*** Wrigley Field Fanviews Here 7/19/13 ***

SweetAndLow wrote:

More sensible decision would've been to reschedule to the next afternoon. ... We left during Even Flow. Apropos, if you ask me. Overplayed live song.

So you mention afternoon, not night. That tells me you are aware that there was another show there on Saturday night. Do you honestly believe that PJ would have been able to play a matinee show and tear down all their stuff in time for the other show's crew to set up, do soundchecks, etc. in time for their show?

On the ride back from London on Wednesday afternoon, we saw Jason Aldean's semis pulling onto the highway. (You couldn't miss them, they had his name in huge letters and a giant photo of him on the side.) We also saw them coming down Clark Street on Friday night. There were like SEVEN of them. So we're not talking about some bare-bones setup here.

But maybe you think they just should have said "Sorry, Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson and whoever else is playing with you today. We're PEARL JAM and we're going to do whatever we want so you and your fans can all fuck off if you don't like it."

What an abolute fantastic day/night/early morning @ Wrigley!! Although waiting out the weather was long - it was worth it. Met some good people/10c members in section 111. If and when they return to Wrigley I plan on being there everytime! Thanks to 10c for the tickets and the band for a show I'll never forget!!

wnh1977 wrote:

That show will always be a little bittersweet for me.

A thousand times this. I used bittersweet when describing the show to my girlfriend, as it was the most surreal concert event I have ever attended in many ways and by 2AM I was ready to GTFO.

Definitely one of the most memorable PJ experiences of my lifetime.

Everyone has their own take on the event; I wouldn't presume to try and convince people that my opinion (IT WAS AWESOME) is the correct view. That having been said, one must acknowledge that the band did an excellent job under the circumstances. Admittedly, I was one of the many who thought that there would be no continuation, especially as the clock ticked closer to midnight. To be able to hear the band play until 2 am, when most thought the night/morning was lost, is something I'll never forget. I thought the band played great, especially Mike, and I really dug their honest effort to not let the delay kill the event. Great set, highlighted by CD/CoT (for me, at least - I love when they do that live. Last time I heard it was at the 9/11/11 Toronto show. This parenthetical is too long) and I really, REALLY dug the tweaked version of Corduroy.

Some other random memories:

1) The sky when the band starting playing, with the sunset and the choice of songs, gave the venue a really cool vibe. I really dug the lightning flashes that went off periodically during the first 7 song set.

2) Ernie Banks!!!!! As a baseball fan, seeing one of the greats was an unexpected perks.

3) I watched an entire Pearl Jam concert, but the only song going through my head on the way home was that damn jingle from the ice cream truck parked right outside the subway entrance.

4) Did anyone actually get on the subway? I saw 2 trains arrive during the first 45 minutes I waited in line, then nothing. Eventually, I gave up and went looking for a cab.

4a) Did anyone successfully hail a cab?

5) Never caught that cab, so I ended up walking the 4.5 miles from the park to my hotel. Caught a really interesting view of late night/early morning Chicago - a subject of another post altogether. Ended up getting to my hotel at 4:30am. Thank goodness my flight wasn't until 2pm the next day.

As a first-time visitor to Chicago and to Wrigley Field, I leave with nothing but positive memories. This is one of those "you had to have been there" kind of events, and I, for one, am glad I went.

jasonbouchard88 wrote:

I was not at the show, however, I do find it amazing that Pearl Jam still played after an almost 3 hours delay. I was wondering if some fans were actually taking a nap while waiting. Though the setlist looked great and sounds like it was an awesome show, learning the songs they cut from the setlist makes me realize that the show would have been even greater.

There was a guy 3 rows ahead of us that fell asleep during the break. All of a sudden he woke up in the middle of Unthought Known and started jumping around. Everyone started cheering and giving him high fives. It was hysterical he rocked out the rest of the night. Must have caught his 2nd (or 3rd or 4th wind) fantastic :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

RichAtomic wrote:

Anyone else get barred from entering Wrigley because they had a camera? Clearly a ridiculous restriction these days, considering just about every cell phone has one built in... but, whatever, I want to follow the rules.

I had done due diligence prior to the show, searching the forum for updates, checking every Ten Club email communication. Seeing nothing new I figured it was the standard policy as stated on the Pearl Jam website: if it's hand-held & no detachable lens, no problem. Imagine my surprise when I entered the security line -- eagerly opening my camera bag and declaring "just a camera and a rain poncho", expecting to be whooshed through -- and being firmly told "No cameras -- you can't come in." WHAT?!!? He gestured to a generic sign stating "NO CAMERAS" along with a number of other rules that Wrigley apparently slaps up at every concert event, individual band policy be damned. I was given no options -- no locker, coat check or anything. GET RID OF THE CAMERA OR DON'T GET IN. Having taken a train to the gig I couldn't return it to my car or hotel. So I'm freaking, frantically asking about (this was 7PM, a half-hour before the scheduled start time...) I got the "it's Pearl Jam's policy" from the security/Wrigley people and "it's security/Wrigley's policy" from the Pearl Jam people at the Ten Club ticket window. Both incorrect, both absolutely no help, a total Catch-22.

