About this european tour, your opinion

tremors · July 2010

I think this European tour and indeed all the 2010 shows are coming in an exceptional context - ie the tenth anniversary of Roskilde and a need to come back to Europe, with a strong amount of reflection to be done. Those of us who were around on this board ten years ago know just how catastrophic and devastating the loss of 9 fellow fans lives were - completely out of the blue. Those that didn't die were nevertheless affected terribly also. I was terribly affected, and I was in London, with no more plans to see any shows, and just to get on with my life.....

Those who weren't here pre-Binaural; please consider what it would be like to wake up and hear that some of your fellow board members and close friends here were critically ill or worse. It was fucking awful.

As Ed said at Berlin a matter of nights ago, it is something which they have thought about every day of their lives ever since, and I know that they have struggled hard to do the right thing by the families and friends of those fans we lost. This is a band that takes their responsibilities to their fans extremely seriously, and it could (heaven help us) happen again very easily, and the band would do what they needed to again, and they would step up to the plate. Would we?

I guess what I'm saying is I'm sure the band are currently thinking a lot of the 9 and more families who were so terribly hit by this utter tragedy, with whom they have stayed in close contact. The parents, the siblings, the friends; funerals and aftermaths which we know next to nothing about.

I'm not trying to put a dampener and be a killjoy here, and no doubt many of my words are wrong or seen as inappropriate..... :(

However, for me it is getting kind of galling that in this context where we are blessed to have a gold plated bunch of supremely decent human beings in the band we follow- that people are complaining about what appear to be relatively trivial matters.

Personally I have never heard a PJ show where the band don't TRY 100%, even if it doesn't quite come off on rare occasions. This is an exceptional band, an exceptional live act, and truly committed principled people who more than out-shadow any other band out there. Any other band would have crumpled in 2000. Ours didn't.

When responding to me, please think twice or three times before you fire off some abuse at me , because I am likely to crack too. It's been a difficult ten years, but here we are! Let's just cool down a bit and contemplate the fact that real people and real circumstances are involved at every turn, where we know nothing about the grief they have had to face down every day to get here in 2010.

Here's one thing I know - Mike, Ed, Stone, Jeff, Matt - they are fucking brave men.

zootown · July 2010

I agree that PJ only shows are preferred to festival gigs for all of us on the board, but....I have to admit I would be upset if I saw some of these Euro shows, even the non-festival shows when compared with the short run of US shows they just did! I am NOT trying to start some sort of US-Euro pissing match, but the shows in the US this Spring were exceptional, not just good shows like Euro fans are getting, but exceptional!

hopethatuchoke · July 2010

I don't think the tens of thousands of non-ten club members at these festival shows are interested in hearing Bee Girl or Push Me, Pull Me. Unfortunately at some point, they have to cater exclusively to the masses where as in the smaller arena shows over here in the states, they can mix the hits in with the rare stuff.

redrock · July 2010

Eraserhead wrote:

Festivals have issues over cost of ticket and setlist times. I know festivals have curfews, but I'd be gutted to spend considerbly more for a festival date over an arena date to get 1.5 hrs from the headlining band. Look at all the indoor shows - 2hr minimum sets, with the 2 encores.

Festival one day tickets are actually pretty damn good value, considering there are other bands, it's a whole day event, etc. HRC was £45 for the day, Werchter 75 (or so) Euros. Think Werchter also had bands such as AIC, TCV, Black Keys, etc. So really, cost of ticket is no really an issue for a festival. Curfews.... festivals have them, arenas have them, small club venues have them. Nothing new.

Again, it's choice. If you are travelling and don't like festivals, stick to the arena shows. There were a few this tour. We all know more or less what to expect from the different types of venues.

rebornFixer · July 2010

I am not nuts about the "safe" setlists they seem to play at festivals these days ... I may sound like an old fogey when I use expressions like this, but back in 2000, festival shows were just shows, they played whatever they felt like, seemingly. Now, its the same basic selection at all these European venues, with the same Joe Strummer cover and one new song (which is admittedly awesome). I dunno ... Would it kill Ed to add two or three more obscure songs to each of these sets? I've lost interest in setlist watching, although I'm sure the shows sound good. I don't even care about the length ... Its short, fine. But do the lists need to be so stock all of a sudden?

Pry To · July 2010

Interesting thoughts, all. Stock setlists is a perfect way of putting it. If PJ went out every night and did a greatest hits type of show, I think the vast majority of their fanbase would stop going, or just go to one show per tour. One of the main reasons I love this band (and spend so much money trying to see their live shows) is that they don't do standard, greatest hits setlists like most bands of their stature. Not sure what's up with this Euro tour, but the difference between the U.S. shows and these shows is pretty dramatic.

Sappy113 · July 2010

Honestly, if the guys come back to Europe every year, they can mix in festival shows all they like. I don't dig them myself for several reasons, but it's the main reason why most bands hit these shores during the summer months and I get that.

