YOUR SHOWS RANKED!

SVRDhand13 wrote:

PJ20 so low!

The entire experience through the travel, days, etc was amazing.


The shows themselves do not compare to a normal PJ show IMO. Between all the "special guests" and the ToTD reunions (I personally like ToTD).... the shows completely lacked the momentum-building and "bite" that drives me to attend 22 and counting shows.

The only one that is lower is the only true "dog" of a show I have been to: Hartford '06. It was May, freezing, the band really didnt seem into it. Opened with 4 or 5 straight Avocado songs, and a pretty short, standard setlist.

1) Gorge 2005
2) Boise 2000
3) Seattle II 1998
4) Calgary 2009
5) Missoula 1998
6) Vancouver 1998
7) Seattle II 2000
8) Vancouver 2005
9) Seattle I 2002
10) Vancouver 2003
11) Gorge II 2006
12) Gorge I 2006
13) Seattle II 2002
13) Vancouver 2000 (Commodore!)
14) Vancouver 2011
15) Seattle II 2002
16) Seattle 2001 (Groundwork)
17) Portland 2000
18) Seattle I 2000
19) Seattle II 2009
20) Seattle I 2009

Seeing as I bothered to type of this list.. I had a few observations:

1) 4 out of my top 5 were outdoor summer shows
2) The Yield Tour seems to be the most consistently high on my list
3) Seattle shows are really hit and miss.
4) My 20th show was the the only one I saw on the PJ20 tour

Only at five shows now, but from best to least favorite

Charlottesville 2013
Atlanta 2012
Bonnaroo 2008
Bristow 2010
Charlotte 2013

SVRDhand13 wrote:

I must admit I like seeing that your bottom 6 shows were ones I did not attend and the rest are many that I did :thumbup:

I've been thinking about this and I could see Brooklyn Night 1 coming out on top for me :shock:

haha Now that you say that I guess I need to rethink my order.. jk :twisted:

Oceans can do that to a show!

Three main factors are considered when ranking my shows and seem to affect the time I have: a) location in the venue, b) the fans around me and how energetic they are, c) setlist. A fourth factor is, to a much lesser extent, the time I have leading up to and after the show (pre/post parties, fans I meet etc.).

With that, 10 show sample for me, so it's easy as well:

1. Barrie, ON (08/22/98) - my first show and my 20th birthday. 30,000 people in GA. It doesn't get much better.
2. Buffalo, NY (10/12/13) - was FINALLY super close to the stage (2nd/3rd row in the pit), so it easily made for a great show. Been literally a dream of mine since my first show to see them up close.
3. Toronto, ON (09/11/11) - Great set and energy. Chloe/Crown and Neil freakin' Young joins them on stage for Rockin'. Amazing
4. Toronto, ON (08/21/09) - Molson Amphithreate on a beautiful summer's eve. Great venue.
5. Ottawa, ON (09/16/05) - Hometown show! Epic setlist and show length.
6. Toronto, ON (06/59/03) - Same as above. Molson Amphitheatre again on a great evening....
7. Ottawa, ON (09/14/11) - Decent seats (15th row on floor), but felt the crowd was not into it enough and it took away from the experience. Eddie seemed to notice it too!
8. Kitchener, ON (09/11/05) - Fun trip to Kitchener and a good set . . . was 30th row on the floor and drunk! But still pretty fun.
9. Toronto, ON (10/05/00) - Second of back-to-back shows in different cities means I was TIRED. And nosebleed seats doesn't help either!
10. Montreal, QC (10/04/00) - Nosebleed seats made it hard to connect with the band and other fans.

FrankieG wrote:

SVRDhand13 wrote:

I must admit I like seeing that your bottom 6 shows were ones I did not attend and the rest are many that I did :thumbup:

I've been thinking about this and I could see Brooklyn Night 1 coming out on top for me :shock:

haha Now that you say that I guess I need to rethink my order.. jk :twisted:

Oceans can do that to a show!

