Rating the Shows You've Attended

merlin401 · June 2008

Curious to see how people would rate the shows they've personally attended on the following scale. Try not to be biased!

The scale is this:
EPIC - Shows that are remembered forever even by the people who didn't go to them (think Randalls Island, etc) (maybe 1% of shows)
SPECIAL - The rare unusually amazing/rare/unique shows from each tour (maybe 5-10% of shows)
GOOD - The above average shows, (probably I'd say 35% of shows)
AVERAGE - Good, but overall its going to be a show that blends in with a lot of other shows on the tour (another 35% or so)
SUBPAR - Still great but for a Pearl Jam show nothing that was particularly inspiring (bottom 20% of shows)

Obviously this works best for people like me who haven't seen 50 billion shows. But whoever wants to play along, I'd love to see how people rate the shows they've been to as honestly as possible.

Here's mine:

Jones Beach II, 2000: AVERAGE (still my all time favorite ItsOK tho, IMO better than Virginia)
Holmdel, 2003: SPECIAL (Hunger Strike re-debuts, 3 encores, Wash, chronological set-list, etc)
Camden I, 2006: AVERAGE (2nd encore of Blood, Comatose, Even Flow, Leash, SOLAT WOW!!!)
East Rutherford II, 2006: GOOD (Dont Give me no lip, Hard to Imagine, In Hiding, Rats, most songs on tour)
Gorge I, 2006: SPECIAL (borderline epic) (Wash, Crown of thorns, mamason trilogy, Great Its ok tag, DIRTY FRANK re-debuts!)
Gorge II, 2006: GOOD (overshadowed by first night: Little Wing full, great Fuckin up, Rats, Satans Bed)
MSG I, 2008: SPECIAL (incredible crowd, 3rd encore of Watchtower & Indifference!, I believe in Miracles, WMA, Spin)
Boston II, 2008: TBD

LukinFan · June 2008

Roo: Epic

Columbia: Special

WPB: Good

thunderDAN · June 2008

Virginia Beach- AVERAGE
Lollapalooza-AVERAGE
Cleveland 2006- SPECIAL -setlist was amazing(U,Smile,DGNL, Faithful,Immortality,Fuckin Up), interaction was top notch
Pittsburgh 2006- GOOD (Waiting on a Friend)
Columbus 2003- Subpar
Cleveland 2003- GOOD ( best live version of Sonic Reducer)
Columbus 2000- GOOD

MayDay10 · June 2008

Buffalo '03: Epic
Boston I '04: Special
Boston II '04: Good
Hartford '06: Subpar
East Rutheford '06: Good
Camden I 08: Good
Camden II 08: Good

(I would flip-flop the Boston '04's, however, II was ruined as the person I gave a free ticket to, felt the need to try to cram 6 people into the one seat).

NoelMichael · June 2008

9-28-96 Randall’s Island NY-- EPIC
9-01-00 Camden NJ-- AVERAGE
7-05-03 Camden NJ-- AVERAGE
10-01-04 Reading PA-- SPECIAL
10-03-05 Philadelphia PA-- EPIC
5-27-06 Camden NJ-- AVERAGE
5-28-06 Camden NJ-- GOOD
6-19-08 Camden NJ-- SPECIAL
6-20-08 Camden NJ-- SPECIAL
6-24-08 New York NY-- EPIC

AlBorland · June 2008

Columbia 08- Special

I could not have asked for anything more. They hit all my favorites: present tense, i got id, red mosquito, off he goes etc. A wave of emotion hit me during Inside Job, a song I never really paid attention to much before the show. An amazing night.

thunderDAN · June 2008

NoelMichael wrote:

6-24-08 New York NY-- EPIC

last night wasn't epic IMO. Bringing out a replacement of a replacement Ramone doesn't launch a show to epic standards in my book

ledvedderman · June 2008

I like this idea...so here we go.

St. Louis 2000- Special. Maybe it's just special because it was my first show, or maybe it was one of the best "Of The Girl" performances ever, the sign language girl during "Given to Fly". Any setlist that has "In My Tree", "Footsteps", "Parting Ways", and "Sonic Reducer" is okay in my book.

