Awesome story RiotZact! Super cool your principal let you go! So nice you had a work day and no kids. I held onto Nashville and St. Louis tickets (originally during my spring break!) and stressed about when the dates would hit. I’m a teacher too and had a work day yesterday as well!
The show was fantastic! While not the best set list for me in terms of rarities or deep cuts, I really didn’t care! That crowd was killer. Having not seen them since 2018, I was thrilled to hear all of those songs.
Highlights for me were Who Ever Said (love that song and it rocked live! Devo/Stones tag was great). The Present Tense to Rats run was killer! Brad Klausen was joking on the set list thread that his posters rarely affect the song choice, but he scored this time! It sounded amazing. I also love All Night! Ed really flubbed the lyrics after the first verse, and I thought they might abandon it, but the band rode it out and he picked it back up with the second verse. Cool guy next to me from Chattanooga and I just laughed and kept rocking! Love the call and response, “All Night” at the end. I was totally singing that out. By Wishlist my voice was shot (how do you do it, Eddie?)!
My son’s first show, and he loved it. Very cool for him to get so many big hits, plus Go and Rats off of Vs. (his favorite). He was really hoping for Dirty Frank (first PJ song he loved), but that did not take away from our experience at all.
Would have been amazing to play Baba right after that Alive, the crowd was so into things, but loved getting YL as well.
Just so happy the show went off as planned! Capped a great day in Nashville, my son and I toured the RCA Studio B (tons of cool Elvis stories there) and toured Third Man! At TMR, we got surprised by co-founder, Ben Blackwell, who told some amazing stories about Ed and his own visit to the 10Club warehouse in Washington. What a day!
Thank you PJ! Thank you 10Club for my amazing seats!
See you in St. Louis!
I was next to you. Nice meeting you. That guy that crawled over the rail was something haha.
You from Chattanooga? I was at show and live in Ringgold GA
Yep. I love the Mega Star gas station off the main Ringgold exit. Best beer selection around.
At the Nashville airport at 4:45 am I said to someone with a poster tube “They sure did play a lot of Vitalogy last night”. She looked at me like I was an idiot. I may have still been pretty buzzed. Ha.
Might as well type up my hectic story of the day while I’m waiting at the airport.
I am a 1st grade teacher in Philly, and none of this happens if I have students today like I would most Fridays. Instead we have a teachers in-service day. My uncle lives in Louisville and he’s planning on going to Bourbon and Beyond for his first ever PJ show. Around 10:00 Friday morning I send him a pic of the poster and shirt from Nashville. He responds, half jokingly, with a GPS route for him to take from Louisville to Nashville.
So I say hey, it wouldn’t hurt to check airfare from Philly to Nashville. Turns out there were some decent rates, and after Camden the other night I am in full Pearl Jam obsession mode right now, so we start thinking that we might be able to somehow make this work. Biggest problem is that the only reasonable flight leaves Philly at 4, and I’m technically on the clock until 3:39. I hate to approach my principal about it after already taking off a day and a half for Camden this week, but finally I do.
I tell him that Saturday is my birthday and my uncle wants to buy me plane/concert tickets as my present (the birthday part is true, the uncle buying everything part is unfortunately not true 😂) before I could even ask he says “BYE SIR!” So I hop in an Uber at 2:30 and head for the airport. No bag, no concert tickets, no return flight booked yet.
I score some pretty sweet obstructed view tickets (that ended up not being obstructed at all) and get on the plane. My uncle drives from Louisville and picks me up from the airport, Bob’s your uncle.
As for the show itself, it was a ton of fun. Not as bonkers as Camden but solid setlist and a great crowd. Rats was by far the highlight for me. This was my 13th show and it was towards the top of my bucket list of songs I wanted to see live for quite some time. The extended Save it for Later tag was a highlight as well, and the abundance of Vitalogy songs.
Overall one of the crazier things I’ve ever done and I’m really happy I did. I will land back in Philly at 9:00 am Saturday, which means that I will be back to regular life less than 24 hours after this idea was even mentioned. Pretty wild and I feel richer for the experience.
Love your story and the way your boss reacted. Mine was the same this summer. I know it’s so cliché but we truly only live once and will only regret the things we didn’t do!
Waaaay back when I worked at a non-profit and we got a new Exec Director. I had some shows coming up that I was going to take off for but I just figured I'd say I needed to take care of some things and not mention music, but then she mentioned after being there a week "Oh, and I'm going to need to be out of the office in two weeks, I'm going to [forget which city] to see the opening shows for the new U2 tour." I was like "Aaaaah! My new boss is my kind of people!!!" And she was, she understood as did my previous bosses.
