My 50 Shows... Ranked.

unikunka · April 2016

Just got back from Greenville/Hampton. Hampton was my 50th show and whilst on the plane decided to put my 50 shows in some sort of order.... why I'm not sure, but I did it and figure this is the place to post such a thing.
So these are my 50 shows ranked top to bottom -- it's not scientific, and obviously there are some personal considerations (where I sat, memorable experiences etc) but this is how I'd put 'em with a few qualifying comments...
One thing is for sure, I've seen some good ones.

1. Moline 14 -- the "No Code" show -- a full album out of nowhere, plus band went off the setlist which is always a great sign
2. Gorge 05 -- drove from LA to the Gorge and got PJ opening for PJ plus had great 10C seats -- Hard to Imagine from outta nowhere and "Hello Tom, Come Down Tom"
3. San Diego 06 -- great set and the band and crowd just crushed it -- ranked higher than some might have it -- loved the Long Road mid-set and story about it
4. Phoenix 13 -- started with Long Road/Release, then 10 song first encore plus great GA spot and caught a Stone pick
5. Chicago 00 -- day after freezing East Troy, band goes off setlist for 23 song first set -- 30 songs back when it meant something
6. Greenville 16 -- "VS." for show 49, band in excellent form
7. Seattle 2 00 -- last show of Binaural tour, return of Alive, Parting Ways with strings and 3 encores
8. Chicago 07 -- The Vic -- seeing the band in a 900 person club -- the "deep cuts" setlist
9. Santa Barbara 03 -- one of the first "nights w/ Pearl Jam" -- acoustic then electric, then Chris Cornell for Hunger Strike
10. Hampton 16 -- show #50 GA 3rd row in front of MIke -- great first set, plus caught a Mike pick and another Long Road mid-set appearance to bring things full circle

11. Los Angeles 2 13 -- another great show in the GA -- No Way into Blood end of first set
12. Santa Barbara 06 -- "mini-Gorge" acoustic set into electric set
13. Vegas 00 -- 10th Anniversary, first Crown of Thorns
14. Irvine 1 03 -- great seats but sneaky great set -- go back and listen to the boot
15. Los Angeles 2 06
16. East Troy 2 11 -- Night 2 of PJ 20 -- loved the collaborations with Liam and Hansard
17. Chicago 98 -- my second show
18. Chicago 2 06 -- the Avacado "pre-tour" shows -- this night blew night 1 outta the water, 7 song 2nd encore
19. Universal City 4 09 -- they played All Those Yesterdays, my number 1 chase song
20. San Diego 09

21. Los Angeles 1 13 -- step below Phoenix and LA 2 -- a whole lot of 10
22. Wrigley 13 -- rain delay made for interesting night, but man was I tired by the end
23. Vancouver 05 -- day after the Gorge couldn't compare but actually great setlist
24. East Troy 1 98 -- my first show, best memory was them absolutely butchering Last Exit
25. Seattle 2001 -- this was the festival w/REM -- only 10 song setlist but extended Long Road with Ali Khan and I feel asleep on the bus at 2 AM on the way to the airport and got dropped off in the middle of nowhere in a forest while it was raining at 3:30 AM
26. Bridge School 1 1999 -- first performance of Thin Air but insane Bridge lineup with The Who, Neil, Green Day, Pumpkins -- The Who absolutely destroyed it
27. Universal City 1 09 -- short set but got Tremor Christ and caught first Stone pick
28. San Bernardino 00 -- it was fucking freezing but they opened with RVM and had a sneaky great set
29. East Troy 1 11 -- Night 1 of PJ 20 -- it was wet
30. Las Vegas 03 -- opened with 7 songs of fire

31. Los Angeles 1 06 -- good set, bad 10C seats
32. Irvine 2 03
33. Universal City 2 09 -- not a bad show
34. San Diego 03 -- great set (The Arc, 3 encores) but man Stone hated this show -- felt forced
35. Universal City 3 09 -- Cornell sang Hunger Strike but rest of the show was average
36. Seattle 2 02 -- the Key Arena Riot Act shows -- a lot of Riot Act
37. Chicago 07 Lolla -- fun festival set but weird forced Rocking in the Free World with backstage people on stage
38. Seattle 1 02
39. Fresno 00 -- Fresno is an ugly city, but Ed told a pretty funny joke about Yogi Bear and buttholes
40. Washington DC 06