With no other choice (the concert was by now SUPPOSED to start in fifteen minutes...), I stuffed the camera in my pants and approached a different entrance where I was whisked through security without even being asked to open my camera bag. Jeez, had I known there was this express lane I'd have gone there first!

This was one of a handful of hassles I had with the organization of the show. I normally shrug off the complaints many have about Ten Club, but these were things that could have been easily foreseen and addressed with well over six months to plan. I'd seen Paul McCartney at Milwaukee's Miller Park the previous week and the Miller Park website had clear details on what was allowed to bring in to the concert -- including water, soft drinks, food and cameras -- all no problem! These details were repeated in all of the local media. It would have been nice if Pearl Jam and Wrigley would have publicized any deviation from normal policy. But it seems they didn't even know what the policy was, with plausible deniability all around. A disappointing way to start a long, frustrating evening.

(And don't get me going on the crap obstructed view reserved seats -- on the field, if you can believe it -- I was saddled with. I ended up moving to the upper deck for the encore, wishing I had been there all night.)

My wife had her purse searched. They saw the camera but didn't care.

I, for one, was seriously disappointed with this concert. I do applaud the band for coming back after the rain delay, but IMHO they just did not pick up the mood of the crowd, playing too many rare and odd songs that only a few people wanted to hear. If you wanna have a deep track-only concert, do it in a smaller venue with only the most diehard fans who dig that kind of stuff. You don't need Wrigleyfield for that.

I was in section 239 and by the time the band came back, most of the people who had sat next to me in the beginning were gone. Saddest moment of the evening: looking down on a MOTIONLESS GA pit during RVM! I actually left soon after that cuz I was so annoyed.

This was my 6th PJ concert and so far, all of them have been great, wonderful experiences. I am really sad and still kinda stunned that Wrigleyfield was such a bummer.

re: SETLIST COMPLAINERS

Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but that setlist was 1000% deliberate and intended by the band as the crowd control it needed to be. The "pre shower" set had to be slow. Ed/they wrote that list knowing when the radar said it would be "go time" to get people to safety before the storm. Play it slow and then break the news gently. If they had come out corduroy, solat, spin the black circle, etc and had 40k+ revved up and foaming at the mouth, the announcement that we had to stop would have maybe caused a little (to maybe even a lot) more rage and chaos. Considering this band's history with past crowd mishaps, they do and always will err on the side of caution, sometimes going "campfire mode" to ensure things don't reach a boiling point. They had to start Wrigley slow to ease people into the inevitable disappointment that they knew was coming in this age of many a recent concert stage disaster- especially when high winds are involved. There is a massive amount of liability too in having people huddle up for 3 hours and then playing til 2 am. It seriously is amazing, and a testament to what the band and organization thinks of us fans to come out finish.

Then as people are complaining they should have come back harder than "all the way", again it makes sense to have a song like that to ease people back into the concert in an orderly fashion. If someone is late to realizing the show re-started, theyre not gonna be too bummed coming out to see Ed up there alone giving it a go. Had they set up the stage and come out to Animal, Porch, Leash etc, there would have been serious rushing to get to the seats and there were thousands of drunk, overheated, dehydrated people who were in old, packed concrete hallways and would have been tripping over each other to get out there. I say smart choice. A lot of the floor people were inside clueless packed like sardines and wouldnt have known the show was starting again til they heard music. Not everyone was on twiiter, and a lot of people had no signal to even use a phone. The fact that All Night was next up just tells me Ed wrote this set at 7:30 pm while monitoring the doppler. His way to let people know youre getting a full show, put it all behind you and lets go.

If you couldn't enjoy the rest of the show setlist wise, I'm sorry. I won't say it was the best show ever but they did all they could from that point on to deliver. You have to appreciate what they did and give thanks to be so fortunate to get that show.

Lastly, some complained they scrapped Alive, YL, Daughter, Better Man, Baba etc, which surprises me, as we have all seen these countless times, if something's gotta go at the end, im ok with it. As for those who brought their wife or someone new, I get it, would have been good to have some of those for them, but I think the band thought "an evening w/ pj" was mostly diehards and scrapped some of the right songs.

I think originally they thought it was only going to be an hour delay and they planned to play all of those songs and still end well after midnight, but (according to someones iphone near me during the break) after the first storm rolled through there was a second, unexpected cell of storms forming that had potential to be just as nasty, hence an extra hour of waiting with no info, and the hour or so (with encore breaks) of music they chopped.

Like the show, dislike the show, but be appreciative of just how great it was they came out and finished for us. A monumental show of love to the fans.

Glad I got to be part of this.. Loved the show and loved Chicago, everything about this was worth it all.. Met some cool people, big shout to (Kate and Carl from Wisconsin, hope I spelled your names right - Sec 226, Row 20), it was great meeting you both, had a great time...

That was a special night. I'm so, so, so happy right now.

My only regret? Not staying at Flacco's on Thursday to talk with Emily and Hilary. If either of them are reading this, I hope you're both still making funny faces.