*** Amsterdam 2 Fanviews Here 6/27/12 ***

Pry To wrote:

No Code... 1
Yield... 000
Binuaral... 1
Riot Act... 000
Self Titled... 000

It was a great show and fun to hear some early rarities (I'd caught most of 'em before), but looking at the above is why it doesn't rank as the all-time, legendary, most amazing setlist ever in my book. Three songs off of Riot Act or Binaural in a single show would probably be far more mindblowing at this point, given that the band goes out of its way to disown most of the (fantastic) songs on those albums. TWO songs from this incredible string of albums? Seriously? I enjoyed the show but not nearly as much as everyone else seemed to. Totally sad to me how much the band ignores this wonderful, thoughtful, challenging material in favor of the 18 millionth airing of "Alive." If they want to play some real rarities, there are plenty of studio cuts from these albums that easily fit the definition since they are lucky to get played once or twice in an entire tour, if at all.

The Big Cheese wrote:

No Fuckin WAY :nono: :fp:

dimitrispearljam wrote:

Pry To wrote:

No Code... 1
Yield... 000
Binuaral... 1
Riot Act... 000
Self Titled... 000

It was a great show and fun to hear some early rarities (I'd caught most of 'em before), but looking at the above is why it doesn't rank as the all-time, legendary, most amazing setlist ever in my book. Three songs off of Riot Act or Binaural in a single show would probably be far more mindblowing at this point, given that the band goes out of its way to disown most of the (fantastic) songs on those albums. TWO songs from this incredible string of albums? Seriously? I enjoyed the show but not nearly as much as everyone else seemed to. Totally sad to me how much the band ignores this wonderful, thoughtful, challenging material in favor of the 18 millionth airing of "Alive." If they want to play some real rarities, there are plenty of studio cuts from these albums that easily fit the definition since they are lucky to get played once or twice in an entire tour, if at all.

again,ill say it...Amsterdam 2 doesnt pass in the history cos of the setlist only...
was unreal ALL..venue,sound,light,crowd,way band played,energy,setlist,,opener...
i can describe u the way all look around when Release start played at encore,people start crying at crown of thorns,..and most important,what happen after the show...the faces with wide open eyes,wondering,what the fuck just happen in there...
it was the best performance of any band,i ever saw in my life..and after 29 shoiws,i know now,when this band,can play the perfect show..that was one of them...

dont have to mention,the songs,wasnt played and was at setlist..
In My Tree & Breathe & Hitchhiker & its ok tag,that changed to wma(better for me,cos i never saw it live as tag)
. :shock:

Pry To wrote:

dimitrispearljam wrote:

again,ill say it...Amsterdam 2 doesnt pass in the history cos of the setlist only...
was unreal ALL..venue,sound,light,crowd,way band played,energy,setlist,,opener...
i can describe u the way all look around when Release start played at encore,people start crying at crown of thorns,..and most important,what happen after the show...the faces with wide open eyes,wondering,what the fuck just happen in there...
it was the best performance of any band,i ever saw in my life..and after 29 shoiws,i know now,when this band,can play the perfect show..that was one of them...

dont have to mention,the songs,wasnt played and was at setlist..
In My Tree & Breathe & Hitchhiker & its ok tag,that changed to wma(better for me,cos i never saw it live as tag)
. :shock:

I'm glad you enjoyed the show so much. Everything you mention, however, is purely subjective. Opinion, not fact. Personally, I thought Manchester 2 was a better show. Berlin 1 had a better crowd. See how I did that? Does that make it true? Nope? Just my opinion, my experience. My post was in response to those here raving about how this is the best setlist the band has ever played, an opinion echoed in much of the mainstream media. (For example: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/09/pearl-jam-lets-superfan-create-the-best-set-list-ever/) Best setlist ever? Not in my opinion, but I'm not someone who only like PJ's "popular" period (first three albums). I like the stuff that came after it a lot better because it intentionally refused to pander to the masses. I realize I'm in the minority and that most of the band's fans are casual listeners who'd prefer it if PJ only played material from the first three albums. PJ seems to be happy to comply. That's too bad, in my opinion, because this used to be a band known for challenging and even alienating these same fans. It was healthy and allowed them to stay together as a band. Unfortunately, today they seem content to stick with the safe material from the first three albums, give the fans exactly what they want, and are increasingly coming across as the world's greatest oldies/nostalgia act. Doesn't mean they're not a great band, but count me as one fan who doesn't need to fly halfway around the world to see them play "Even Flow," "Alive," Rockin in the Free World," etc etc one more time. I saw that show in 1992 -- and it was better then.

Pry To wrote:

PeArLgOoNeR wrote:

wow ^

I don't think anyone here is particularly looking forward to Even Flow, Alive, Elderly and what have you.. We're all looking for the gems that pop up only once or twice a tour..! Look at the setlists for this tour; They were extremely diverse (except for the 4-6 songs that are sure to please the casual listeners that get played maybe a bit too often)

Agreed. I think most of us who are Ten Club members enjoy the more obscure material. Most of the people in the audience are not TC members and are really only there for the hits, etc. I took my wife to both Amsterdam shows (her first PJ shows). She enjoyed night 1 better because she knew more of the songs. She's a casual listener/fan -- and I'm not insulting her or anyone else over that. When the band goes into a song like Better Man, the crowd goes insane. They play something like Alone and the crowd goes silent. I get why they focus on the big hits. And I truly respect and appreciate that they do play some obscure material and change up the setlists so radically. This was a great tour for sure. I just wish they would stop ignoring the bulk of their material from No Code to Avocado. And you have to admit that they don't play this material too often. Even the obscure cuts tend to come from the first three albums or outtakes from them. That's their fanbase, for better or worse -- people who were super into PJ in the early-mid 90s and haven't really followed them too closely since then. They play to that crowd, and good for them -- they sell a lot more tickets that way. Anyway, I just want to emphasize that I thought this was a fantastic tour and that I enjoyed all six shows I saw. It's great to see a band like PJ still putting in the work after 20 years. Most bands who've been around this long don't come close. I just don't think Amsterdam 2 qualifies as the most mindbending, amazing, incredible setlist of all time. Just one fan's opinion.

Kathi wrote:

I would love to write something coherent about this, but I still think I'm not able to. This one's special not only because of the setlist, but also because it was the first one that I got to experience with all my new tour friends, who actually let me in front row center with them (thanks Rafie!)...so many people next to each other, constantly going "OH MY GOD" at each song the band played, I'll never forget this. Probably my fav show EVER. The atmosphere was relaxed, sound was great, crowd enjoyed themselves, we had great security people taking care of us...just awesome! Standing around afterwards not believing what happened was awesome too. I even bought the poster I wasn't particularly fond of, just so I can have a memory of that night on my wall.

dimitrispearljam wrote:

btw,i think Do the evolution,will be played at every show now..

Chrisilein wrote:

dimitrispearljam wrote:

Listening the audio recording..the reaction of the fans around the taper when they realise that is Release at the Encore ,is unreal...

I was at Fuckin Amsterdam 2 indeed...

YEAH!! :thumbup: