Pearl Jam Should Take The Twenty One Pilots Touring Idea

F Me In The Brain

Lost In Ohio said:

And yeah, I agree. It seems cruel on the TØP crew to have to set up/tear down for 3-4 different shows in the same city.

I do like how Pearl Jam did two shows at MSG, but for fans who were shut out, they did one "bonus show" in New Jersey.

Say Pearl Jam did:
 "Two shows in a major city. Limit one show per 10C member.' -- I think they did this in 2016, right? You could only get one of MSG or Philly...or was it one per city?

But here's the catch:
If you got shut out of MSG or Philly, you could get first crack at a nearby city like Newark or State College.

If you got shut out of Boston, you could get first crack at Hartford.

Now what would be really cool is that the setlists were designed so that the "tier two cities" like Hartford or Newark got songs that wouldn't be played at Boston or MSG. "Hey, we know this city isn't as glamorous, but we'll throw you a few bones in the show."

We've had a terrible combination of things happening:
1) Fans being allowed as many shows as possible.
2) The band going to fewer shows.
3) Tour announcements coming separately.
4) People have lots of money they save just for the band.

One or two of these things happening and it's not a huge deal. All four happen and people seem to forget: "Hey! There's a new album. Even though they're touring on the other side of the planet, I *NEED* tickets. I can't wait 2-3 months for a tour announcement closer to me."

I have been one of the people saying that I think they can play 2 shows or 22 shows, up to them...but I do wish they would consider the traveling fan thing, a bit more.  By this I mean announcing where they intend to tour, well in advance.  Does not need to be dates or even cities...could just be.. "in 2022 we intend to go to Europe, Australia, and do the US Makeup Shows"

In the past they might announce a small US tour and then later announce they would play other areas of the US. 

If you want to see your favorite band, why would you wait 2-3 months if you have no idea if they are going to announce anything closer to you?

I am sure they have a reason why they do not do this but it sorta does make things tough.  2020 is an example....I booked for MSG and Baltimore but held off from west coast or anything else, because there were rumors they would be playing back east again later in the year. 

Why should it be a rumor, why would they not share that intent?

Luckily we do have some folks who seem pretty well connected to leak a bit to us. 

I'm happy if I get to see them in 2022 at some point.  Hope they continue enjoying the live shows together and at least do a small handful per year until they can't play any longer. 

igotid88

"Pearl Jam should do something I'm going to complain about when it happens."

tdawe

This is not that far off from the model that Pearl Jam has been moving towards, except it’s just two nights in stadiums instead of four nights in different venues. 

The Hold Steady has been doing the same thing, albeit on a much smaller scale, for five years. They did a four-night run in Brooklyn in 2016 and realized that, instead of traditional touring, they should just post up for multi-night weekend runs in a handful of cities per year. It’s easier on them, the ticket sales are steadier, but Craig Finn also justifies it from the fan’s perspective (I’m paraphrasing from memory): “our fans are older now, they have jobs and kids. So if we do a tour and come to your city, it’s going to be on a Tuesday night, you’ll be coming right from work and going back to work in the morning, you’ll need to be home by a certain time to get the babysitter. You’ll have a good time, but it won’t be a great time. But if we say ‘meet us in this city on this weekend’, and you get some friends together and make a whole weekend trip out of it…you’re going to have a great fucking time.”

I personally love traveling for shows, but I realize it doesn’t work for everyone (also full disclosure: I live in the NYC area so I’m not hurting for shows in my own backyard). But whether you like it or not, I believe PJ is going to continue heading in that direction: fewer, bigger shows that fans will travel to. If you want to see Pearl Jam from now on, you might have to go to them instead of waiting for them to come to you. 

CantKeepmedown

It's an incredibly cool, unique way to do things. And I tip my cap to 21 Pilots for doing it. That being said, MAYBE this is something PJ would have considered in the Yield/Binaural days.  But I doubt it.  

Now, they can play two nights in a stadium and sell 3X as many tickets. 

I still think good things are in our future.  Even if we have to wait another year.  

JeBurkhardt

tdawe said:

This is not that far off from the model that Pearl Jam has been moving towards, except it’s just two nights in stadiums instead of four nights in different venues. 

The Hold Steady has been doing the same thing, albeit on a much smaller scale, for five years. They did a four-night run in Brooklyn in 2016 and realized that, instead of traditional touring, they should just post up for multi-night weekend runs in a handful of cities per year. It’s easier on them, the ticket sales are steadier, but Craig Finn also justifies it from the fan’s perspective (I’m paraphrasing from memory): “our fans are older now, they have jobs and kids. So if we do a tour and come to your city, it’s going to be on a Tuesday night, you’ll be coming right from work and going back to work in the morning, you’ll need to be home by a certain time to get the babysitter. You’ll have a good time, but it won’t be a great time. But if we say ‘meet us in this city on this weekend’, and you get some friends together and make a whole weekend trip out of it…you’re going to have a great fucking time.”

I personally love traveling for shows, but I realize it doesn’t work for everyone (also full disclosure: I live in the NYC area so I’m not hurting for shows in my own backyard). But whether you like it or not, I believe PJ is going to continue heading in that direction: fewer, bigger shows that fans will travel to. If you want to see Pearl Jam from now on, you might have to go to them instead of waiting for them to come to you. 

He has a good point about mid week concerts, but I also have to factor in the time to get back and forth to the concert. Most touring acts don't come close to where I live. We live 2.5 hours from St Louis, 2.5 hours from Indy, 2.5 hours from Louisville and 4 hours from Chicago. Going to mid week shows is just not feasible on a regular basis.