Old quotes from Mike
I've been going back over old newspaper and magazine clippings and came across a 2016 Rolling Stone article about Pearl Jam "On the Road." It talks about the April 16, 2016, show where they played Vs. straight through. Anyway, here are some quotes from Mike that are fun to read in retrospect (from the May 9, 2016, issue with Prince on the cover):
On playing Vs. straight through:
"[Ed] said, 'It's Record Store Day, so let's do a record. It was cool to see fans' eyes light up when they realized what was happening."
On three-hour sets:
"Before the tour, we had a meeting where we said, 'We're all getting a bit older. Let's think about cutting the set down a bit.' There's definitely times I'd rather play for two hours, but Ed always gets into it, and we follow his lead."
On the band's 25th anniversary:
"Ed cares about the legacy. But I feel like we covered it in the 20th [anniversary]."
On cancelling a show in North Carolina to protest the state's "bathroom bill":
"There were drawn-out meetings over a period of days. We wanted to play, but we felt we needed to support people that don't have a voice. We felt like it was morally right to boycott the state."
On the follow-up to Lightning Bolt:
"We're all working on songs for it, but I'm not sure when we're going to record."
On future touring:
"I'd love to do a residency where we play every record. I mean the B sides too, one record a night. It would be so cool."
On playing Vs. straight through:
"[Ed] said, 'It's Record Store Day, so let's do a record. It was cool to see fans' eyes light up when they realized what was happening."
On three-hour sets:
"Before the tour, we had a meeting where we said, 'We're all getting a bit older. Let's think about cutting the set down a bit.' There's definitely times I'd rather play for two hours, but Ed always gets into it, and we follow his lead."
On the band's 25th anniversary:
"Ed cares about the legacy. But I feel like we covered it in the 20th [anniversary]."
On cancelling a show in North Carolina to protest the state's "bathroom bill":
"There were drawn-out meetings over a period of days. We wanted to play, but we felt we needed to support people that don't have a voice. We felt like it was morally right to boycott the state."
On the follow-up to Lightning Bolt:
"We're all working on songs for it, but I'm not sure when we're going to record."
On future touring:
"I'd love to do a residency where we play every record. I mean the B sides too, one record a night. It would be so cool."
I gather speed from you fucking with me.
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Comments
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
Plus, if you're going to do it, take the time so that you really do it right. Listening to the Moline show recently, they didn't really play "I'm Open." Eddie just repeated "I'm open/Come in" a bunch of times. The verses were completely missing in action.
Me:"hey Mike, great setlist"
Mike:"I had nothing to do with it"
Me:"well.....great.... job....playing... setlist"
Something dumb like that.
I should have just asked him for picks!