St. Louis 2003- Special. Just because of opening with "Present Tense" and the fact that the only cover all night was the tag of "Save It For Later" on "Betterman".

Kansas City 2003- Special. I've never been in a crowd that felt as unified as this one. Huge downpour started at the end of Idlewild's set and delayed the show a bit. "Hi dad" during "Release" still gives me chills when I hear it.

Council Bluffs 2003- Good. If this had been the only time I heard "Arc", it would be special. Fairly decent setlist. "Driven To Tears" is always good, and one of the best RITFW yet.

St. Paul 2003- Average. "Evenflow" followed by "Thin Air"? Seriously? Besides that...nothing.

Chicago 2003- Good. Great run of Present Tense and Light Years. Cool to see Idlewild up with PJ for RITFW.

St. Louis VFC 2004- Good. I loved the political covers, and really dug the first encore as an acoustic set. "Alone", "All or None", "Man of the Hour", and "Fortunate Son" really made the night for me.

Chicago I 2006- Special. Personally, to me this was a special show. Heard two of my favorites "I Got Shit" and "Low Light" for the first time. Hard not to call that special.

Cleveland 2006- EPIC. From a personal point and as a show. Met Mike at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier in the day. Great show with lots of energy. Any encore that includes "You", "Don't Gimme No Lip", "Smile", "Fuckin' Up", and the best "Thumbing My Way" known to man make it truly an epic and underrated show.

Cincy 2006- Good. The only thing keeping this from being subpar is that it was my first time hearing "Kids Are Alright" and "Long Road"...after that....all downhill

The Vic 2007- BEYOND EPIC. I don't need to explain this one. One of the greatest nights of my life.

TheLongRoad · June 2008

Nassau 4/30/03 -Special
MSG 7/8/03- Epic
MSG 7/9/03 -Special
Homdel 7/14/03 Average
Boston 9/28/04 Good
Boston 9/29/04 Special
Montreal 9/15/05 Good
Hartford 5/13/06 Subpar
NJ 6/1/06 Average
NJ 6/3/06 Good
MSG 6/24/08 Special

pjalive21 · June 2008

St. Louis 1998-EPIC-reason is personal as this was my first show ever seeing pearl jam and they played TREMOR "FREAKIN" CHRIST!!!!!!!

St. Louis 2000-GOOD-just look at ledvedderman review above

St. Louis 2003-GOOD

VFC- St. Louis-GOOD

VFC- Boston 2-SPECIAL-crowd made this one crazy

Chicago- Vic Theatre-EPIC- 10c only show thats why

Tampa, FL 2008-SPECIAL-another show in a different state, got to meet alot of cool people and it was my honeymoon on top of it

Smarter_Than_U · June 2008

EPIC - Shows that are remembered forever even by the people who didn't go to them (think Randalls Island, etc) (maybe 1% of shows)
SPECIAL - The rare unusually amazing/rare/unique shows from each tour (maybe 5-10% of shows)
GOOD - The above average shows, (probably I'd say 35% of shows)
AVERAGE - Good, but overall its going to be a show that blends in with a lot of other shows on the tour (another 35% or so)
SUBPAR - Still great but for a Pearl Jam show nothing that was particularly inspiring (bottom 20% of shows)

Epics
Randall's 2 96 (life altering)
MSG 2 98 (one word: alive)

Specials
Reading 04 (I had front row)
Columbia 08 (amazing seats, three encores, ed was in rare form)
MSG 2 2003 (it really did feel like a family reunion--relentless main set)
DC 2006 (lowlight and my wife caugh a pick from Mike)
NJ 2 2006 (upgraded this one as it was a really fun show--Ed again in rare form)

Goods
Rochester 1994 (day before Kurdt found; PJ was good butr Mudhoney was better)
TFC 98 (Betterman dedicated to Clinton; yielded stage to RHCP)
DC 2000 (Played extra long as Sonic Youth had to bail; first time hearing Crazy Mary)
DC 2003 (Greatest version of Betterman I've ever heard--some of the fans were dicks though)
DC 2008 (This one could have been special--the roof was not sweating though)

Averages
MSG 1 98 (Feels better already: see night two)

Subpars
Jones Beach 1 2000 (Sonic Youth blew them off the stage)
Boston 1 2004 (Very rusty)
Boston 2 2004 (Still rusty)

