You would not have even noticed anything was tuned down a half-step if it wasn't marked on the setlist. Nirvana tuned EVERYTHING down a half-step. Most songs sound better that way simply because standard tuning is so overused, your ears and brain have fatigue from it.
Been working on this the past two days. I know we all get caught up ranking shows and chasing songs, but after 47 I wanted to try. I think Eddie sounded his best this tour since 2010. When ranking I consider performance, crowd, setlist, venue, occasion, etc. I’ve also considered show length specifically to this past tour. Bottom of the list is specifically due to energy from the crowd.
MSG 2 2010
Gorge 2005
Philly 3 2009
MSG 2022 (maybe some recency bias, if anything drop to 6)
MSG 2 2003 (still better than the DVD night)
MSG 1 2003
Krakow 2018
Camden 2022 (old school PJ night)
Philly 4 2009
Charlottesville 2013 (was completely surprised)
Berlin 2018
East Rutherford 2 2006
MSG 1 2016 (best main set out of all these shows I’ve seen)
Brooklyn 2 2013 (got second row, and met Rodman)
Reading 2004 (most underrated show, crowd was wild - best Half Full and Insignificance)
Fenway 2 2016
Gorge 1 2006
Wrigley 2013
Wachovia 2005 (terrible seats, wish it was higher)
MSG 1 2010
Fenway 1 2016
Rome 2018
Nashville 2022 (setlist and acoustics)
Milan 2014
Amsterdam 1 2014
Gorge 2 2006
Camden 1 2006 (when the leash got dropped, and Blood will forever be a memory)
Uniondale 2003 (my first show)
MSG 2 2008
Wrigley 2 2016
Vancouver 2005
MSG 1 2008
LA 2 2022
PJ20 2 2011 (had lawn 10c seats, Cornell)
STL 2022 (surpassed expectations for the 3rd night in a row, good crowd but short set)
East Rutherford 1 2006
Philly 1 2009
PJ20 1 2011
Wrigley 2 2018 (Ed did not sound great IMO)
Denver 2022 (dead crowd, was expecting more for the last night but it’s always the second to last night that’s better)
LA 1 2022
MIA 2012
Hartford 2006
San Diego 2022
Bristow 2010
Virginia Beach 2008
Sea Hear Now 2021 (bad crowd, band was shaking off the rust)
I wish I saw more 2010 and 2003 shows. 2010 probably my favorite tour to go back to bootlegs. 2003 right there. Wish I got any show on the Italian run in 2006.
2022: STOP DOWN TUNING SO MUCH. Yes some songs do need it, but most of them do not. Eddie is still singing some of those down tuned songs the same as he always has: Go, Last Exit, Animal, Save You, Faithful, Whoever Said, Rats. That said; Breath, Garden, HTI, Porch, RVM, and Once all sounded good for him down half a step.
Here’s to 50 in 2023 🥂
Impressive work, 18 overlaps out of my 45 shows including 3 of your top 4
'95 1/15 DC '98 6/14 DC; 9/18 Columbia '03 5/2 Buffalo; 7/1 Bristow; 7/5 Camden '04 10/1 Reading; 10/11 DC '06 5/27 Camden; 5/28 Camden; 5/30 DC '08 6/22 DC; 6/24 MSG; 6/25 MSG '09 10/30 Spectrum '10 5/21 MSG '11 9/3 Alpine Valley; 9/4 Alpine Valley '13 7/19 Wrigley; 10/18 Brooklyn; 10/19 Brooklyn; 10/27 Baltimore; 10/29 Charlottesville; 11/21 San Diego; 11/23 LA '14 10/5 ACL Austin; 10/12 ACL Austin '16 4/18 Hampton; 4/28 Philly; 4/29 Philly; May 1 MSG; May 2 MSG; 8/5 Fenway; 8/7 Fenway
2. Pittsburgh 2013 (some extreme bias here because I got rail and a tambourine. Also, the #1 and #2 songs I wanted to hear were Of the Girl and Footsteps, they played them both.)