At the Nashville airport at 4:45 am I said to someone with a poster tube “They sure did play a lot of Vitalogy last night”. She looked at me like I was an idiot. I may have still been pretty buzzed. Ha.
Why would anyone look at you like you were an idiot for that comment? That's exactly what I was thinking when I saw the setlist...
Not my favorite setlist ever, but have no complaints. My 12th show and I think first time I've ever not gotten a unique song. That said, Black and Present Tense were fire. Amazing. The crowd was fantastic and as everyone said, the sound was maybe the best in an arena ever.
Traveling to shows always had their own special elements. Nashville was a lot of fun. So many Pearl Jam shirts and the uniqueness of the atmosphere on the street.
I am still floored with the merch. I have not seen anything like it. What happened? Being in downtown? Were the items that good? I do love the Nashville logo.
Really good times overall. Never regret traveling to one of these.
My 27th show and it was 27 years to the day since my first one. Had a blast!
Happy Anniversary! Or Happy Showversary!
Way back in 2013, at what turned out to be one of my most favorite shows of PJ ever in Charlottesville, I realized while waiting for PJ to hit the stage that it was 20 yrs almost to the day of my 1st show ever in '93. And they gave me one HELL of a showversary, incredible show!
Show was fantastic! I could have used more rarities but my wife, she was ecstatic at all the songs she loved. They seemingly played all her favs. I was surprised at how well the gigaton tracks translated to a live performance. I thought river cross was fantastic. Not a song I normally listen to. A small but important change are the song tempos. I stayed and enjoyed even flow for the first time in years. So happy they have slowed down the songs. I’ll take a few less songs now that they have their correct tempo back. Also it seems Mike and stone may be using heavier distortion than they have been in years. Spin the black circle hasn’t sounded that hard in years. At least to my ears.
Side note: I was just at the Gibson garage today and was talking to someone there and he said the 1958 Flying V Mike used on Alive and Yellow Ledbetter was valued at just shy of 1 million! No wonder he waved off his strat to play another song on that Flying V!
Anyone see the drama in section 114 with the beautiful blonde that was with other Pearl Jam guests (saw their passes). For some reason she ran down the steps and pulled some other woman out to the concourse area. The other big wigs with her left to help and they came back but then she had another episode and the PJ guests all looked very annoyed. Just really curious if anyone knew the deets. Felt like she had to be a celebrity or something looked like a manger was consoling her as well.
The borrowed Flying V makes so much more sense now why it was used to close the show. This must be what Ed was joking about earlier with Mike stealing a guitar (although he referenced it being an SG I think). Anyone know much about that LP Ed had? Was it really used by Pete Townsend? And what’s with the middle pickup and extra switches? Does each pickup just have an on-off switch?
This was an awesome show! The sound at Bridgestone was insanely good. Seriously, it might be the best I’ve ever heard at an arena show. Crowd was into everything all night. Heavy hitters at 3 & 4 with Black and P Tense and then into Last Exit. Fuck yeah. STBC, Go, Rats, Immortality and Smile? Uh yes please. Loved River Cross in the main set too. And Given to Fly toward the end was kick ass as well.
Truly a great show! Definitely could use 3-5 more songs but the shorter set did not affect how much of a blast this show was!
When they built the Arena in 1994/95, I lived in Nashville and remember reading it was specifically designed with concerts in mind. The only sizable concert space Nashville had at that point was an outdoor amphitheater outside of town. For a town called Music City, the goal was to not only build a downtown arena that could attract either an NHL or NBA team but also provide world class concert sound for 20,000 people. They nailed it.
2012 - Eddie Vedder/Glen Hansard 2014 Memphis, 2022 Nashville
Show was fantastic! I could have used more rarities but my wife, she was ecstatic at all the songs she loved. They seemingly played all her favs. I was surprised at how well the gigaton tracks translated to a live performance. I thought river cross was fantastic. Not a song I normally listen to. A small but important change are the song tempos. I stayed and enjoyed even flow for the first time in years. So happy they have slowed down the songs. I’ll take a few less songs now that they have their correct tempo back. Also it seems Mike and stone may be using heavier distortion than they have been in years. Spin the black circle hasn’t sounded that hard in years. At least to my ears.
Side note: I was just at the Gibson garage today and was talking to someone there and he said the 1958 Flying V Mike used on Alive and Yellow Ledbetter was valued at just shy of 1 million! No wonder he waved off his strat to play another song on that Flying V!
I know someone at Gibson who might know a little about the story behind this guitars history and how it ended up on stage with Mike. Let you know if I find out anything.
Might as well type up my hectic story of the day while I’m waiting at the airport.
