The Official “I went to __ shows this year and I can’t believe it’s over”

RatherStarved

19 (6 in May, 3 in July, 10 in Sept.). 

Crazy year.  If I could do it again I’d have stopped at 5 in May and 8 in Sept.  

Highlights for me were LA2, London, Hamilton, MSG and Louisville.  

mpedone

2, but should have been 4. It's been over for me since the positive Covid result. Happy to have gotten to see Hamilton and Toronto, though, and to explore Toronto for a week.

PJNB

Thats an amazing run man.

We were supposed to do 12 shows this year but had 5 in a row cancelled so "only" got to do 7. That seems so long ago now.

My highlights were seeing Dave play most of Ten in Frenso, Amsterdam actually happening and my wife getting HTI, front row dead centre for Ottawa and having such a great show there, Hamilton's whole set (it just kept giving I felt), Toronto's main set plus Light Years for Gord, MSG's first set plus the energy of the crowd. Also them starting with stools made the sets so much more varied and we got some amazing gems so early in the set. Otherside in Quebec so early was insane.  

One of the negatives is hearing Purple Rain 4 times out of 7 shows. It is an ok cover. Not 4 out of 7 shows ok though imo. That and most of the shows I saw the encore was the most predictable and weaker part of the show. Maybe not for most fans at the venue but that was my take. If you look at Camden's encore it really elevated that show after a fantastic opening set. Hamilton as well. Just a bit more variety and length in there would go a long way. Also if there is a curfew or an end time why go out at 9:05pm and cut songs out of the encore on an already shortened set? Toronto suffered from this and actually had an anti-climatic end with the confusion of Leash starting and stopping and Stone going into Alive.  

Enough with the negatives. When I look back at my highlights hearing HTI in Amsterdam and the crowd at MSG stand out the most to me. That and how well the band sounded and performed at every show I was at. These shorter sets really worried me back in May but having seen 7 shows this year I am itching for more now and can't wait to see what 2023 brings. 

2-feign-reluctance

One & it was AMAZING!! ❤️

JimmyV

Two, Ottawa and MSG. 

Ottawa will go down as one of the most fun shows I've ever attended. Our first in four years. It felt so good. Every sing-along was magic. We stayed downtown in the same hotel as the band and had a blast. 

MSG was an experience that I'm glad I've had, but I won't go overboard trying to get back there. Crowd was killer, show was good, venue was historic, but the city was a mess. 

We are definitely hoping to hit more in 2023. Pray for summer! May and September are tough months at work. 

pjhawks

2, Camden and Nashville.  Both great shows and great crowds. Loved every minute of it.   Can't wait until the next shows hopefully next year.

JojoRice

4. LA1, LA2, MSG, Nashville.  It could have been 5 but the new StL date didn't work for me.  Looking forward to next year already!

bazfromoz

Zero because the band refuses to go anywhere near Australia 

OceansJenny

JimmyV said:

Two, Ottawa and MSG. 

Ottawa will go down as one of the most fun shows I've ever attended. Our first in four years. It felt so good. Every sing-along was magic. We stayed downtown in the same hotel as the band and had a blast. 

MSG was an experience that I'm glad I've had, but I won't go overboard trying to get back there. Crowd was killer, show was good, venue was historic, but the city was a mess. 

We are definitely hoping to hit more in 2023. Pray for summer! May and September are tough months at work. 

NYC did you dirty? What happened?

StardogChamp79

3- Apollo, MSG, Louisville. I am hoping for some midwest shows soon! But the band hates the cold (but who doesn’t) and it’s supposed to snow next week in WI. So spring maybe?😉

JimmyV

OceansJenny said:

JimmyV said:

Two, Ottawa and MSG. 

Ottawa will go down as one of the most fun shows I've ever attended. Our first in four years. It felt so good. Every sing-along was magic. We stayed downtown in the same hotel as the band and had a blast. 

MSG was an experience that I'm glad I've had, but I won't go overboard trying to get back there. Crowd was killer, show was good, venue was historic, but the city was a mess. 