3. Philly 2 2016
4. Wrigley 1 2018
5. Cleveland 2010
6. Camden 2022
7. Wrigley 2 2018
8. Nashville 2022 (also some bias here because of the adventure I had, decided to go to this show at the very last second)
9. Baltimore 2013
10. Philly 1 2016
11. Sea. Hear. Now 2021
12. Philly 1 2009 (my first show, a lot of the deep cuts went over my head)
13. Music Midtown Atlanta 2012
Not nearly as many as some others in this thread but I feel extremely lucky with how many top tier shows I’ve been able to attend.
You would not have even noticed anything was tuned down a half-step if it wasn't marked on the setlist. Nirvana tuned EVERYTHING down a half-step. Most songs sound better that way simply because standard tuning is so overused, your ears and brain have fatigue from it.
Completely false assumption. I noticed it right away. I’m complimenting Ed by saying some of them don’t need it.
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
You would not have even noticed anything was tuned down a half-step if it wasn't marked on the setlist. Nirvana tuned EVERYTHING down a half-step. Most songs sound better that way simply because standard tuning is so overused, your ears and brain have fatigue from it.
Didn’t Nirvana not want to tune/switch their guitars live so they just played everything in a standard tuning? Regardless of the album tuning.
DC '03 - Reading '04 - Philly '05 - Camden 1 '06 - DC '06 - E. Rutherford '06 - The Vic '07 - Lollapalooza '07 - DC '08 - EV DC 1 & 2 '08 (Met Ed!!) - EV Baltimore 1 & 2 '09 - EV NYC 1 '11 (Met Ed!) - Hartford '13 - GCF '15 - MSG 2 '16 - TOTD MSG '16 - Boston 1 & 2 '18 - SHN '21 - EV NYC 1 & 2 '22 - MSG '22
I’d give some love to Sea Hear Now 2021 only because it was the first show since before times and just being there was an incredible experience.
I had a great time at SHN. After a 3 year draught of PJ shows it was great to be back. Plus 7 of the Gigaton shows live debut - first new music in 8 years (excluding Can’t Deny Me) - can’t complain! It was a nice day out and the band was into it.
DC '03 - Reading '04 - Philly '05 - Camden 1 '06 - DC '06 - E. Rutherford '06 - The Vic '07 - Lollapalooza '07 - DC '08 - EV DC 1 & 2 '08 (Met Ed!!) - EV Baltimore 1 & 2 '09 - EV NYC 1 '11 (Met Ed!) - Hartford '13 - GCF '15 - MSG 2 '16 - TOTD MSG '16 - Boston 1 & 2 '18 - SHN '21 - EV NYC 1 & 2 '22 - MSG '22
Add me to the list, SHN was great. First show after such a long time, I cried like a baby during Wishlist. Loved the setting so much more than I thought I would.
I thought shn was good, not great. They definitely misread the crowd, could have used more hits and less gigaton in that type of atmosphere. That place was ready to explode! Open with release, corduroy, go….they open with dotc. The crowd was dead.
I thought shn was good, not great. They definitely misread the crowd, could have used more hits and less gigaton in that type of atmosphere. That place was ready to explode! Open with release, corduroy, go….they open with dotc. The crowd was dead.
Yep, they needed to start with Release. If there was ever a time that would have been it.
I thought shn was good, not great. They definitely misread the crowd, could have used more hits and less gigaton in that type of atmosphere. That place was ready to explode! Open with release, corduroy, go….they open with dotc. The crowd was dead.
So happy I went to the black Crowes that night at PNC.
Marquee 91 Wetlands 91 CBGB 91 Roseland 91 and many, many more
I thought shn was good, not great. They definitely misread the crowd, could have used more hits and less gigaton in that type of atmosphere. That place was ready to explode! Open with release, corduroy, go….they open with dotc. The crowd was dead.
