How rusty will PJ be when they roll into wrigley?

evenflow82 · May 2013

With all due respect to the band, PJ is usually working out a good number of kinks at the beginning of a tour and their playing gets noticably tighter as the number of shows goes on (also the number of songs performed).

I still think part of the reason the Alpine boots haven't been released is because the band was not rehearsed and the proof is in the recording. We all noticed some pretty sloppy playing, especially on night one.

With that said, do you think the band will rehearse for the Wrigley show or just let their performance be what it is, warts and all?

mookieb10 · May 2013

Theyll work the kinks out in london and probably an extended sound check.

evenflow82 · May 2013

mookieb10 wrote:

Theyll work the kinks out in london and probably an extended sound check.

Fingers crossed!

ahill721 · May 2013

mookieb10 wrote:

Theyll work the kinks out in london and probably an extended sound check.

I agree with this.

KC138045 · May 2013

They could show up and just play kazzoos but it will still be a Pearl Jam concert. The best fucking rock band in the world will put on a great show.

JB128716 · May 2013

Extended soundcheck while I enjoy the BBq. Mmmmmm BBq.

LloydXmas · May 2013

Like a rusty steak knife. Cutting through a well aged steak.

marcos · May 2013

I think I know what you mean by rusty, but when you think about even if the guys are, they're a 100 times better at their weakest than other bands because they're so real and seem to just let it flow.

evenflow82 · May 2013

I've actually never seen a band as sloppy as PJ is live. Their musicianship is top notch, but for noticable miscues and forgotten lyrics, PJ takes the cake by a wide margin.

RiotAct10 · May 2013

evenflow82 wrote:

I've actually never seen a band as sloppy as PJ is live. Their musicianship is top notch, but for noticable miscues and forgotten lyrics, PJ takes the cake by a wide margin.

Ed seems to mess up the most for sure, but how many bands have you seen that play every song from their 20+ year catalog plus tons of covers too? Most bands stick to the same 20 or so song rotation, so of course they will know the words and get all the notes right because they play them every night.

parintachin73 · May 2013

evenflow82 wrote:

I've actually never seen a band as sloppy as PJ is live. Their musicianship is top notch, but for noticable miscues and forgotten lyrics, PJ takes the cake by a wide margin.

As much as I hate to say it, you and the OP both have a point. Sometimes I think I'm being hyper-critical as I've been a musician for 25+ years, but in my humble opinion the band's "tightness" has been on a steady decline since sometime between 2003-2006. Now granted, I've seen some killer shows since then, but I've also seen some REALLY sloppy ones too.
So, to answer the OP, if I was a betting man, I'd put money on them being pretty sloppy at Wrigley.

evenflow82 · May 2013

parintachin73 wrote:

evenflow82 wrote:

I've actually never seen a band as sloppy as PJ is live. Their musicianship is top notch, but for noticable miscues and forgotten lyrics, PJ takes the cake by a wide margin.

As much as I hate to say it, you and the OP both have a point. Sometimes I think I'm being hyper-critical as I've been a musician for 25+ years, but in my humble opinion the band's "tightness" has been on a steady decline since sometime between 2003-2006. Now granted, I've seen some killer shows since then, but I've also seen some REALLY sloppy ones too.
So, to answer the OP, if I was a betting man, I'd put money on them being pretty sloppy at Wrigley.

They take risks, which is great for the dedicated fans, but there's NOTHING more frustrating than you knowing the lyrics but the guy who wrote them and has sang them hundreds of times still doesn't know them after +20 years.

parintachin73 · May 2013

evenflow82 wrote:

parintachin73 wrote:

evenflow82 wrote:

I've actually never seen a band as sloppy as PJ is live. Their musicianship is top notch, but for noticable miscues and forgotten lyrics, PJ takes the cake by a wide margin.

As much as I hate to say it, you and the OP both have a point. Sometimes I think I'm being hyper-critical as I've been a musician for 25+ years, but in my humble opinion the band's "tightness" has been on a steady decline since sometime between 2003-2006. Now granted, I've seen some killer shows since then, but I've also seen some REALLY sloppy ones too.
So, to answer the OP, if I was a betting man, I'd put money on them being pretty sloppy at Wrigley.

They take risks, which is great for the dedicated fans, but there's NOTHING more frustrating than you knowing the lyrics but the guy who wrote them and has sang them hundreds of times still doesn't know them after +20 years.

I couldn't agree more. It's absolutely awesome that they try new shit and don't play the same sets night after night but I also think they would greatly benefit from either more practice before the tour, longer tours (I know I said it!), or both.
And yeah, Ed is the biggest offender, but they all could use the practice.

CS6127 · May 2013

Agreed that Pearl Jam's playing could be tighter, but one thing in their favor is that they have such a large catalog of songs over 20 years, plus constantly trying covers and improvs. Compare this to a band like U2, which is one of my favorite bands. If you compare a U2 setlist from any 2 shows on their entire tour, there's 1, MAYBE 2 differences. A U2 show is more of a choreographed theatre-like event, thus tightened-up; PJ is a rock show. Both great in their own ways.

EchosNobodyHears · May 2013

Don't forget, PJ20 was the first 2 shows of 2011 and I thought they nailed it. I think after having warmed up in Ontario they'll be good to go.

Indifference71 · May 2013

I think a warmup show the night before at the Metro is in order....

LloydXmas · May 2013

Indifference71 wrote:

I think a warmup show the night before at the Metro is in order....

Maybe the admiral theater?