We are definitely hoping to hit more in 2023. Pray for summer! May and September are tough months at work. 

NYC did you dirty? What happened?

Just a masshole out of his element. All the construction around MSG, the traffic, the smells... NYC just isn't for me.

drfox

5 (Berlin, Zurich, London 1/2, Amsterdam) but should have been 7.

Highlights for me were
1) Seeing the band walk onstage at Berlin after a 2 year wait. I worried at times whether I would ever get to see them play again due to covid. And what a venue to see them play!
2) Same as PJNB, getting to hear Hard to Imagine at Amsterdam which was my grail song. Generally that gig was fairly special for me, especially after the disappointment of Prague and the previous day at Amsterdam. Was on a real low before the show
3) Catching up with friends and meeting in person lots of fans I’ve been speaking to over the last few years 
4) Watching the band on two consecutive nights at my home town in London and only having two repeated songs (despite the relative lack of rarities)

tempo_n_groove

JimmyV said:

OceansJenny said:

JimmyV said:

Two, Ottawa and MSG. 

Ottawa will go down as one of the most fun shows I've ever attended. Our first in four years. It felt so good. Every sing-along was magic. We stayed downtown in the same hotel as the band and had a blast. 

MSG was an experience that I'm glad I've had, but I won't go overboard trying to get back there. Crowd was killer, show was good, venue was historic, but the city was a mess. 

We are definitely hoping to hit more in 2023. Pray for summer! May and September are tough months at work. 

NYC did you dirty? What happened?

Just a masshole out of his element. All the construction around MSG, the traffic, the smells... NYC just isn't for me.

NYC isn't for people who live there either anymore, lol.  You aren't alone, I think the place is a dump.

mpedone

Highlight for me this year was saying that I wanted to hear either Dissident or RVM, and then getting BOTH in Toronto. That, and seeing the pit/crowd in Hamilton go absolutely nuts at the start of the chorus to Given to Fly.

tempo_n_groove

2 only.  Should have been 3 but Baltimore was cancelled.

MSG was a lot of fun.

Hopefully next tour the flow will be a little better and I can make some more shows or I'm looking at midwest stuff...

F Me In The Brain

Midtown is the worst of it.  Tough to base opinion of NYC on Midtown but I get it.

tempo_n_groove

RatherStarved said:

19 (6 in May, 3 in July, 10 in Sept.). 

Crazy year.  If I could do it again I’d have stopped at 5 in May and 8 in Sept.  

Highlights for me were LA2, London, Hamilton, MSG and Louisville.  

You only missed 3 shows I think? Ahhh I wish I was independently wealthy, lol!

No Oakland or Camden?  Those seem to rank up there too.

danofun

tempo_n_groove said:

JimmyV said:

OceansJenny said:

JimmyV said:

Two, Ottawa and MSG. 

Ottawa will go down as one of the most fun shows I've ever attended. Our first in four years. It felt so good. Every sing-along was magic. We stayed downtown in the same hotel as the band and had a blast. 

MSG was an experience that I'm glad I've had, but I won't go overboard trying to get back there. Crowd was killer, show was good, venue was historic, but the city was a mess. 

We are definitely hoping to hit more in 2023. Pray for summer! May and September are tough months at work. 

NYC did you dirty? What happened?

Just a masshole out of his element. All the construction around MSG, the traffic, the smells... NYC just isn't for me.

NYC isn't for people who live there either anymore, lol.  You aren't alone, I think the place is a dump.

The world has changed. The city has changed. However, still lots of great places to explore. Spend as little time in midtown as possible. Friends don't let friends hang out in midtown...

JimmyV

danofun said:

tempo_n_groove said:

JimmyV said:

OceansJenny said:

JimmyV said:

Two, Ottawa and MSG. 

Ottawa will go down as one of the most fun shows I've ever attended. Our first in four years. It felt so good. Every sing-along was magic. We stayed downtown in the same hotel as the band and had a blast. 