I am a 1st grade teacher in Philly, and none of this happens if I have students today like I would most Fridays. Instead we have a teachers in-service day. My uncle lives in Louisville and he’s planning on going to Bourbon and Beyond for his first ever PJ show. Around 10:00 Friday morning I send him a pic of the poster and shirt from Nashville. He responds, half jokingly, with a GPS route for him to take from Louisville to Nashville.
So I say hey, it wouldn’t hurt to check airfare from Philly to Nashville. Turns out there were some decent rates, and after Camden the other night I am in full Pearl Jam obsession mode right now, so we start thinking that we might be able to somehow make this work. Biggest problem is that the only reasonable flight leaves Philly at 4, and I’m technically on the clock until 3:39. I hate to approach my principal about it after already taking off a day and a half for Camden this week, but finally I do.
I tell him that Saturday is my birthday and my uncle wants to buy me plane/concert tickets as my present (the birthday part is true, the uncle buying everything part is unfortunately not true 😂) before I could even ask he says “BYE SIR!” So I hop in an Uber at 2:30 and head for the airport. No bag, no concert tickets, no return flight booked yet.
I score some pretty sweet obstructed view tickets (that ended up not being obstructed at all) and get on the plane. My uncle drives from Louisville and picks me up from the airport, Bob’s your uncle.
As for the show itself, it was a ton of fun. Not as bonkers as Camden but solid setlist and a great crowd. Rats was by far the highlight for me. This was my 13th show and it was towards the top of my bucket list of songs I wanted to see live for quite some time. The extended Save it for Later tag was a highlight as well, and the abundance of Vitalogy songs.
Overall one of the crazier things I’ve ever done and I’m really happy I did. I will land back in Philly at 9:00 am Saturday, which means that I will be back to regular life less than 24 hours after this idea was even mentioned. Pretty wild and I feel richer for the experience.
THIS is how admins should be to loyal, tenured, non-sick day abusin’ employees who show up and do their jobs. I have tix for Sunday in STL and had an admin try to deny a personal day. The request was put in during the first week of school in mid-August yet he tried to say he couldn’t get a sub…with 4 weeks to find one. We threw the contract at him and I will be enjoying Monday in STL.
Show was fantastic! I could have used more rarities but my wife, she was ecstatic at all the songs she loved. They seemingly played all her favs. I was surprised at how well the gigaton tracks translated to a live performance. I thought river cross was fantastic. Not a song I normally listen to. A small but important change are the song tempos. I stayed and enjoyed even flow for the first time in years. So happy they have slowed down the songs. I’ll take a few less songs now that they have their correct tempo back. Also it seems Mike and stone may be using heavier distortion than they have been in years. Spin the black circle hasn’t sounded that hard in years. At least to my ears.
Side note: I was just at the Gibson garage today and was talking to someone there and he said the 1958 Flying V Mike used on Alive and Yellow Ledbetter was valued at just shy of 1 million! No wonder he waved off his strat to play another song on that Flying V!
I know someone at Gibson who might know a little about the story behind this guitars history and how it ended up on stage with Mike. Let you know if I find out anything.
Update: And this isnt really much different info but ... it is an original 58 Flying V, valued at least a million bucks and that Mr. Gueikian is very open and generous with loaning these types if instruments to worthy musicians.
Finally home! Great show! The acoustics at Bridgestone were fantastic.
While some people may say there weren't a lot of rarities, the set list worked.
Highlights were:
Mike was seated for the Black solo. I thought his chair was going to collapse.
Mike kicking the chair out of the way during Present Tense
Who Ever Said
I thought the chair kicking was pretty bad ass.
Loved Who Ever Said. Go was just awesome and unexpected. I think the definition of "rarities" is going to change now with the shorter setlists. Go, STBC, etc... are going to become rarities.
I wish I could go to Louisville (had a ticket) but my dumbass forgot to rent a car from Nashville and realized it before getting on the airplane to Nashville. No cars available so just had to fly home.
A lot of posts saying the acoustics were great. I didn't have the same experience in Section 114 (stage right). A lot of guitar parts I couldn't hear at all. Anyone else notice something like this in that area of seats?
Also, why did Ed put on a Bears football jersey? Did someone in the crowd throw it to him?
A lot of posts saying the acoustics were great. I didn't have the same experience in Section 114 (stage right). A lot of guitar parts I couldn't hear at all. Anyone else notice something like this in that area of seats?
Also, why did Ed put on a Bears football jersey? Did someone in the crowd throw it to him?
I was in 114 and thought it was great. I’m sure some guitar parts were drowned out but I enjoyed how high in the mix Jeff was.
A lot of posts saying the acoustics were great. I didn't have the same experience in Section 114 (stage right). A lot of guitar parts I couldn't hear at all. Anyone else notice something like this in that area of seats?
Also, why did Ed put on a Bears football jersey? Did someone in the crowd throw it to him?
