I Had a Spiritual Experience During Unthought Known at MSG1

NashvillePJfan · May 2010

I was fortunate to attend both MSG 2010 shows. Much has been written on this board about MSG2; however, I will remember these shows for the unity, serenity and positive call to action I felt during Unthought Known at MSG1.

Like many of Pearl Jam's best songs, Unthought Known has taken time to grow for me. Initially, I admit, I was annoyed by the song. I even compared it to Coldplay to a friend of mine, with the prominent piano reminiscent of that irritating band's style.

Luckily, though, I remained open to the song because I have a simple credo when it comes to Pearl Jam: if I don't like the song, there's probably something wrong with me, not the song. I felt the band misfired with the song in March on Saturday Night Live, but I reserved ultimate judgment until I saw it performed in an arena setting.

Well, MSG1 was the payoff. Ed introduced the song as a slow builder that might be a good opportunity for the crowd to get the Garden physically shaking, as the building sometimes does when the crowd is at fever pitch. Nice suggestion. From the opening chords, I felt transfixed. I heard and pondered every word Ed sang, in a way that I was completely unable to before this moment. "Look for evidence, that you're worth keeping . . . Swallow whole the negatives . . . it's so sad it's sickening . . . Dream the dreams of other men - you will be no one's rival." It all finally made sense to me: stay positive; see yourself as part of the whole, humanity, the sky, the universe; empathize with others, even those more powerful than you, imagine walking in their shoes and see that they are just trying to get through life's uncertainties too; it takes work to have this attitude and the actions that reflect it, but it is the right way to live. What are you giving? And not just the lyrics, but the music: Ed's meditative strumming to open the song; the crashing glory when the band joins him; the way the the song drifts peacefully away. Words can't explain how I felt at that moment but I'll try: galvanized, emboldened yet hopefully humble, grateful, inspired.

I think the best art inspires one to action. More than a week later I hope I am applying the "Unthoughts" in my life: treating others better, fighting back selfishness, trying to be a team player. Listening more attentively to my children, not being resentful (but rather empathetic) to my work supervisors. Thank you Ed, thank you Pearl Jam, for inspiring me to reach for more.

StillHere · May 2010

So so happy for your experience~ Ed's words and music effect so many of us in such a profound manner...each of us with very personal meaning taken from our experiences.
This particular song has meant much to me as well.
Thanks for sharing.

LOV2ROCK · May 2010

Do u wanna relive it over and over?
Well have at it! Here is my video of that song
from that great night. Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVsrxUz-xz8

NashvillePJfan · May 2010

StillHere wrote:

So so happy for your experience~ Ed's words and music effect so many of us in such a profound manner...each of us with very personal meaning taken from our experiences.
This particular song has meant much to me as well.
Thanks for sharing.

THANK YOU. PEACE.

NashvillePJfan · May 2010

LOV2ROK2PJ wrote:

Do u wanna relive it over and over?
Well have at it! Here is my video of that song
from that great night. Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVsrxUz-xz8

AWESOME.

smanchac · May 2010

i agree

having seen unthought known 4 times previous, when they played it night one at msg, the crowd was NUTS, extremely loud, the band was super tight, and all i could say is imagine this song in 5 years when its a crowd favorite. The energy that came out from the band and the crowd during that song makes me say it was the absolute best performance of the song...

it was very very moving and great at msg 1, and again, i had seen it 4 times before that... so its not just cause it was msg... it was that particular performance. Great, Great performance.

NashvillePJfan · May 2010

smanchac wrote:

i agree

having seen unthought known 4 times previous, when they played it night one at msg, the crowd was NUTS, extremely loud, the band was super tight, and all i could say is imagine this song in 5 years when its a crowd favorite. The energy that came out from the band and the crowd during that song makes me say it was the absolute best performance of the song...

it was very very moving and great at msg 1, and again, i had seen it 4 times before that... so its not just cause it was msg... it was that particular performance. Great, Great performance.

Yeah - like I said, I had seen in it on SNL and actually I had seen it outdoors in Indy a couple weeks before, and my appreciation of the song was growing, but it took MSG1 to bring it home for me. What an eye opener.

NashvillePJfan · June 2010

joely_91 · June 2010

really is an amazing song, remember hearing it on the album for the first time and digesting the lyrics when it came to the "feel the sky blanket you...." i had to drag the timer back to listen to that bit again....love the way it builds and breaks still gives me goosebumps

pledgeagrievance · June 2010

Thanks for sharing. Great interpretation of meaning

samjam · June 2010

Awesome post!!

Unthought Known was a highlight of MSG 1 for me as well- definitely an incredible moment!

october22 · June 2010

Nice one!

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the song. I don't like the structure; it's a bit "gimmicky."

Anyway, I guess that's what's so great about so many of their songs. Some of my favorites get bashed on here all the time but they'll always mean something personal to me.

PJ5a1 · June 2010

God they are so frigging awesome!!!! Goosebumps from that video!!! I was there and for that I'm grateful

NashvillePJfan · June 2010

samjam wrote:

Awesome post!!

Unthought Known was a highlight of MSG 1 for me as well- definitely an incredible moment!

Glad to hear you enjoyed it too. "Unthought" is quickly becoming a live standard.

CantKeepMeHere · June 2010

It is a slow burner

Loves_Vinyl · June 2010

I didn't think much of this song either, until I saw it live. Eddie screaming "gems and rhinestones" gave me goosebumps.

NashvillePJfan · June 2010

Agreed - this is one that needs to be heard live to be fully appreciated.

Black Diamond · June 2010

It was amazing at MSG 1 (2 frankly) but it REALLY worked well as the opener in Hartford.

