playing covers live? meh...
tenforthewin
Posts: 177
I was thinking, looking at some of the setlists from recent years, it looks like the band is playing more and more covers. Now I know they probably enjoy playing them as they are a departure from the norm and they probably get tired of their own stuff sometimes maybe. But I think 3-4 covers in one night plus tagging covers on the end of songs is a bit much. I'd rather they drop those and play more PJ songs. 1 or 2 covers plus tags at the end of Daughter/Betterman is plenty sufficient to me. Don't get me wrong, I loved Love Reign O'er Me as much as the next guy, but when I go to a PJ show I want to hear Pearl Jam. What does everyone think about this? :geek:
Bonnaroo '08
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also, the crowd sing-alongs... during betterman, and anywhere else.... i am sure they are great for the crowd, but listening later on i sometimes wish it was just eddie singing it, or at least singing WITH the crowd... i dunno. maybe i'm just too "complainy" today..
I wish they'd play more covers (or rarities in general) because I like to hear how they interpret songs by other artists. They're fun and interesting for me.
For example, I've seen them about a dozen times and every single show I've been to they've done Evenflow. I like even flow, but I don't need to hear it live again. I would much rather hear a cover I'd never heard them do before or some other rarity than to hear the same thing I've heard a dozen times before. I'm excited either way because it's Pearl Jam, but if asked my preference I'd not see Evenflow again.
I can see why people would want "no covers" if they'd never seen them live before, but I know when talking to other fans I like being able to say things like "I saw them do Crown of Thorns live" since it's an awesome song and definitely one they don't pull out very often as opposed to saying something like "I've seen Evenflow live 13 times".
like the comment earlier though... the guys probably get bored of doing their own stuff all the time and a cover or 2 is a welcome break....
That's why I like them doing covers. Since they seem so determined to never again write a great rock anthem and instead settle for crappy 2-minute punk rockers, I'm all for a great cover from the Who, CCR, Neil, or... Peter Frampton
I also love the crowd singalongs... it's what makes the band such a juggernaut live. They interact with the crowd so well and get everyone involved. Unless you're going to do a Kanye West style light show, you've got to do something to make a connection with the crowd and nobody does better than PJ. I realized this big time seeing Radiohead headline Lolla last year... they didn't even compare to PJ's set and were incredibly boring. I can see it being underwhelming on the bootlegs, but it's usually on major songs like Daughter or Betterman, and how many times do we need to hear Ed sing that song? Is it really that difference from version to version?
I'd be glad if i never heard No More live again. Just bring the heat with pearl jam. listening to the 90's and 2000 boots is great. the 08 boots get lost on me kinda.....too many extracurricular songs. you guys know what I mean?
however, i would take a maggot brain or little wing any day of the week
I saw (3) shows in 2008 and they played one cover per show.
2004 and 2005 was when they played a lot of covers.
They actually played very few covers in 2008.
Live, meh......not really a fan of covers at all actually. Play you own fucking songs biotches. I came to see Pearl Jam didn't I?
I didn't see any shows in 08, but in 2006 I thought the setlists were pretty much perfect. A fair sampler of the new stuff, and they finally brought out some of their classic songs that seemed to have disappeared from the sets for too long... songs like In Hiding, Immortality, Why Go, and Leash. They also finally let go of the mediocre songs like the Gods' Dice, Evacuation, Get Right, Cropduster, and all those other weak 3 minute punkish rockers.
I love everything from Ten to Yield, but their more recent albums the rock songs have been falling flat. It's like they're afraid to let the songs breathe and groove organically like they used to, so you get a bunch of songs that might be interesting if you're a Tool fan that gets off on weird time signatures, but are otherwise forgettable. Their best work these days is the more mellow and acoustic stuff, which is among the best work they've ever done... songs like Of the Girl and All or None. But a lot of those songs don't translate well to a huge arena show so they get played sparingly.
2006 shows were bang on soulsinging, i just dont have physical boots to throw in and listen to.
sorry. i was moody this morning, i went for a run and listened to a 93 boot and it put things in perspective
Sammi: Wanna just break up?
that came before them and influenced them. I think is shows a certain amount of
selflessness and it spices up the night for me. They play longer sets than many bands,
so a few "extras" is AOK with me.
I'd rather they dropped some of the "hits" for a whole tour, but that would anger the
casual fan who really wants to hear Evenflow, Alive, etc.
I'll ride the wave where it takes me...
I'm with you on No More... I've seen it twice I think, and it just doesn't seem to fit in their set very well for whatever reason.
I was at the Vic show and it was very cool, but it also made me realize that those hit songs are there for a reason. Many of them are hits because they are great songs. A live set that has none of them is kind of weird. I'm sorry, but if you're playing a huge basketball arena, Help Help, Push Me Pull Me, and Of the Girl just don't reach the back rows the way Alive does.