As long as they still do some headliner shows of their own, I don't mind at all travelling to see them and catching only the one show a tour. I've seen them in Roskilde, Copenhagen, London and Berlin so far and the two shows where I had to travel have been great, great experiences. I have a 3 year old daughter, so I don't really have the opportunity to travel around for several weeks to catch multiple shows and I'd rather see them every year anyway

redrock · July 2010

Agree with you Sappy!

SoonForgotten2 · July 2010

I agree that this tour has been a let down. The stock setlists for the festivals I cannot understand at all. They don't need to play allll their hits every night. If they feel brave enough to play a new song at theseshows, why not a few deeper cuts? They know they've built their fanbase on their diverse setlists. They know they raise expectations by playing those crazy US shows. They know the people who are their best customers go to multiple shows. It's just crappy to me.

In addition, they had 3 of their own gigs this tour. The first 2 were back to back and were at the very start. I was not very impressed by the Dublin gig and the band seemed quiet jet lagged, especially Jeff, who was totally lacking his usual energy. Belfast was loads better by comparison, but still had a load of repeats from Dublin... why? I won't even comment on London other than to say I was more entertained by The Hives.

The fact is that Pearl Jam sells a lot of tickets on the expectation of diverse sets, surprises and long shows. To me they have not met their own set standard this tour.

Sappy113 · July 2010

SoonForgotten2 wrote:

I agree that this tour has been a let down. The stock setlists for the festivals I cannot understand at all. They don't need to play allll their hits every night. If they feel brave enough to play a new song at theseshows, why not a few deeper cuts? They know they've built their fanbase on their diverse setlists. They know they raise expectations by playing those crazy US shows. They know the people who are their best customers go to multiple shows. It's just crappy to me.

In addition, they had 3 of their own gigs this tour. The first 2 were back to back and were at the very start. I was not very impressed by the Dublin gig and the band seemed quiet jet lagged, especially Jeff, who was totally lacking his usual energy. Belfast was loads better by comparison, but still had a load of repeats from Dublin... why? I won't even comment on London other than to say I was more entertained by The Hives.

The fact is that Pearl Jam sells a lot of tickets on the expectation of diverse sets, surprises and long shows. To me they have not met their own set standard this tour.

I do wish they would've done more of their own shows this tour. But I can't really fault them for toning down the festival setlists. They have a shorter timeframe to play and most likely there'll be quite a few folks at the show who don't have the same passion for Pearl Jam as we do in here. It'd be counterproductive for the band the lose those folks on experimental setlists. We would love it, obviously, but it's not certain the larger festival audience would respond to it very well. I THINK that's the thinking behind those setlists we've seen so far, because I do agree that if this were done in their own headlining shows for a longer stretch of time, it'd be a bit of a disappointment. But I don't see that at all.

I do love the diverse set-lists though, but still I'd have to say the biggest selling point for me is the raw emotion, passion and energy that's shared between the band and us fans at the shows. The Connection. I love that. And as far as I've seen, they've maintained that this EU tour, even with the shorter sets.

ajb · July 2010

Sappy113 wrote:

SoonForgotten2 wrote:

I agree that this tour has been a let down. The stock setlists for the festivals I cannot understand at all. They don't need to play allll their hits every night. If they feel brave enough to play a new song at theseshows, why not a few deeper cuts? They know they've built their fanbase on their diverse setlists. They know they raise expectations by playing those crazy US shows. They know the people who are their best customers go to multiple shows. It's just crappy to me.

In addition, they had 3 of their own gigs this tour. The first 2 were back to back and were at the very start. I was not very impressed by the Dublin gig and the band seemed quiet jet lagged, especially Jeff, who was totally lacking his usual energy. Belfast was loads better by comparison, but still had a load of repeats from Dublin... why? I won't even comment on London other than to say I was more entertained by The Hives.

The fact is that Pearl Jam sells a lot of tickets on the expectation of diverse sets, surprises and long shows. To me they have not met their own set standard this tour.

I do wish they would've done more of their own shows this tour. But I can't really fault them for toning down the festival setlists. They have a shorter timeframe to play and most likely there'll be quite a few folks at the show who don't have the same passion for Pearl Jam as we do in here. It'd be counterproductive for the band the lose those folks on experimental setlists. We would love it, obviously, but it's not certain the larger festival audience would respond to it very well. I THINK that's the thinking behind those setlists we've seen so far, because I do agree that if this were done in their own headlining shows for a longer stretch of time, it'd be a bit of a disappointment. But I don't see that at all.

I do love the diverse set-lists though, but still I'd have to say the biggest selling point for me is the raw emotion, passion and energy that's shared between the band and us fans at the shows. The Connection. I love that. And as far as I've seen, they've maintained that this EU tour, even with the shorter sets.

