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Songs that you fully appreciated only after seeing at a show

walkunafraidwalkunafraid Posts: 2,605
edited April 2008 in The Porch
I have had a few experiences in which I didn't fully appreciate a PJ song until seeing it played live.

The first and most blatant is "In Hiding." For some crazy reason, I never really paid attention to it on Yield. Then, I sent to my first PJ show -- Missoula, Montana 1998 -- and it was the highlight of the set. The power of the song struck me and carried me to a whole new place. Since then, it has been in the upper echelon of PJ songs in my mind.

Another is "Hard to Imagine." Hearing it at the Santa Barbara Bowl in '06 was awesome and completely upped my opinion of the song.

Finally, I was pretty neutral on "I am Mine" until hearing it at Ed's solo shows. Goddamn it is a powerful, intense song! I might have never realized it if Ed hadn't chosen to bust it out at his solo gigs.


Interested to hear any similar experiences...
Everything has chains...Absolutely nothing's changed. - PJ

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” - Albert Camus
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Comments

  • Ryan_WFCRyan_WFC Posts: 1,348
    Hearing "Down" toward the end of the State College show made me love that song. It fit the vibe of that night perfectly.
    "They said ... timing was everything
    made him ... want to be everywhere
    there's a ... lot to be said for nowhere."
  • gobrowns19gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
    Insignificance in 05 at Kitchener.
    Happiness is only real when shared
  • MichaelMcKevinMichaelMcKevin Posts: 1,161
    Present Tense
    Camden I '06, Camden II '06, Bonnaroo '08, Camden I '08, Camden II '08, Philly Spectrum II/III/IV '09, MSG I '10, MSG II '10, Made In America '12, Wrigley '13, Brooklyn II '13, Philly I '13, Philly II '13, ...
  • ogre1213ogre1213 Posts: 400
    sleight of hand
    Some die just to live
  • EnkiduEnkidu So Cal Posts: 2,996
    Arc is the big one - I sort of never paid attention to it before. But after EV LA1 and LA2 - wow wow wow.
  • Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    I'm gonna get blasted for this....

    Long Road.

    I didn't really appreciate it's power til I saw it at Wembley.
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
  • HailHailLeathermanHailHailLeatherman Posts: 126
    walkunafraid wrote:
    I have had a few experiences in which I didn't fully appreciate a PJ song until seeing it played live.

    The first and most blatant is "In Hiding." For some crazy reason, I never really paid attention to it on Yield. Then, I sent to my first PJ show -- Missoula, Montana 1998 -- and it was the highlight of the set. The power of the song struck me and carried me to a whole new place. Since then, it has been in the upper echelon of PJ songs in my mind.

    Another is "Hard to Imagine." Hearing it at the Santa Barbara Bowl in '06 was awesome and completely upped my opinion of the song.

    Finally, I was pretty neutral on "I am Mine" until hearing it at Ed's solo shows. Goddamn it is a powerful, intense song! I might have never realized it if Ed hadn't chosen to bust it out at his solo gigs.


    Interested to hear any similar experiences...

    Funny, I feel the opposite with In Hiding, it was always one of my favorites but live, not so much.

    Love Boat Captain became a much more likeable song for me after hearing it live a couple times.

    Do the Evoloution is way better live then on the CD as well.
  • HermanBloomHermanBloom Posts: 1,764
    1/2 Full
    SLC 11/2/95, Park City 6/21/98, Boise 11/3/00, Seattle 12/9/02, Vancouver 5/30/03, Gorge 9/1/05, Vancouver 9/2/05, Gorge 7/22/06, Gorge 7/23/06, Camden I 6/19/08, MSG I 6/24/08, MSG II 6/25/08, Hartford 6/27/08, Mansfield II 6/30/08; Eddie Albany 6/8/09, 6/9/09; Philly 10/30/09, 10/31/09; Boston 5/17/10
    I thought the world...Turns out the world thought me
  • U R A Crazy BreedU R A Crazy Breed Posts: 8,370
    two songs come to mind

    1 you are - it's an ok song on an ok album...but live..HOLY SHIT!!!