JonnyPistachio · June 2010

I love the song too. I agree though, that the peiano almost ruins it sometimes. However, I speculated that it would be much better live. I keep saying that the fixer is better live because i've seen videos where that one transition has heavy piano on the record, but live it seems like Stone fills that spce with awesome guitar...
...is the piano overshadowed live on Unthought Known?

smile.alreddie · June 2010

Thanks for this awesome description of your experience. I was at both MSGs, and do think that this song in particular was better night 1 - that's when the evening really took off for me and I felt very connected to the audience, so it's nice to relive through your post! That song has such a great delicious build live...
Also really like what you're saying about living the message - if the MSGs left me with anything besides the complete euphoria of experiencing PJ live, it was to bring that sense of community/camaraderie/peace/love/hope we all felt into the concerts into the every day.

LineOneMightyFine · June 2010

UK at MSG 1 was where the show really took off for me too. The connection with the audience during this performance was pretty amazing and I agree this will be a huge crowd favorite for years. I saw it at Philly 1 in 2009, it was good, but nothing like the MSG performance.

BinauralJam · June 2010

it reminds me of given to fly, they way it builds, how ed goes from singing the lyrics to screaming the lyrics.

M2 · June 2010

your words capture that moment, I was there too. it rocked my soul cause it is so simple yet so vital.

thank you for verbalizing it.

benjs · June 2010

+1. One of many special moments we all shared at the Garden. Hope to see you all back there shortly

RedMosquito22 · June 2010

NashvillePJfan wrote:

I was fortunate to attend both MSG 2010 shows. Much has been written on this board about MSG2; however, I will remember these shows for the unity, serenity and positive call to action I felt during Unthought Known at MSG1.

Like many of Pearl Jam's best songs, Unthought Known has taken time to grow for me. Initially, I admit, I was annoyed by the song. I even compared it to Coldplay to a friend of mine, with the prominent piano reminiscent of that irritating band's style.

Luckily, though, I remained open to the song because I have a simple credo when it comes to Pearl Jam: if I don't like the song, there's probably something wrong with me, not the song. I felt the band misfired with the song in March on Saturday Night Live, but I reserved ultimate judgment until I saw it performed in an arena setting.

Well, MSG1 was the payoff. Ed introduced the song as a slow builder that might be a good opportunity for the crowd to get the Garden physically shaking, as the building sometimes does when the crowd is at fever pitch. Nice suggestion. From the opening chords, I felt transfixed. I heard and pondered every word Ed sang, in a way that I was completely unable to before this moment. "Look for evidence, that you're worth keeping . . . Swallow whole the negatives . . . it's so sad it's sickening . . . Dream the dreams of other men - you will be no one's rival." It all finally made sense to me: stay positive; see yourself as part of the whole, humanity, the sky, the universe; empathize with others, even those more powerful than you, imagine walking in their shoes and see that they are just trying to get through life's uncertainties too; it takes work to have this attitude and the actions that reflect it, but it is the right way to live. What are you giving? And not just the lyrics, but the music: Ed's meditative strumming to open the song; the crashing glory when the band joins him; the way the the song drifts peacefully away. Words can't explain how I felt at that moment but I'll try: galvanized, emboldened yet hopefully humble, grateful, inspired.

I think the best art inspires one to action. More than a week later I hope I am applying the "Unthoughts" in my life: treating others better, fighting back selfishness, trying to be a team player. Listening more attentively to my children, not being resentful (but rather empathetic) to my work supervisors. Thank you Ed, thank you Pearl Jam, for inspiring me to reach for more.

There's a prominent piano in Unthought Known?

fanofzs · June 2010

RedMosquito22 wrote:

There's a prominent piano in Unthought Known?

Yet again, trying to suck the life out of another post.

Anyway...
Unthought Known is a great song. I was lucky to see it live at MSG1 also. These are amazing and stand out lines...

Dream the dreams of other men,... You’ll be no ones rival,...
Dream the dreams of others then,... You will be no ones rival,...
You will be no ones rival,...

Glad you had a great experience.

RedMosquito22 · June 2010

fanofzs wrote:

RedMosquito22 wrote:

There's a prominent piano in Unthought Known?

Yet again, trying to suck the life out of another post.

Anyway...
Unthought Known is a great song. I was lucky to see it live at MSG1 also. These are amazing and stand out lines...

Dream the dreams of other men,... You’ll be no ones rival,...
Dream the dreams of others then,... You will be no ones rival,...
You will be no ones rival,...

Glad you had a great experience.

No, just saying that there isn't a keyboard or piano that is that prominent to make someone think of Coldplay. The only piano I hear is right before the bridge when he sings "nothing's left,........"

NashvillePJfan · June 2010

JonnyPistachio wrote:

...is the piano overshadowed live on Unthought Known?

It is appropriately in the mix. Noticeable but supplementary. Frankly outside of Love Reign O'er Me and Crazy Mary, live at the concert, I most of the time can't hear anything Boom is playing (although you can hear him on the bootlegs).

Bu$chlager · June 2010

Bumping for one of the best OPs I've seen in a long, long time. And for the accompanying video.

I also shared your experience at MSG 'Nashville,' although I never could have articulated it so well. Bravo on the superb interpretation!

NashvillePJfan · June 2010

BUSH-lager wrote:

Bumping for one of the best OPs I've seen in a long, long time. And for the accompanying video.

I also shared your experience at MSG 'Nashville,' although I never could have articulated it so well. Bravo on the superb interpretation!

Thanks very much. What a treat it is to be able to see Pearl Jam grow and develop such a positive message. Glad you enjoyed.

UpSideDown · June 2010

Unthought Known is the best new song live...bar none

I Had a Spiritual Experience During Unthought Known at MSG1

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