Oceans + Release + Main Set Chloe/COD + Sleight of Hand + My first Dissident + Mike shredding Eruption + Just Breath sounded so good ( :shock:)

This is tough, after the first two, but I'll give it a shot. All these shows were great in my opinion:

1. Philly 3 2009 ( Breath, Deep, Off he goes, Parting Ways, Hold On, In my tree, Tremor Christ, Untitled/MFC, Light years, reverse mamasan) Band was on fire
2. MSG 2 2010 (Breath, Im Open, Push me Pull me, Black Red Yellow -- Encore 2 really cooked -Wasted Reprise, Better Man, Black, Real Me, Hunger Strike!, Alive, Kick out the Jams, Yellow Ledbetter)
3. Brooklyn 1 2013 (I know everyone has this ranked lower than 2, but:- Release, Chloe/Crown in first set, Oceans to start the encores - it just sticks out for me a little more after letting the dust settle. Maybe 3(a) and (b))
4.Brooklyn 2 2013
5. Newark 2010 (I know the crowd was a little off, which may have prompted a few drops from the set, but I loved this show -- Of the Girl opener, Brain of J, Glorified G, Brother, Alone, Jersey Girl - would have been pretty sick if they kept the original setlist (Alive moved up to end first set, Porch in 2nd encore, Breath in first encore, No Way and Leaving here in Encore 2; "You are" seemed to replace No way)
6.MSG 2 2008 - Black Diamond with Ace Frehely
7. Beacon Theater 2008 - Chance to see PJ in a small theater; acoustic set with Sleight of Hand, Masters of War, Harvest Moon, Low LIght; Undone in the main set. Great version of Black. Very nice show.
8. MSG 1 2008 - Hard to Imagine opener
9. East Rutherford 2 2006 - End of first leg. No surrender pre-opener. Great set.
10. MSG 1 2010

1- 10/27/09 Spectrum 1 - my first show and won the lottery with 2ND ROW SEATS - also got Faithfull & Immortality - 2 of my favorites I haven't heard since (don't know how I got to 2009 without seeing PJ - life's great regrets :fp: )
2- 10/21/13 Phila 1 - probably only ranks behind 10/27/09 because seats weren't nearly as good - phenomenal perfect show
3- 10/22/13 Phila 2 - moved above #4 because of Wash and Come Back (and my only Yellow Ledbetter )
4- 9/2/12 Made in America - got up really close to the stage with the sweaty masses. Also really enjoyed Gary Clark Jr and Run DMC that day. Had to suffer through Drake before PJ started. Full WMA really rocked and Jay-Z thing was kind of cool even if rap isn't my thing. Nice aggressive setlist.
5- 10/27/13 Baltimore Arena - Really great show but didn't get TC seats and fans around me weren't into a lot of really great songs. Also band seemed just slightly off - with Lou Reed passing that day and fight with Jeff etc.
6- 5/1/10 New Orleans - Jazzfest was a great time and I would definitely go back, but PJ was a lousy experience there. Couldn't get anywhere even in the vicinity of the stage, could actually hear some music (African drumbeats or something ) from another stage during the show, and setlist was kind of middling.

Really trying not to be a homer but my "away" shows weren't as good as any of my "home" shows. If only I could've made that Charlottesville show. :(

SVRDhand13 wrote:

Zod wrote:

11) Gorge II 2006
12) Gorge I 2006

Makes me feel a little better about missing Night 1

People were expecting 3 hour shows, acoustic sets, crazy setlists... and well they seemed more like standard shows with a few deep cuts added in. The biggest problem with the Gorge '06 shows was the Gorge '05 show. That set the bar really really high (and it's probably a top 5 PJ show of all time).

I'm still not sure why the band didn't do an acoustic sets like the '05 shows. The expectations were there that they do it because it was billed as "an evening with pearl jam" just like 05 was. Maybe it was the weather. It was some of the hottest weather I've ever experienced. 120F. ugh. I guess the band can't play for three hours in that, but still. For those who saw the '05 show, the two '06 shows seemed average in comparison (Dirty Frank withstanding ..... )

SVRDhand13 wrote:

And yes, it was hot as hell. But I did not notice once the show started because I was so elated.

I made the mistake (and didn't learn after night 1) of getting there for doors so I could get a poster.... door's were 2 or 3 hours before PJ took the stage... so that's a long time in the sun... I think i was a little burnt out by the time they hit the stage... but yah it was hot as hell... and the gorge is merciless in July/August sunny weather