I missed having to sit thru that.But it was still msg.

Part of it has to do with being in the biggest American city. Part of it is the history and it’s name is historical and iconic. Every other city has the stapler center and td bank olive garden. No history with those names.

  

I agree the 5/1/2016 show was much better than the 5/2/2016 show, but of course this is just a matter of opinion. But again, there were
other shows on the 2016 tour better than MSG. The 2 Philly shows were better than the 2 MSG shows in my opinion. I also hate when the venues are named after banks. So much respect for MSG, Yankee stadium, Fenway, Wrigley, Camden Yards. Sorry if I forgot other venues.

SB129840

pages_in_a_book said:

Going back more than half a century, rock bands have aspired to play MSG. Playing MSG meant you "made it" as a band, joining the ranks of Elvis, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, U2, or whoever the rock or music icons of the era were. Many famous bootlegs from rock's long and storied history were "so and so at Madison Square Garden." Because the venue has such a history, it almost always sells out, meaning a packed stadium full of energy. Because of this energy and history, many bands pull out all the stops, putting their hearts and souls into powerful performances. In other words, it's not just a Pearl Jam phenomenon.

I would agree with this statement for bands that play here for the first time. All the bands you mention have played the Garden numerous times and have nothing left to prove. Im sure they aren’t playing harder at MSG than other venues. (Although I could be wrong) I think PJ puts their heart and soul into every performance, not just MSG. 

JPPJ84

For me it would have been about visiting NY, not about the venue. 

rollings

Band > < Audience is a back and forth thing

Bands know when the crowd is lit or not.

Maybe New Yorkers as a people are more energized than other cities. Few can argue otherwise I think

EXCEPT PHILLY yo CMON LETS PLAY TEN 

SB129840

JPPJ84 said:

For me it would have been about visiting NY, not about the venue. 

Ok, I get this response! This makes sense to me.  People want to see NYC, not the venue! Again, I take it for granted that I live so close to one of the biggest cities in the world. Anytime I go into NYC I try to put it I get perspective.

foodboy

i'm not from ny but its new york . why do people want to go there . its new york. its one of the major cities of the world. major plays major everything from museums to restaurants to just about anything. broadway  everything, there is just nothing like it. the history . i have never been to a concert there but i would like to. philly was on my bucket list and did that.that was amazing.  i want to see what new york is like as well. but i have to tell you toronto on the right night with the right crowd is as good as anywhere. 9/11/11. as well as others.  

JPPJ84

foodboy said:

i'm not from ny but its new york . why do people want to go there . its new york. its one of the major cities of the world. major plays major everything from museums to restaurants to just about anything. broadway  everything, there is just nothing like it. the history . i have never been to a concert there but i would like to. philly was on my bucket list and did that.that was amazing.  i want to see what new york is like as well. but i have to tell you toronto on the right night with the right crowd is as good as anywhere. 9/11/11. as well as others.  

Well, history wise NY is a couple of hundred, sometimes thousands of years behind some other great cities so that’s not it (for me)

lastexitlondon

Leeds was one of the best gigs ive ever seen. Now leeds as a city meh. Nothing special at all. The venue made a vibe the crowd was outstanding  amd the set was wow.
 All made best experience.  
Sometimes  random places are best. My 2 pence  .

ryanphishes

It's the World's Most Famous Arena.

As others have said, for many musicians, playing MSG is a sign you've made it.

Trey Anastasio from Phish says it is his favorite indoor venue to play.  It has great sound.  It has amazing energy and atmosphere.  Walking around the place, it's like a museum with all the different music, sports, and political events that have taken place there.

It's also on top of Penn Station, so it's right in the heart of Manhattan, easy to get to, and I could go on and on.

I've seen Phish over 150 times, 43 at Madison Square Garden, all while living in Texas.  

I'm excited for my first Pearl Jam show there in less than two months, and I hope I get to go back for four more Phish shows in December.  There's nothing like ringing in the New Year with Phish at the Garden.

hihobibo

Like ryanphishes said, it's the most famous arena, and as a kid, even watching WWF/WWE wrestling, they would always promote Madison Square Garden as something special, so there was always some appeal to seeing an event there for me, as a kid from Pittsburgh. 

Falling Down

Not many such iconic venues elsewhere. So much history there (not talking about Mark Messier). I'll be there for first time on Mar. 30, and really, really looking forward to it. 

cp3iverson

It says a lot about the Knicks that no one has mentioned the Knicks....

JimmyV

cp3iverson said:

It says a lot about the Knicks that no one has mentioned the Knicks....

CantKeepmedown

There has to be a reason that so many artists and entertainers aspire to play there. But I would disagree that every show there is legendary.  9-11-98 and 7-8-03 for sure.  But there are legendary shows in a lot of cities.  I think most of it is just the thinking that NYC is the biggest and bestest city in the world **roll eyes emoji**

False_Belief

hihobibo said:

Like ryanphishes said, it's the most famous arena, and as a kid, even watching WWF/WWE wrestling, they would always promote Madison Square Garden as something special, so there was always some appeal to seeing an event there for me, as a kid from Pittsburgh. 

Glad it's not just me that sees this as a big part of the attraction!  I've never been to an event there but did the guided tour while I was in NY just before Christmas and all I could think the entire time was OMG THIS IS WHERE THE FIRST* WRESTLEMANIA HAPPENED

(* and two others since)

MickeyMouse

LongRed_again said:

OK fine I'll answer. Every single show they've played there has been legendary. It has nothing to do with the state of the building or how new it is or how much of a dump it might be. There's a reason everyone and their damn friends wants tix to see them at MSG. The band gives everything on that stage and the audience gives everything back. 

Wrong. Those 2008 shows were duds. There’s a handful of amazing shows they’ve done at MSG but I’ve seen just as good or better in Philly and Boston. 

Lemon Yellow Sun

JimmyV

Ed says a lot of things.

KN219077

I’m guessing it’s the vibe for the bands playing there, as much a feeling as it is a place. It seems to push bands to put on an extra special performance there. Live at the Garden dvd captures some of that feeling when Baba kicks in and it’s pure joy on the audience and band members faces.