That is exactly why I liked it. They opened with the songs they have been waiting to play for so long. Enough classics mixed in. Plus I was just happy to be on a beach, toes in the sand, surf crashing, drink in hand, listening to live Pearl Jam. Cannot ask for much more.They could have played mary had a little lamb I probably would have been happy. And I am generally a setlist snob. My expectations go way down for festivals.
I thought shn was good, not great. They definitely misread the crowd, could have used more hits and less gigaton in that type of atmosphere. That place was ready to explode! Open with release, corduroy, go….they open with dotc. The crowd was dead.
Been working on this the past two days. I know we all get caught up ranking shows and chasing songs, but after 47 I wanted to try. I think Eddie sounded his best this tour since 2010. When ranking I consider performance, crowd, setlist, venue, occasion, etc. I’ve also considered show length specifically to this past tour. Bottom of the list is specifically due to energy from the crowd.
MSG 2 2010
Gorge 2005
Philly 3 2009
MSG 2022 (maybe some recency bias, if anything drop to 6)
MSG 2 2003 (still better than the DVD night)
MSG 1 2003
Krakow 2018
Camden 2022 (old school PJ night)
Philly 4 2009
Charlottesville 2013 (was completely surprised)
Berlin 2018
East Rutherford 2 2006
MSG 1 2016 (best main set out of all these shows I’ve seen)
Brooklyn 2 2013 (got second row, and met Rodman)
Reading 2004 (most underrated show, crowd was wild - best Half Full and Insignificance)
Fenway 2 2016
Gorge 1 2006
Wrigley 2013
Wachovia 2005 (terrible seats, wish it was higher)
MSG 1 2010
Fenway 1 2016
Rome 2018
Nashville 2022 (setlist and acoustics)
Milan 2014
Amsterdam 1 2014
Gorge 2 2006
Camden 1 2006 (when the leash got dropped, and Blood will forever be a memory)
Uniondale 2003 (my first show)
MSG 2 2008
Wrigley 2 2016
Vancouver 2005
MSG 1 2008
LA 2 2022
PJ20 2 2011 (had lawn 10c seats, Cornell)
STL 2022 (surpassed expectations for the 3rd night in a row, good crowd but short set)
East Rutherford 1 2006
Philly 1 2009
PJ20 1 2011
Wrigley 2 2018 (Ed did not sound great IMO)
Denver 2022 (dead crowd, was expecting more for the last night but it’s always the second to last night that’s better)
LA 1 2022
MIA 2012
Hartford 2006
San Diego 2022
Bristow 2010
Virginia Beach 2008
Sea Hear Now 2021 (bad crowd, band was shaking off the rust)
I wish I saw more 2010 and 2003 shows. 2010 probably my favorite tour to go back to bootlegs. 2003 right there. Wish I got any show on the Italian run in 2006.
2022: STOP DOWN TUNING SO MUCH. Yes some songs do need it, but most of them do not. Eddie is still singing some of those down tuned songs the same as he always has: Go, Last Exit, Animal, Save You, Faithful, Whoever Said, Rats. That said; Breath, Garden, HTI, Porch, RVM, and Once all sounded good for him down half a step.
Here’s to 50 in 2023 🥂
25 overlaps. 7 out of your top 10.
Question:
why is Rome 2018 so low for you? Its pretty high for me.
Nice job ranking your shows.
Also goes to show, that circumstance’s always matter at a show. That includes you yourself, and general state of mind and being at the time and your environment and immediate surroundings etc.
My buddy had the worst time at the Ten philly show bc the dude next to him was wasted and kept falling into him.
I thought shn was good, not great. They definitely misread the crowd, could have used more hits and less gigaton in that type of atmosphere. That place was ready to explode! Open with release, corduroy, go….they open with dotc. The crowd was dead.
