For those who have seen Pearl Jam over the years, how did this recent tour match up to the past?

nicknyr15

I can’t stand the screen. I miss seeing them completely surrounded by fans. 

pdalowsky

They sounded incredible on the DM tour, and as many others have said the band seemed to be enjoying it more than ever. 

Definitely got me excited to see them again, and mega eager for the next batch of dates

Spiritual_Chaos

truckin24 said:

I saw 3 shows on the Dark Matter tour, and have missed Pearl Jam on tour for too long before that. For those who saw this tour, and the ones previous, how did the band sound in comparison? Were the shows the same as they were before? Some better, even some worse? The shows I saw were incredible, I can’t imagine them not being in their peak form still.

You have to always be in the... present tense

No way is Eddie not struggling more with the vocals, now than back in e.g. 2007. Which also affects the setlist choices. 

But as long as the band aren't standing up there doing it for an easy paycheck, that doesn't matter. Because you can't rewind time and the effort and ideal is what matters IMO. And, while I loved the 2018 shows I (for some reason) do not need Pearl jam to play for 3+ hours and I also enjoy the idea of an opening band (even though they are more hit and miss for me).

But one thing I think made it better before 2023, was not having the "pointless" screen. I'm cool with PJ experimenting - whether that means green lasers like in 2006, playing in The Hives-esque costumes to support a Rock opera or doing screens for a tour. But not a fan of them adding a "show" to the rocknroll like e.g. Guns n Roses, KISS, Metallica (and even Bruce Springsteen).

Also, it's a tad sad to see the spontaneity disappear a bit with the rigid backbone of songs staying the same even with loosing an hour of playtime. So you just get less "fun stuff". And I am saying that as a non-rare song chaser.

And personally, for me it is tough to top the 2007 tour. Touring Backspacer or Lightning Bolt or Gigaton doesn't beat that short second tour one step removed from Avocado but still with enough of those great songs in the setlist. Every Pearl jam song should have World Wide Suicide on the setlist.

And objectively, from when they became an established Arena act I think the Canadian 2005 tour has been the best. Or maybe the 2003 tour.

Merkin Baller

I can't speak for  the very early days, or '03 - 06, but I caught them in '98, twice in '00, once in '08 & a couple dozen times since 2010. Most shows I saw from 2010 - 2016 were bangers... probably at least 80%. The 2018 Fenway shows and 2023 St Paul shows were great (no such thing as a bad PJ show), but 2024 felt different. I think the Dark Matter songs energized them and they seemed to be having a blast these last 12 months. (Did anyone else notice how animated Stone has been w/ the new material? Especially React Respond, he really seems to enjoy playing that) 

While the "An Evening With Pearl Jam" era will always be the gold standard for me (or at least 2013-2016), I will say Philly 1 last year is tied for my favorite show with Hartford '13 and that Nashville 1 set this year is also a top 10 for me. 

I agree w/ others as far as predictability goes...and to Cincy's point, I wish there were fewer repeats between the two shows, but I'm also of the mindset that they're on the back 9 here, so I'll take what I can get. (an opinion I'm sure most of us share) 

I took a long path to a short answer... the new material seems to have energized the band, and they really seemed to enjoy playing it live. Many have said it already, but it bears repeating... it's a damn shame this is it for the DM tour considering what great form the band is in.

I can't say the DM era will have been their greatest, but it will certainly go down as a bright spot in their history, at least as far as I'm concerned. 

pjl44

Spiritual_Chaos said:

truckin24 said:

I saw 3 shows on the Dark Matter tour, and have missed Pearl Jam on tour for too long before that. For those who saw this tour, and the ones previous, how did the band sound in comparison? Were the shows the same as they were before? Some better, even some worse? The shows I saw were incredible, I can’t imagine them not being in their peak form still.

You have to always be in the... present tense

No way is Eddie not struggling more with the vocals, now than back in e.g. 2007. Which also affects the setlist choices. 

But as long as the band aren't standing up there doing it for an easy paycheck, that doesn't matter. Because you can't rewind time and the effort and ideal is what matters IMO. And, while I loved the 2018 shows I (for some reason) do not need Pearl jam to play for 3+ hours and I also enjoy the idea of an opening band (even though they are more hit and miss for me).

But one thing I think made it better before 2023, was not having the "pointless" screen. I'm cool with PJ experimenting - whether that means green lasers like in 2006, playing in The Hives-esque costumes to support a Rock opera or doing screens for a tour. But not a fan of them adding a "show" to the rocknroll like e.g. Guns n Roses, KISS, Metallica (and even Bruce Springsteen).

Also, it's a tad sad to see the spontaneity disappear a bit with the rigid backbone of songs staying the same even with loosing an hour of playtime. So you just get less "fun stuff". And I am saying that as a non-rare song chaser.

And personally, for me it is tough to top the 2007 tour. Touring Backspacer or Lightning Bolt or Gigaton doesn't beat that short second tour one step removed from Avocado but still with enough of those great songs in the setlist. Every Pearl jam song should have World Wide Suicide on the setlist.

And objectively, from when they became an established Arena act I think the Canadian 2005 tour has been the best. Or maybe the 2003 tour.

The performances have remained great for long, long after but I agree with you that 2003-2006 was the peak. Big tours so you could catch them in cities both medium and large. Ten Club tickets mostly an easy score. Any song was in play any given night. Killer openers. Ed coming out before the opener. Modest ticket prices. I've been seeing them consistently since '96 and I'd put that period up against any other band in the last 30 years.

Gern Blansten

each show is better than the last in my opinion....been saying that for 5-6 years now. They are dialed in

cincybearcat

Merkin Baller said:

I can't speak for  the very early days, or '03 - 06, but I caught them in '98, twice in '00, once in '08 & a couple dozen times since 2010. Most shows I saw from 2010 - 2016 were bangers... probably at least 80%. The 2018 Fenway shows and 2023 St Paul shows were great (no such thing as a bad PJ show), but 2024 felt different. I think the Dark Matter songs energized them and they seemed to be having a blast these last 12 months. (Did anyone else notice how animated Stone has been w/ the new material? Especially React Respond, he really seems to enjoy playing that) 

While the "An Evening With Pearl Jam" era will always be the gold standard for me (or at least 2013-2016), I will say Philly 1 last year is tied for my favorite show with Hartford '13 and that Nashville 1 set this year is also a top 10 for me. 

I agree w/ others as far as predictability goes...and to Cincy's point, I wish there were fewer repeats between the two shows, but I'm also of the mindset that they're on the back 9 here, so I'll take what I can get. (an opinion I'm sure most of us share) 

I took a long path to a short answer... the new material seems to have energized the band, and they really seemed to enjoy playing it live. Many have said it already, but it bears repeating... it's a damn shame this is it for the DM tour considering what great form the band is in.

I can't say the DM era will have been their greatest, but it will certainly go down as a bright spot in their history, at least as far as I'm concerned. 

I like your take.  

And yes it's definitely not all about setlists.  I definitely enjoyed Raleigh 1 and Nashville 1 as much as many and more than most of my Pearl Jam concerts.

Abe Froman

They are still great but it is not the same. I went to Indy last year and it was by far my most disappointing PJ experience in over 30 shows dating back to ‘93. For me the setlists do have a lot to do with. It’s a formula now. Rotate a bunch of hits, 5-6 DM, a bunch of Ten and then sprinkle in a couple more lesser played songs. It just doesn’t have that “anything is on the table” tonight feeling anymore. Which is obviously fine. They still sound great and put on a great show but this is the first tour I literally had zero FOMO about not going. I definitely don’t feel like I need to travel or see multiple shows now. First time I didn’t even think about trying for Wrigley and I’ve been to every stop there so far. If they play two shows in one city there is no fucking way they need to play any repeats. Play 5 DM one night and the other 5 the next. Plenty of hits to change each night. Whether intended or not they are catering more to the casual fan and nostalgia side of things. 

CantKeepmedown

Nothing will top the 2010-2018 run for me just due to how many songs they were playing each night as well as the variance.  But there was no way they could keep that up, covid or no covid. The fact they did it as long as they did is a testament to them. And the downshift is probably the reason they will keep touring into the near future. 

I don't think any of the 5 post covid shows I saw would crack my top 5 but that's OK. I still saw shows with my kids for the first time and had an absolute blast at all 5 of them. Memories forever. 

The DM tour was great and agree with others how much fun the band seemed to be having. But nearly half the set being DM and Ten songs and the encores all being fairly similar do take away some of that "I wonder what they'll break out tonight" that you had during the Backspacer/LB era. I really wish they wouldn't ignore most of Binaural, Riot Act, and Avocado. But they seem to have found a formula that works for them and I think a majority of the audience, if not all, leaves pretty happy each night.  

I'll never stop seeing them as long as they are touring. And they are the only band I'll pay the amount that they are charging. 

Abe Froman

They are ignoring almost 6 albums entirely. I agree about missing when anything was in played .  pjl44 said:

It's pretty crazy when you break down the 21st century albums minus Dark Matter:

There are 6 albums: Binaural, Riot Act, Avocado, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt, Gigaton

6 shows on this leg you got exactly 2 songs total from these albums. (This is even including b-sides from the era like Down.)

2 shows were fewer: 1 at Jazzfest, 0 at Atlanta 2

3 shows were more: 4 at Raleigh 1, 5 at Atlanta 1, 6 at Pittsburgh 1

Whether or not it's deliberate, they're catering to more casual fans. Hit you with the new album and material from the 90s. I very much miss the days where everything was in play.

SomethingCreative

27 shows since 2005.  I felt the Nashville shows were the best I’ve seen since 2016.  Set lists/length aside, 2013.  They are figuring out better balance with the shorter set lengths.  I really do love dark matter, but a non album tour with shorter sets would probably satisfy a lot of fans “needs” given the variety we saw on this leg

drakeheuer14

If Dark Matter wasn’t as good as it is, I think a lot more people, or maybe just me, would have been very critical of these most recent tours. 

But the album is tremendous. They just awkwardly chose Wreckage to be the staple in the set. 

I don’t get tired of the hits because the shows I get to are limited and spaced out by a 1-3 years. 

2013-2016 was magical indeed…

JojoRice

Saw 7 shows on the DM tour. (4 last year and 3 this year.)  I prefer the non album tours more because there tends to be a lot more variety in the setlists.  16', 18', and 23' runs were fun! Hope 26' brings a non album tour. 

Leezestarr313

I am sad that the second encore is missing / the shows are shorter but they seem to have so much fun and sound fantastic. I think Ed sounds so much better than in '16, in particular.

LS164963

From seeing the band pretty consistent throughout their career I will attempt to rank my favorite years. Some early years like 92 it's hard to rank towards the top since I only saw them at Lollapalooza and with only 1 album but the raw power and energy was just amazing to experience. 
Tours/years I've seen shows: 92, 94, 96, 98, 00, 03, 06, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25 (55 total)

My top 10 years are:
1. '94
2. '96
3. '16
4. '13
5. '23
6. '06
7. '98
8. '00
9. '03
10. '18
The rest of the years have been average IMO, nothing really stands out in my mind

PJNB

drakeheuer14 said:

If Dark Matter wasn’t as good as it is, I think a lot more people, or maybe just me, would have been very critical of these most recent tours. 

But the album is tremendous. They just awkwardly chose Wreckage to be the staple in the set. 

I don’t get tired of the hits because the shows I get to are limited and spaced out by a 1-3 years. 

2013-2016 was magical indeed…

Lightning Bolt is no wheres near the album that DM is but its tour had the luxury of 30 plus songs every night. You could hide some of the LB stinkers in there more easily and still have a fantastic set. 

Now with DM we know almost half the set every night. And even more so on N2 at the same city after we see what hits were played. In the past we knew 1/5th of the show. It's crazy how much has changed in 10 years. 

Abe Froman

All you have to do is go back and look at some of those sets from previous years. Those saying the shorter sets are somehow even better now….im sorry but thats gotta be some recency bias because its not even close 

PJNB

Abe Froman said:

All you have to do is go back and look at some of those sets from previous years. Those saying the shorter sets are somehow even better now….im sorry but thats gotta be some recency bias because its not even close 

I think some people argue they prefer quality over quantity. I also think they are exaggerating how bad the quality was when we had the quantity. 

Abe Froman

PJNB said:

Abe Froman said:

All you have to do is go back and look at some of those sets from previous years. Those saying the shorter sets are somehow even better now….im sorry but thats gotta be some recency bias because its not even close 

I think some people argue they prefer quality over quantity. I also think they are exaggerating how bad the quality was when we had the quantity. 

Maybe. And some songs are definitely tighter because they are playing them every night but I didn’t feel like they put on some way better performance the last couple years. I enjoyed pre Covid shows way more 

nicknyr15

PJNB said:

Abe Froman said:

All you have to do is go back and look at some of those sets from previous years. Those saying the shorter sets are somehow even better now….im sorry but thats gotta be some recency bias because its not even close 

I think some people argue they prefer quality over quantity. I also think they are exaggerating how bad the quality was when we had the quantity. 

I don’t care about the current length. It’s the variety that’s been a little disappointing. The pool
of songs they draw from is smaller than ever. Period