I am agree with both of you in many points, and I think that most of us here we feel the same, that maybe we miss more "only" pearl jam shows.

another bad point of this tour for me, is that they can not never do an Immagine in Cornice again with those last concerts, because for me immagine in cornice represents the communion between fans and group, but if in the tour the 80% of the concerts is 1 and 1/2 hour festival concert, it will never appear the same feeling on the crowd.

the people who goes to a festival is generally much worst public. I am talking about free violence, non sense of responsability at all, and huge drunks every where. Here we all have experience attending festivals and you all understand what I am talking about. And many of us we were those drunk and conflictive people... :roll:

redrock · July 2010

ajb wrote:

another bad point of this tour for me, is that they can not never do an Immagine in Cornice again with those last concerts, :

But why dwell on past gigs? There may have been one super-magical one that took you to some fantastic place but you can't benchmark all the future ones with 'the' gig. It's a recipe for disappointment every time. Each gig, each venue (arena, outdoor or festival) has its pros and cons. Appreciate them for what they are. I'm thinking here a lot of people have VERY high expectations (which is natural) and anything less perfect is disappointing. Arena or festival - different experiences - embrace them!

Eraserhead · July 2010

Looks like they listened to our complaining for Venice...

rebornFixer · July 2010

Eraserhead wrote:

Looks like they listened to our complaining for Venice...

The tour is winding down and someone finally started to get bored. Seriously ... They mix things up really, really well, for the most part. Not sure why this chunk is an exception.

dimitrispearljam · July 2010

i saw pj 10 shows on this tour..was my first festivals....and i dont fuckin care...the boys was on stage and rock it!!!no matter what 1 hour or 5 ...i enjoy every minute!!!!i prefer pj shows but festival works too,i prefer to see them every year in our contintent.
pj tour isnt only the shows!!!is the whole..the friends,the travel,the tickets trade,the sharing floors,hotel rooms,to make partys,meetings.big groups go out ,having fan..this year was so fan watching football from world cup matches big groups of pj fan from all over the world and after we all go to the shows together....the ones want to wait for 5-6 years ,then u have to watch the relays thread im going to do me and the friend here

Paradajzar · July 2010

Ah Dimi.....greek mafia.....As always.....you are right.......As long as they come back

I didnt go to festivals either this year...but I dont care..they can play whatever, as long as they are here.....and people can pick festivals or their own shows.....I choose their own shows and Dublin, Belfast & Berlin were all perfeto!!!!!

DIMI FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!:))

dimitrispearljam wrote:

i saw pj 10 shows on this tour..was my first festivals....and i dont fuckin care...the boys was on stage and rock it!!!no matter what 1 hour or 5 ...i enjoy every minute!!!!i prefer pj shows but festival works too,i prefer to see them every year in our contintent.
pj tour isnt only the shows!!!is the whole..the friends,the travel,the tickets trade,the sharing floors,hotel rooms,to make partys,meetings.big groups go out ,having fan..this year was so fan watching football from world cup matches big groups of pj fan from all over the world and after we all go to the shows together....the ones want to wait for 5-6 years ,then u have to watch the relays thread im going to do me and the friend here

InsideJob75 · July 2010

Paradajzar wrote:

DIMI FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!:))

!!! Then he won't have time to post on here every 4 seconds!

Paradajzar · July 2010

At least he will tell them to tour every year, as he will be president of Pearl Jam:)))

InsideJob75 wrote:

Paradajzar wrote:

DIMI FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!:))

!!! Then he won't have time to post on here every 4 seconds!

dimitrispearljam · July 2010

InsideJob75 wrote:

Paradajzar wrote:

DIMI FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!:))

!!! Then he won't have time to post on here every 4 seconds!

2.2 second is my record

jrd · July 2010

SoonForgotten2 wrote:

In addition, they had 3 of their own gigs this tour. The first 2 were back to back and were at the very start. I was not very impressed by the Dublin gig and the band seemed quiet jet lagged, especially Jeff, who was totally lacking his usual energy. Belfast was loads better by comparison, but still had a load of repeats from Dublin... why? I won't even comment on London other than to say I was more entertained by The Hives.

i could agree that as a pair of shows Dublin and Belfast weren't up there with Manchester and London (O2) from 2009 but i make it they played 26 songs one night and 27 the next and a total of 42 different ones altogether, so only 11 the same each night. that's pretty good going as far as i'm concerned so i'm not moaning! Belfast was a great setlist IMHO and i'd probably rank those 4 shows as (1) London (2) Belfast (3) Manchester and (4) Dublin.

of the 11 repeats from Dublin and Belfast i think that you could have expected at least 10 of them given the 2010 setlists from the US... :geek:

festivals? i'll go if i have to but would prefer more PJ-only shows. who wouldn't ?

About this european tour, your opinion

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