    2 smile - no code is # in my book and i always liked this song but seeing it live and listening to Ed whale on the harmonica live took this song to a whole new level for me.
    anyone else see this live and feel the same?
  • U R A Crazy BreedU R A Crazy Breed Posts: 8,370
    HailHailLeatherman wrote:

    Love Boat Captain became a much more likeable song for me after hearing it live a couple times.


    agree 100%
  • Spot In The SkySpot In The Sky Posts: 1,175
    LBC after MSG1
    Present Tense after Milan, IT
    "The world is dangerous, feel safe here tonight..." EV 9/17/06

    38+6 shows at the age of 27 and counting...but still no Undone

    My podcast: Hotel Manager Talk- Dedicated to Hotel Employees, tell your friends. http://www.HotelManagerTalk.com
  • Lukin66Lukin66 Posts: 3,063
    I've always felt a little indifferent towards Blood, but once I heard it live (Gorge '06, night one, I think) my attitude did a complete 180.
    deep, deep blue of the morning
    gets to me every time
  • UmbertotambaUmbertotamba Posts: 1,384
    Sian-of-the-dead wrote:
    I'm gonna get blasted for this....

    Long Road.

    I didn't really appreciate it's power til I saw it at Wembley.

    Iam going to second that!!
    Springfield MA 94, Hartford CT 96
  • nfanelnfanel Posts: 2,558
    HailHailLeatherman wrote:
    Do the Evoloution is way better live then on the CD as well.
    i hated evolution until i heard it live. now it is hands down my favorite song to hear live....i jump around like a maniac and it never gets old.

    since it was also just mentioned i'll also go with hard sun.

    edit: and whipping... and garden... and rats... and all of riot act.

    i could probably keep adding to this thread all day. things almost always sound better to me after hearing them live.
  • dangerboydangerboy Posts: 1,569
    sometimes


    ebay isn't evil people are


    The South is Much Obliged
  • Crazy LarryCrazy Larry Posts: 185
    without a doubt - ARC
  • SVRDhand13SVRDhand13 Posts: 26,172
    i know what you mean about in hiding. i liked the song but it never did too much for me- since i was it live it has become one of my favorite PJ songs.
    severed hand thirteen
    2006: Gorge 7/23 2008: Hartford 6/27 Beacon 7/1 2009: Spectrum 10/30-31
    2010: Newark 5/18 MSG 5/20-21 2011: PJ20 9/3-4 2012: Made In America 9/2
    2013: Brooklyn 10/18-19 Philly 10/21-22 Hartford 10/25 2014: ACL10/12
    2015: NYC 9/23 2016: Tampa 4/11 Philly 4/28-29 MSG 5/1-2 Fenway 8/5+8/7
    2017: RRHoF 4/7   2018: Fenway 9/2+9/4   2021: Sea Hear Now 9/18 
    2022: MSG 9/11  2024: MSG 9/3-4 Philly 9/7+9/9 Fenway 9/15+9/17
  • Ryan_WFCRyan_WFC Posts: 1,348
    I enjoyed "Sad" right away but thought the mix/recording sounded weak. It rocks live, though, so I love it now.
    "They said ... timing was everything
    made him ... want to be everywhere
    there's a ... lot to be said for nowhere."
  • Of A Girl WonderOf A Girl Wonder Posts: 97
    When PJ opened with Wash at the Gorge 06 it created a feeling that I will never forget. Ed changed the words up cuz it was over 100 degrees out. The 10c line to get our tix was fucked up because of computer problems. Lots of people missed the opening and it's a horrible shame.

    "Oh please let it rain today. This planet is burning. Like my mind in ways."
  • Bangers_n_mashBangers_n_mash Posts: 1,241
    Sian-of-the-dead wrote:
    I'm gonna get blasted for this....

    Long Road.

    I didn't really appreciate it's power til I saw it at Wembley.
    No you're absolutely right. Amazing as it sounds on Merkinball, I was totally blown away at Wembley. Between the crowd singing and actually hearing the song live, wow... :D
    uʍop ǝpısdn ǝɹ,ǝʍ 'punoɹ ʎɐʍ ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ ןןɐ s,ʇı
  • lateralus963lateralus963 Posts: 381
    Hum... I would actually say Alive. I hated that song until I saw it live. Even now, I never listen to the studio version, actually I never chose to listen to it at all.(I mean if for some strange reason I am listening to the radio and they play Alive, yeah I'll listen to it.) However, it is always one of my favorite moments at the show. And the magic for me doesn't really start till the end, when every one is chanting( just like the end of Black).

    So has hippie and idealistic as it might sound, it is a perfect example of why Music is my religion and Concerts are my church. Because no matter who I am and who everyone else is. No matter what are differences. For that one moment we are one, and we can separate people for their ideas.

    The song takes on a new life in concert;it is a mean that only belongs to us--the concert goers.
    2005: Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh
    2006: Camden I & II, Continental II (NJ)
    2008: Camden I & II, DC, MSG I & II (NYC), & EV: NYC II
    2009: Spectrum last 2 nights
    2012: EV: Orlando I & II, Ft. Lauderdale I
    2013: Brooklyn I & II
    2016: Ft. Lauderdale & Miami
  • Stephen FlowStephen Flow Posts: 3,327
    This is an awesome thread...

    for me there are definitely a few...

    most of the songs off of Binaural took a while for me to get into, but especially Nothing as it seems and Sleight of Hand... those two are just great live and Binaural ranks up there as far as albums go because of that.

    Riot act... a lot of those songs come out great live, especially 1/2 Full, I don't think there's anything stellar about the studio version, but it's the one song off Riot Act that I would not mind seeing live at every show I attend... it's awesome... I think Can't Keep falls into the 'can't appreciate it till you see it live category' even though I loved it right off the bat... it's just powerful as hell live.

    And then of course Arc... some people hear it for the first time and go wtf is this... but when I saw it live... damn... it was moving.
  • DissidentmanDissidentman Posts: 15,378
    Low Light - Boston '06
  • JulienJulien Posts: 2,457
    Hard to Imagine.
    I, of course, knew the song when I went at the Copenhagen shows last year, but I was blown away when they played it..
    2006: Antwerp, Paris
    2007: Copenhagen, Werchter
    2009: Rotterdam, London
    2010: MSG, Arras, Werchter
    2012: Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin
    2014: Amsterdam, Stockholm
  • Get_RightGet_Right Posts: 13,171
    spin the black circle and lukin

    angry hard rockers, not something I would normally listen to

    but after experiencing them live, I love em
  • Solat13Solat13 Posts: 6,996
    Arc
    Habit
    1/2 Full
    Nothing As It Seems
    Wishlist (I hated the studio version - sounded too cheesy for me)
    Dissident (Got overplayed on Philly radio back in the day and I disliked this song until I heard it live)
    - Busted down the pretext
    - 8/28/98
    - 9/2/00
    - 4/28/03, 5/3/03, 7/3/03, 7/5/03, 7/6/03, 7/9/03, 7/11/03, 7/12/03, 7/14/03
    - 9/28/04, 9/29/04, 10/1/04, 10/2/04
    - 9/11/05, 9/12/05, 9/13/05, 9/30/05, 10/1/05, 10/3/05
    - 5/12/06, 5/13/06, 5/27/06, 5/28/06, 5/30/06, 6/1/06, 6/3/06, 6/23/06, 7/22/06, 7/23/06, 12/2/06, 12/9/06
    - 8/2/07, 8/5/07
    - 6/19/08, 6/20/08, 6/22/08, 6/24/08, 6/25/08, 6/27/08, 6/28/08, 6/30/08, 7/1/08
    - 8/23/09, 8/24/09, 9/21/09, 9/22/09, 10/27/09, 10/28/09, 10/30/09, 10/31/09
    - 5/15/10, 5/17/10, 5/18/10, 5/20/10, 5/21/10, 10/23/10, 10/24/10
    - 9/11/11, 9/12/11
    - 10/18/13, 10/21/13, 10/22/13, 11/30/13, 12/4/13
  • pjsteelerfanpjsteelerfan Maryland Posts: 9,897
    Green Disease I liked much better after hearing it live. Army Reserve too. And Present Tense.
    ...got a mind full of questions and a teacher in my soul...
  • itsmyblood248itsmyblood248 Posts: 45
    Release as the opener in D.C. in '06. I mean I have always loved it but damn, it just shook my core that night. I listen to that version over and over and still get the same feeling.
    "There's alot to be said for nowhere"
  • hoopinmanhoopinman Posts: 294
    lateralus963 wrote:

    So has hippie and idealistic as it might sound, it is a perfect example of why Music is my religion and Concerts are my church. Because no matter who I am and who everyone else is. No matter what are differences. For that one moment we are one, and we can separate people for their ideas.


    AMEN!!!!!

    for me it had to be Rearview Mirror

    never liekd it....then went through a rough breakup and saw PJ...and the song meant something after that..

    " clearer....Clearer....ONCE YOU WERE IN MYYYYYYYYYYYYYY REEEEEEEEARVIEW MIRRRRRRRRRRRRRROR!!!!!!"
  • P34RL J4MM3RP34RL J4MM3R Posts: 1,328
    Great Thread. I would have to say "Sad" is one that really caught my attention live and started me liking it. Also as has been stated, Long Road is really more emotionally raw live and always gives me the gooseflesh. Same with Hard to Imagine as has been mentioned. When I am hearing it live and thinking about my life and my son, it is just an amazing feeling.
    There's no need to say goodbye
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