3sheets · June 2008

West Palm I '98 - Good
West Palm I '00 - Average
Tampa '00 - Special
Seattle I '00 - Good
Seattle II '00 - Epic
West Palm '03 - Good
Orlando '03 - Special
Tampa '03 - Subpar
Kissimmee '04 - Average
West Palm '08 - Good
Tampa '08 - Good

LukinFan · June 2008

I'd love to see Blind3's list. 75+ shows

PrlJam27 · June 2008

9/29/96, Randall's Island - Epic
9/8/08, East Rutherford - Good
9/10/08, MSG - Special
9/11/08, MSG - Epic
8/23/00, Jones Beach - Average
8/24/00, Jones Beach - Good
8/25/00, Jones Beach - Special
9/1/00, Camden - Special
9/2/00, Camden - Good
4/28/03, Philly - Special
4/30/03, Uniondale - Special
7/5/03, Camden - Good
7/6/03, Camden - Subpar
7/8/03, MSG - Epic
7/9/03, MSG - Epic
7/14/03, Holmdel - Special
9/28/04, Boston - Special
9/29/04, Boston - Special
10/1/04, Reading - Special
9/19/05, Toronto - Special
9/30/05, Atlantic City - Special
10/1/05, Atlantic City - Special
10/03/05, Philly - Epic
5/12/06, Albany - Good
5/13/06, Hartford - Good
5/27/06, Camden - Good
5/28/06, Camden - Good
5/30/06, Washington DC - Special
5/31/06, New York (Storytelllers) - Epic
6/1/06, East Rutherford - Special
6/3/06, East Rutherford - Special
12/9/06, Honolulu - Good
8/2/07, Chicago (Vic) - Epic
8/5/07, Chicago (Lollaplooza) - Special
6/19/08, Camden - Good
6/20/08, Camden - Good
6/22/08, Washington DC - Good
6/24/08, MSG - Special

whew....

I_Got_Shit · June 2008

Epic:

Mansfield III from '03. 45 songs. 'Nuff said.

Special:

Boston II from '06 -- dropped the Leash, Low Light, Smile, Parachutes debut. Indifference, RITFL and YL all in second encore.

Champaign, IL from '03 -- small arena, amazing crowd, lots of covers (Driven to Tears, Know Your Rights, Fortunate Son, Blue Red Grey, Crazy Mary and Baba). Most fun I've ever had at a PJ show. Also, someone yelled out for Ledbetter so Ed took it off the set list. Some might disagree, but this is a personal favorite.

Good: Mansfield I and II in '03, Boston I and II in '04, Boston I in '06.

Julien · June 2008

Antwerp 06: average
Paris 06: average
Copenhagen 07: special
Werchter 07: good

Smarter_Than_U · June 2008

I am suprised that so many people rank the Boston 04s so highly--I had a nice time up there, but the shows were "eh" from what I remember.

MayDay10 · June 2008

Smarter_Than_U wrote:

I am suprised that so many people rank the Boston 04s so highly--I had a nice time up there, but the shows were "eh" from what I remember.

I really liked the acoustic sets

PrlJam27 · June 2008

Smarter_Than_U wrote:

I am suprised that so many people rank the Boston 04s so highly--I had a nice time up there, but the shows were "eh" from what I remember.

Come on, we got Alone, I've Got a Feeling, The Seeker, American in Me, Bleed for Me, Masters of War, Lion's Share, The New World, and Howard Zinn was there!!!!

Now that I think of it, I should have rated them epic rather than special.

I_Got_Shit · June 2008

Smarter_Than_U wrote:

I am suprised that so many people rank the Boston 04s so highly--I had a nice time up there, but the shows were "eh" from what I remember.

I have them both as good, but I had really shitty seats and the sound sucked in the Fleet Center.

MayDay10 · June 2008

PrlJam27 wrote:

Come on, we got Alone, I've Got a Feeling, The Seeker, American in Me, Bleed for Me, Masters of War, Lion's Share, The New World, and Howard Zinn was there!!!!

Now that I think of it, I should have rated them epic rather than special.

you forgot the vocals of Tim Robbins.

Rating the Shows You've Attended

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