It’s Walter Payton’s jersey. He’s worn it before and Ed said last night it was Payton’s birthday (he passed away years ago).
1996: Randall's Island 2 1998: East Rutherford | MSG 1 & 2 2000: Cincinnati | Columbus | Jones Beach 1, 2, & 3 | Boston 1 | Camden 1 & 2 2003: Philadelphia | Uniondale | MSG 1 & 2 | Holmdel 2005: Atlantic City 1 2006: Camden 1 | East Rutherford 1 & 2 2008: Camden 1 & 2 | MSG 1 & 2 | Newark (EV) 2009: Philadelphia 1, 2 & 4 2010: Newark | MSG 1 & 2 2011: Toronto 1 2013: Wrigley Field | Brooklyn 2 | Philadelphia 1 & 2 | Baltimore 2015: Central Park 2016: Philadelphia 1 & 2 | MSG 1 & 2 | Fenway Park 2 | MSG (TOTD) 2017: Brooklyn (RnR HOF) 2020: MSG | Asbury Park2021: Asbury Park 2022: MSG | Camden | Nashville 2024: MSG 1 & 2 (#50) | Philadelphia 1 & 2 | Baltimore 2025: Raleigh
Eddie 1st words were helloo Smashville! Crowd was bonkers and thought they wasted that a little with the setlist but great energy. I was in 114 and there were def a few sounds issues - like way too many, mostly Mike's guitar goin out but some feedback here and there and real muddy base on occasion - when the technical issues weren't popping up they sounded great as usual. Total side note and not sure who watches the show, but Mike and Jersey Pete from American Pickers were to the side stage and went back with the band when they were done.
As a Deputy Principal, any time my staff need a day off to see a concert, let them go. And if its Pearl Jam, let them have two! Of course, this is Australia!
As a Deputy Principal, any time my staff need a day off to see a concert, let them go. And if its Pearl Jam, let them have two! Of course, this is Australia!
I was in 115. If my math is correct, I was right next to 114. I thought the sound was great overall, but a few songs sounded muddy. I couldn’t hear a lot of the little guitar licks in Spin the Black Circle.
It was muddy because they’re down tuned. But I don’t think they need to down tune as many songs as they have been. Eddie sounds incredible, and he’s singing those songs at the same octave for the most part.
2003: Uniondale, MSG x2 | 2004: Reading | 2005: Gorge, Vancouver, Philly | 2006: East Rutherford x2, Gorge x2, Camden 1, Hartford | 2008: MSG x2, VA Beach | 2009: Philly x3 | 2010: MSG x2, Bristow | 2011: Alpine Valley x2 | 2012: MIA Philly | 2013: Wrigley, Charlottesville, Brooklyn 2 | 2014: Milan, Amsterdam 1 | 2016: MSG x2, Fenway x2, Wrigley 2 | 2018: Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Wrigley 2 | 2021: Sea Hear Now | 2022: San Diego, LA x2, MSG, Camden, Nashville, St. Louis, Denver | 2023: St. Paul 1, Chicago x2, Fort Worth x2, Austin 2 | 2024: Las Vegas 1, Seattle x2, Indy, MSG x2, Philly x2, Baltimore, Ohana 2
Comments
Gotta love music-loving & tour-respecting bosses!
Traveling to shows always had their own special elements. Nashville was a lot of fun. So many Pearl Jam shirts and the uniqueness of the atmosphere on the street.
I am still floored with the merch. I have not seen anything like it. What happened? Being in downtown? Were the items that good? I do love the Nashville logo.
Really good times overall. Never regret traveling to one of these.
Way back in 2013, at what turned out to be one of my most favorite shows of PJ ever in Charlottesville, I realized while waiting for PJ to hit the stage that it was 20 yrs almost to the day of my 1st show ever in '93. And they gave me one HELL of a showversary, incredible show!
Glad you had a great time!
Anyone know much about that LP Ed had? Was it really used by Pete Townsend? And what’s with the middle pickup and extra switches? Does each pickup just have an on-off switch?
2014 Memphis, 2022 Nashville
While some people may say there weren't a lot of rarities, the set list worked.
Highlights were:
Loved Who Ever Said. Go was just awesome and unexpected. I think the definition of "rarities" is going to change now with the shorter setlists. Go, STBC, etc... are going to become rarities.
I wish I could go to Louisville (had a ticket) but my dumbass forgot to rent a car from Nashville and realized it before getting on the airplane to Nashville. No cars available so just had to fly home.
Melbourne #2 '03
Melbourne #3 '03
Melbourne #1 '06
Melbourne #3 '06
Melbourne '09
Melbourne '14
Portland 2000
Portland 2013
Seattle I and II 2018
Oakland I and II 2020 2022
Nashvegas 2022