Tom K · May 2013

I love the band as much as the next guy but of course they will be rusty, and one show prior is not going to shake the rust. It's like golfing, when you only play three times a year, you can't expect to be in top shape. I'm still jealous of all those going to Wrigley, it will no doubt rock, but don't expect the band to be super tight like 03 or even 05. Expect the same band that played MIA last year.

evenflow82 · May 2013

EchosNobodyHears wrote:

Don't forget, PJ20 was the first 2 shows of 2011 and I thought they nailed it. I think after having warmed up in Ontario they'll be good to go.

They did NOT nail it on night one by a long shot. The first night was a disaster. They took the stage 45 mins late, stumbled through the set (Which had rarities, which was great and all, but please rehearse them), random guests which took away from songs more than they added, terrible weather, scrapped songs, a curfew they were a complete slave to and one three minute cover song for a second encore in front of 30,000 of their fans. That's far from "nailing" anything and closer to simply embarrassing.

EchosNobodyHears · May 2013

evenflow82 wrote:

They did NOT nail it on night one by a long shot. The first night was a disaster. They took the stage 45 mins late, stumbled through the set (Which had rarities, which was great and all, but please rehearse them), random guests which took away from songs more than they added, terrible weather, scrapped songs, a curfew they were a complete slave to and one three minute cover song for a second encore in front of 30,000 of their fans. That's far from "nailing" anything and closer to simply embarrassing.

Sounds like someone was upset they weren't there...

I can't even take your argument seriously when u blame the weather on them. Really? the weather? Please explain how that correlates to them not nailing it. :corn:

As far as I'm concerned they did great (hence why there's a petition once a week for the boots to be released). Im not saying it was flawless by any means but how many of their shows are. Having spontaneity and little fumbles is what makes their shows good.

mcgruff10 · May 2013

how does anyone on this board know if pearl jam practices?

DPrival78 · May 2013

historically, PJ has needed a good week or two of shows to hit their stride. but of course, that's been a problem the last 6 years or so since their tours aren't longer than two weeks.

in the past, they've also publicly laughed off the notion of any serious pre-tour rehearsals. which is too bad, since like people have said, they've gotten progressively sloppier over the last few years.

parintachin73 · May 2013

mcgruff10 wrote:

how does anyone on this board know if pearl jam practices?

Every band practices. It's just a matter of how much. And I can say with great confidence, more practice=better performance

EvieVedder · May 2013

"RUSTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"

Pjdreamer · May 2013

The band usually rehearses in the week or upcoming weeks of the show. It's like clock work.

glb · May 2013

mcgruff10 wrote:

how does anyone on this board know if pearl jam practices?

Whether they practice or not, they do sound sloppy the first few shows in recent years, imo as well.

Ledbetterman10 · May 2013

evenflow82 wrote:

EchosNobodyHears wrote:

Don't forget, PJ20 was the first 2 shows of 2011 and I thought they nailed it. I think after having warmed up in Ontario they'll be good to go.

They did NOT nail it on night one by a long shot. The first night was a disaster. They took the stage 45 mins late, stumbled through the set (Which had rarities, which was great and all, but please rehearse them), random guests which took away from songs more than they added, terrible weather, scrapped songs, a curfew they were a complete slave to and one three minute cover song for a second encore in front of 30,000 of their fans. That's far from "nailing" anything and closer to simply embarrassing.

It was fucking awesome actually. I enjoyed night 1 more than night 2 to be honest. Probably because I was up close night one and in the lawn night 2 but still. And even if there were some botches, it was a great show with a bunch of fun surprises. I was actually watching the bootleg DVD of it the other day. Great time. Far from "simply embarrassing."

jason_94 · May 2013

EvieVedder wrote:

"RUSTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"

I hope I didn't wake anyone up with my sudden burst of laughter when I saw this! Well played! I enjoyed that little '90's flashback of sitting there watching some Seinfeld.

Thanks!

And, back to the topic. I think I agree with everyone on here from maybe being a little "rusty" at the start of a tour, being better than most live bands playing at the top of their game, and loving the fact that they play such a vast amount of different songs while changing it up every night. I also agree with the previous post asking who on here really even knows if, when, or how much the band practices.

goldrush · May 2013

There was over a year between Mansfield 08 and the Calgary show in 09. The Calgary boot sounds pretty good to me and when I saw them at Shepherd's Bush a few days later they were awesome. I didn't think they were 'rusty' at all that night

foodboy · May 2013

everyone please take a deep breath and relax. the show in london is going to be great. first of all ed's voice will be in fine form as he will not have been doing other shows previously. second, if they they abandon the traditional number of popular songs in their set lists and play a show their fans want them to play like amasterdam 2, then we will be in for one of the most epic shows in while. i think it's going to be amazing myself and a must attend show , thats why i am going to london to see this even though i didn't get fan club seats and don't have seats that i would normally sit in, but for this one you just want to be in the building. so i say stop over thinking or you are going to ruin it for yourself. my bet is this is going to be great so please all stop worrying.

boyo79 · May 2013

This was my 'worry' before the Euro tour last year. Their last show before Manchester was in 7/8 months previous in Mexico and the Soundgarden Euro tour finished 10 days before Pearl Jam started their Euro tour. I thought 'how will they sound?', 'will they have had any time to practice?' 'will they be a little rusty?' but those 2 nights they were on fire straight from the off. I think that was the biggest surprise early on in the set on night 1 just how good they were sounding.

I have no doubt they will be fantastic for the 2 gigs in July.

How rusty will PJ be when they roll into wrigley?

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