I get what you are saying but after Covid it was more about just being there than the songs. It was a beautiful day, great setting and getting to see Pearl Jam was so meaningful. I had tears at the beginning as was just so happy to be there. I agree the beginning Gigaton songs was a bit odd but think it ended up being a really good show for a festival. It will probably be remembered more for the moment in time and the atmosphere but to me still really good show. My expectations for a festival are always lower than a regular show so no surprise it didn’t compare to Camden and Nashville I just saw
MSG 22 was more of a greatest hits show than SHN… and SHN was the festival! I had more fun at SHN. Hubs had more fun at MSG. Like foriginalsin mentioned, it’s all about the circumstances. I was still trying to shake off Apollo disappointment and MSG setlist was ok in my book, not great. Camden through OKC setlists all looked more like my jam. Energy at MSG was amazing and that was definitely the best part.
DC '03 - Reading '04 - Philly '05 - Camden 1 '06 - DC '06 - E. Rutherford '06 - The Vic '07 - Lollapalooza '07 - DC '08 - EV DC 1 & 2 '08 (Met Ed!!) - EV Baltimore 1 & 2 '09 - EV NYC 1 '11 (Met Ed!) - Hartford '13 - GCF '15 - MSG 2 '16 - TOTD MSG '16 - Boston 1 & 2 '18 - SHN '21 - EV NYC 1 & 2 '22 - MSG '22
why is Rome 2018 so low for you? Its pretty high for me.
Nice job ranking your shows.
Also goes to show, that circumstance’s always matter at a show. That includes you yourself, and general state of mind and being at the time and your environment and immediate surroundings etc.
My buddy had the worst time at the Ten philly show bc the dude next to him was wasted and kept falling into him.
Because those 21 ahead of it were incredible haha, hard to bump any of them down. Rome was great, had GA and loved the end of the main set. Eddie was definitely not himself though. I’m biased towards arenas and smaller venues too. Fenway 2 2016 was a beast though.
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
MSG 22 was more of a greatest hits show than SHN… and SHN was the festival! I had more fun at SHN. Hubs had more fun at MSG. Like foriginalsin mentioned, it’s all about the circumstances. I was still trying to shake off Apollo disappointment and MSG setlist was ok in my book, not great. Camden through OKC setlists all looked more like my jam. Energy at MSG was amazing and that was definitely the best part.
MSG setlist was definitely not as strong as other 2022 shows, but that’s what blew my mind. That’s the exact setlist I would have complained about. But that fucking venue with that fucking crowd floored me. It shut me up real quick. I hadn’t experienced a crowd like that maybe ever…MSG 2 2010 is the only challenger of the shows I’ve seen and that’s why it’s number 1 along with that setlist. Gorge was pure setlist and venue. Philly 3, same as MSG 2010…setlist and crowd on a Friday night. Camden was the absolute perfect set after MSG
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
"40. Denver 2022 (dead crowd, was expecting more for the last night but it’s always the second to last night that’s better)"
I felt the crowd was dead for Denver 2014 as well. It was also the final show of that tour. Maybe the crowd got worn out with a 38 song setlist that night.
You would not have even noticed anything was tuned down a half-step if it wasn't marked on the setlist. Nirvana tuned EVERYTHING down a half-step. Most songs sound better that way simply because standard tuning is so overused, your ears and brain have fatigue from it.
Didn’t Nirvana not want to tune/switch their guitars live so they just played everything in a standard tuning? Regardless of the album tuning.
For Nirvana's MTV Unplugged, every song is tuned down 1/2 step. It wasn't because Kurt couldn't hit the notes. Tuning down a 1/2 step from standard tuning just makes everything sound better.
Is PJ tuning down to save Ed's voice? Probably. Does that diminish anything? No. 99+% of people can't tell the difference without directly comparing the two versions back to back.
Dallas 98
Dallas 2000
Kansas City 2000
St. Louis 2000
Memphis 2000
OKC 2003
Dallas 2003
Kansas City 2003
Little Rock 2003
Cincinnati 2006
Vegas 2006
EV Los Angeles 2008 x 2
VH1 Rock Honors the Who 2008 Berlin 2009
Los Angeles 2009 x 4
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien 2009
Los Angeles 2013 x 2
Tulsa 2014
EV Ohana 2016
Ohana 2021 x 4 Los Angeles 2022 x 2
0
on2legs
Standing in the Jersey rain… Posts: 14,933
You would not have even noticed anything was tuned down a half-step if it wasn't marked on the setlist. Nirvana tuned EVERYTHING down a half-step. Most songs sound better that way simply because standard tuning is so overused, your ears and brain have fatigue from it.
Didn’t Nirvana not want to tune/switch their guitars live so they just played everything in a standard tuning? Regardless of the album tuning.
For Nirvana's MTV Unplugged, every song is tuned down 1/2 step. It wasn't because Kurt couldn't hit the notes. Tuning down a 1/2 step from standard tuning just makes everything sound better.
Is PJ tuning down to save Ed's voice? Probably. Does that diminish anything? No. 99+% of people can't tell the difference without directly comparing the two versions back to back.
Thanks for explaining that for us music dummies. Had no idea but it makes sense.
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
Comments
Berlin 2009
Los Angeles 2022 x 2
Impressive work, 18 overlaps out of my 45 shows including 3 of your top 4
'98 6/14 DC; 9/18 Columbia
'03 5/2 Buffalo; 7/1 Bristow; 7/5 Camden
'04 10/1 Reading; 10/11 DC
'06 5/27 Camden; 5/28 Camden; 5/30 DC
'08 6/22 DC; 6/24 MSG; 6/25 MSG
'09 10/30 Spectrum
'10 5/21 MSG
'11 9/3 Alpine Valley; 9/4 Alpine Valley
'13 7/19 Wrigley; 10/18 Brooklyn; 10/19 Brooklyn; 10/27 Baltimore; 10/29 Charlottesville; 11/21 San Diego; 11/23 LA
'14 10/5 ACL Austin; 10/12 ACL Austin
'16 4/18 Hampton; 4/28 Philly; 4/29 Philly; May 1 MSG; May 2 MSG; 8/5 Fenway; 8/7 Fenway
'24 8/29 Wrigley, 8/31 Wrigley, 9/3 MSG, 9/4 MSG
2. Pittsburgh 2013 (some extreme bias here because I got rail and a tambourine. Also, the #1 and #2 songs I wanted to hear were Of the Girl and Footsteps, they played them both.)
3. Philly 2 2016
4. Wrigley 1 2018
5. Cleveland 2010
6. Camden 2022
7. Wrigley 2 2018
8. Nashville 2022 (also some bias here because of the adventure I had, decided to go to this show at the very last second)
9. Baltimore 2013
10. Philly 1 2016
11. Sea. Hear. Now 2021
12. Philly 1 2009 (my first show, a lot of the deep cuts went over my head)
13. Music Midtown Atlanta 2012
Not nearly as many as some others in this thread but I feel extremely lucky with how many top tier shows I’ve been able to attend.
Wetlands 91
CBGB 91
Roseland 91
and many, many more
why is Rome 2018 so low for you? Its pretty high for me.
My buddy had the worst time at the Ten philly show bc the dude next to him was wasted and kept falling into him.
Camden was the absolute perfect set after MSG
"40. Denver 2022 (dead crowd, was expecting more for the last night but it’s always the second to last night that’s better)"
I felt the crowd was dead for Denver 2014 as well. It was also the final show of that tour. Maybe the crowd got worn out with a 38 song setlist that night.
Is PJ tuning down to save Ed's voice? Probably. Does that diminish anything? No. 99+% of people can't tell the difference without directly comparing the two versions back to back.
Berlin 2009
Los Angeles 2022 x 2