MSG was an experience that I'm glad I've had, but I won't go overboard trying to get back there. Crowd was killer, show was good, venue was historic, but the city was a mess. 

We are definitely hoping to hit more in 2023. Pray for summer! May and September are tough months at work. 

NYC did you dirty? What happened?

Just a masshole out of his element. All the construction around MSG, the traffic, the smells... NYC just isn't for me.

NYC isn't for people who live there either anymore, lol.  You aren't alone, I think the place is a dump.

The world has changed. The city has changed. However, still lots of great places to explore. Spend as little time in midtown as possible. Friends don't let friends hang out in midtown...

This was definitely part of it. We took the train down and were there for less than 24 hours, so staying right near MSG made sense. 

JeBurkhardt

7- Both London shows (as part of a wedding anniversary trip), Hamilton, Toronto, Nashville, STL and OKC. As much fun as I had, I am travelled out. I drove to all of the shows except London (obviously) and OKC, and stayed at reasonably priced places (except Nashville), so travelling cost was lower then flying everywhere, but I can't see doing this again. If they schedule a show in Chicago, Indy, St Louis or Cincinnati, I will look at those, but beyond that probably not. 

StardogChamp79

The real problem at MSG was all those feathers from The Mr. Styles show. That can’t be good for the sewers of NYC and especially the environment. It was like 10,000 multicolored chickens were running around the joint!

steven87

4 for me- Ottawa, Apollo, msg, and Camden. Band sounded fantastic at each show and I got a lot of variety in terms of setlists. I really enjoyed the seated openings, as I felt they really contributed to the diversity of the setlists and gave the band an opportunity to showcase some songs that they don’t normally play, and I hope they continue with that going forward. Highlights for me were as follows:

Ottawa- finally getting of the girl after all these years (binaural is my favorite album); seated garden and NAIS were fantastic; great versions of throw your hatred down, immortality, and fuckin’ up. 

Apollo- I was in the first row and got a pick from Ed and later got to strum Mike’s guitar- so there’s no way I’m ever going to top that experience; also, I loved the opening sequence- sleight of hand is my favorite PJ song, and footsteps, parachutes, and HTI are also among my favorites, so that seated set was like a dream come true for me; was also really happy to hear STBC and whipping; crowd breaking out into daughter during the PA issues was a great moment; it was also just really cool getting to see them in such an intimate space- definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

MSG- possibly the best energy I’ve ever seen from a crowd at a PJ show; best version of release I’ve seen; was great to hear comeback for the first time in a long time; the transition from present tense into porch was epic; best part of the show IMO was the run at the end of the main set from Chloe dancer-RVM. 

Canden- best setlist I’ve seen in a long time; amazing opening with wash, oceans, and HTI; was really happy to hear deep, untitled/MFC, and NFY; but for me what separated this show from some of the others was the encore- just when I was expecting the usual small town/last kiss, better man/black, alive run, they blew me away! What a show!

Also, in all my years of seeing the band, I had the best time I’ve ever had on the current tour. And not just at the shows, but also getting to meet so many awesome people at the pre-parties, merch lines, etc. Can’t wait to do it again!

CROJAM95

6

SD/LA1/LA2/APOLLO/MSG/CAMDEN

So memorable and exciting, had 3 GA experiences , Apollo I found out night before I was someones plus 1, Camden I upgraded to 2nd Row in section 104 while I was waiting in Harlem for my Ticket partner ( talk about a lucky day).....LA2 Had flor behind GA

Felt like I was VIP each show....had no GA's, the Cali ones were upgrades day of, MSG was a fellow fan couldnt make it....thanks to all who made this possible.

Did Sea Hear Now & Both Ohanas in 2021.....its really been magic, looking forward to new music & more shows.

