Please Tell Me It Gets Better...

wookeez

KDH12 wrote:

Did someone try DC how did it sound?

DC sounds great, def worth buying! Other than evacuating "Evacuation" was a great show and the best rendition of "Black" PJ has ever played in my opinion. As the band rocked it out, Eddie walked around the back and sides of the stage dancing and smoking his cig, waving at all the people, was truly an amazing experience, crowd was really into it the entire show and Eddie got a little political as expected in DC. At one time said he doesn't know what they did to deserve this and doubted Michael Jordan got this great of a reception when he walked into this place. 8-)

Dark Grin

I wonder how other bands would sound if we could listen to everyone of their concerts and if we knew all of the lyrics at the level we do for Pearl Jam. I bet most bands mess up as much as Pearl Jam does.

That said, I seem to be a part of a minority that is concerned that Ed is drinking too much. It's not really any of my business, but I hope he has control of it.

Yellow Ledbelly

Army & Navy wrote:

So 3 boots in (Tampa, Bonorroo, Virginia) and its not only the sound problems that are disappointing me. The band is rusty beyond belief, their off time, missing licks and Eddie's slurring everywhere, I never heard him sound worse than Bonnorroo. I thought he'd be sounding good after his solo shows.

I've got Hartford, Camden 1, Mansfield 2 to come. I'm really hoping they pick it up.

Also the mastering on all those first 3 shows is horrible, guitars come in & out, too much bass.

Sorry to sound negative, but I gotta say how I see it

I didn't read the earlier comments, but I feel safe in assuming you are in the minority on this one...big time. Your saying that there's something wrong....I believe that was your plan all along

Gonzo1977

There's not many touring bands out there right now that play the type of show that Pearl Jam does.

Bruce Sprinsteen is pretty much the only exception and is probably the only other touring artist that compares to Pearl Jam in the sense that they challenge themselves by playing 2 1/2 to 3 hour shows with a different setlist everynight.

It's an extremely challenging thing to accomplish and pull off and that is why many artists stay away from that type of tour.

If Pearl Jam played it safe like 99.9% of touring bands out there right now and had a standard setlist that they performed to everynight, the level of error would go down considerably.

The Who, Neil Young, Tom Petty, and Paul McCartney all play the same setlist everynight (or pretty close to it). Before a tour they only rehearse at the very most 40 songs. It's very rare for them to deviate from the setlist as they wouldn't dare pull out a song that is under-rehearsed.

Pearl Jam doesn't seem to have that fear...

They are constantly adding songs into the setlist that they probably haven't rehearsed, practiced, played, or even thought about in many years.

It's one of the many reasons why we are spoiled as fans.

It's also one of the reasons why certain songs don't seem as tight as others.

HailRoad24

I for one am not too put off by the sound of this years boots. WPB has its problems, but I like to think of it as an interesting audience-like recording. I don't have Tampa b/c the setlist didn't excite me, but I have Roo and Columbia as of right now.

Each tour has its own little things which are good and bad.

Here are my takes on each tour:

European/2000-Probably, next to 1998, the best I have ever heard the band play and sound. Ed was spot on. The boots, like somebody else said, were low in volume unfortunately, but the program was in its infancy.

US/2000-The band hits its stride at the Atlanta show and play their ass off the entire tour. Ed is strong throughout and the boots are nearly perfect except for Jeff and Matt being a little low in the mix.

Aus/Jap/US/20003-Great sound, the band is loose and mistakes are made. Ed is up and down somewhat in his performances, but delivers some remarkable shows. Overall a good show and some really cool guitar tones from the band.

Can/SA/2005-Band sounds good and Ed is good, but the MP3 quality is a bit of a downer. The first of the digital program which I grew to despise.

US/EU/Aus/2006-Some good shows, the band is very tight, but I have always enjoyed the looseness of their shows. Mistakes are gonna be made, but for some reason, this tour has never set right with me and I think Ed really started to decline on this tour until the EU dates. Whether it be lack of breath, or just not having that iron grip over his voice, Ed just seems all over the place to me. The boots sound pretty good, but I HATED (let me just say-FUCKING HATED) the digital download program. I did appreciate the FLACS, but I prefer the physical CD's to digital. Overall, like I said, very few of the shows moved me in the way that previous years shows had. Not sure why.

US/2008-Heard only three shows so far, but I have a growing opinion of them. PHYSICAL CD'S!!!!!! I enjoy a little different sound and mix to them. We are finally really hearing how good Matt and Jeff really are. Ed is still up and down, but from what I've read, gets stronger as the tour progresses. The fuzzy, crunchy guitar tones are music to my ears on these shows. And I LOVE Mike's tone on Love Reign O'er Me from Roo. That opening note by Mike sends chills through me.

So, I just think each tour offers the good and the bad of Pearl Jam live. They are not perfect people. Each tour has its glitches. They seemed to have a lot of guitar problems this tour, especially in Columbia. It's all part of the experience. Enjoy it while it lasts.