Get_Right

1 Camden. Two kids in high school and a boys weekend in Austin next month means I could not chase the band like I used to.  Had a blast following all the shows.

stuckinline

1 Nashville. 

LaFleur

3 great shows, all great spots (Ottawa 5th row Stone's side stage, Hamilton GA , Toronto GA ). Unfortunately somewhat marred by getting pretty sick with COVID afterwards - still feeling it.  I blame Stone - my wife got it after Ottawa and am sure no coincidence Stone wearing the mask a couple weeks after Ottawa (JK, obviously).  I felt fine until after Toronto, then went downhill.    

Got good variety in the three setlists, heard most of Gigaton (missed Take the Long Way, Buckle Up and the maybe never to be played Comes then Goes).  I would have liked to have heard Buckle Up tbh.  

Looking forward to the next run, whenever that might be. 

HailHailVitalogy

8 - SD, LA x 2, MSG, Camden, Nash, STL, Denver

Completely blown away this tour about how good they sound. After SD and LA, I thought “meh, maybe they’re getting too old”….but man they were just warming up! Set lists got so good for this last leg. And again, blown away by how good Ed sounds, best since 2010.
MSG was the best energy/crowd I’ve ever been a part of. Camden was one of the best sets start to finish I’ve ever seen them play…..and it’s 2022.
The MSG/Camden/Nashville run had 56 different songs played.

To those bashing NYC - get the fuck out of midtown/Times Square/hells kitchen. Go to Greenwich, SoHo, Little Italy, East Village, Upper West and East Sides, and parts of Brooklyn are still as amazing as ever. 

RatherStarved

tempo_n_groove said:

RatherStarved said:

19 (6 in May, 3 in July, 10 in Sept.). 

Crazy year.  If I could do it again I’d have stopped at 5 in May and 8 in Sept.  

Highlights for me were LA2, London, Hamilton, MSG and Louisville.  

You only missed 3 shows I think? Ahhh I wish I was independently wealthy, lol!

No Oakland or Camden?  Those seem to rank up there too.

Oak and Cam were good as well.  But everything can’t be a highlight.

I’m a working stiff like everyone else.  Just used my vacation time for the shows and had travel credits and points and found some decent hotel and Airbnb pricing to make the economics work.  It helped that many of the show tickets were paid for in 2020.  

I should add as highlights the people that I met and became friends with.  They know who they are.  

ddeschler

5, in order of enjoyment, most to slightly less most: Amsterdam, LA2, StL, Phx, Nashville.

tempo_n_groove

RatherStarved said:

tempo_n_groove said:

RatherStarved said:

19 (6 in May, 3 in July, 10 in Sept.). 

Crazy year.  If I could do it again I’d have stopped at 5 in May and 8 in Sept.  

Highlights for me were LA2, London, Hamilton, MSG and Louisville.  

You only missed 3 shows I think? Ahhh I wish I was independently wealthy, lol!

No Oakland or Camden?  Those seem to rank up there too.

Oak and Cam were good as well.  But everything can’t be a highlight.

I’m a working stiff like everyone else.  Just used my vacation time for the shows and had travel credits and points and found some decent hotel and Airbnb pricing to make the economics work.  It helped that many of the show tickets were paid for in 2020.  

I should add as highlights the people that I met and became friends with.  They know who they are.  

Very nice.  You went to so many I'd love to hear your top 5 and why.  Oak and Camden not being on there peaked my interest.

A Compliment For Us

3 - Nashville, St. Louis, and OKC.  Baltimore would have made 4.  Missed out on being ticket buddies for Nashville RatherStarved.  

Enjoyed every show and 3 shows in 5 nights was incredible.  It had been six years since I last saw 'em live and that was way too long.
These marked shows 15-17 for me.  Took me 16 shows to finally here Once live in STL and complete Ten for me so that was cool.  As was hearing Of The Girl to open things off.  I stupidly missed '04 show in STL and missed Alone but finally got it in OKC, which may be my biggest highlight.  Glad to get a decent number of Gigaton songs as well.  Going through tour withdrawal and bummed to be missing out on Denver.

Also catching both SOLAT and Breath in STL on Singles 30th Anniversary was neat.  Especially with my handle.