41. Bridge School 2 1999 -- The Who had to play during the middle of the day, made rest of the day weird
42. Chicago 1 06 -- Ed was pretty f'ing drunk
43. Phoenix 03 -- very dry, Ed ailing, short set but did get I Won't Back Down
44. Los Angeles 00 -- non fan club show, very LA crowd and shortish set -- there were 2 crazy dudes in the pit
45. Las Vegas 06 -- everyone was a little bit off
46. Mountain View 03 -- had great seats but unmemorable show
47. Bridge School 1 2001 -- I Am Mine debuts after 9/11
48. Bridge School 1 2003
49. Bridge School 2 2003
50. Los Angeles 08 -- The Who tribute show, only played 2 songs

Also saw Ed and Jeff at the Not in Our Name benefit in 98 were they also played Long Road (it's a runner for me), plus Ed at the Tibetan Freedom Concert w/C Average where I met Ed on the lawn and shook his hand plus 3 other solo shows...

Wrigley will be shows 51 & 52. See you on the road.

dimitrispearljam · April 2016

man..its really taugh to do it...i have 1 less..49 shows
i know the number 1..Amsterdam 2 -2012 and Jacksonville ofcourse together at 1st place for obvious reasons..

and for sure last is Arras 2010

MayDay10 · April 2016

The west coast primer

intodeep · April 2016

Wow that is impressive.
Being a Neil and PJ fan i always thought the Bridge School would be epic. Seems you did not have the greatest time at those shows. Would you not suggest traveling for those shows?

SVRDhand13 · April 2016

Very cool list. I love reading stuff like this. After this tour maybe I'll put together my 25 shows.

mcgruff10 · April 2016

After this tour I ll be at 57 shows. Man that s gonna be tough to rank. I guess for now my top eleven would be:
1. MSG 9/11/98. First row in front of Ed
2. Randall's night 2 9/29/96. Longest pj show for awhile. 33,000 people, on the rail between Ed and mike. One hell of a first show.
3. 9/11/11 Toronto. The electricity in the building that night was amazing. Uncle Neil to end things. Wow. I got long road as an opener which is my favorite song. When the song concluded Ed threw the pic out to the crowd and yours truly got it.
4. Philly 10/30+31/09 I can't seperate these two. Both nights were incredible.
5. Holmdel 03. Incredible set list. Best porch ever.
6. 7/13+14/98 la shows. Yield tour. First time traveling to see pj.
7. House of blues orlando Florida 03. Small intimate venue. Killer set. Angry Ed was in the house that night.
8. Kitchener 9/11/05. Another small venue. What a fun night.
9. MSG night one 03. The stage freaking bounced!!!
10. MSG night 2, 2010. Hunger strike sealed the deal.
11. Penn state. Holy long set!!

MayDay10 · April 2016

Here is mine. About half that.

1. Buffalo 2003 - My first show so there is a majestic bias... but I was lucky enough to witness a pretty epic show with a great crowd.
2. Philly 3 2009 - The Penultimate concert at the Spectrum. Was the strongest show and still had a lot of anticipation. First 2 shows kind of warmed up, day off and the grand finale started in style
3. Toronto 2009 - Was a decent enough show, but Ted Leo couldnt cross the border, so the band opened up for themselves in a real treat
4. MSG 2 2010 - Was a good show after a 'pedestrian' night one. Slow Lukin debuts and a great Hunger Strike are highlights
5. Philly 4 2009 - Had too much hype, you would figure Bruce would fly in on one of those parachute fans. Long show. was great.... but the crowd and me was kind of worn out and really couldnt match night 3. Whip It was cool. Sweet Lew didnt get a good ovation and Jeff scolded us.
6. MSG 1 2016 - Good show. Seats back corner of stage. Chloe/Crown, Footsteps, etc.
7. MSG 2 2016 - Was front row between Stone and Eddie. Sting for CoT, Cheap Trick for Surrender. Lots of hits, but like that being in the front row. Lots of tech issues though
8. Cleveland 2010 - Was a great show. Kind of a 'dark' set, open with Wash, Sleight of Hand, a great Immortality. Close with Indifference
9. Hamilton 2011 - Good, rocking show. Went last minute. Great story by EV about J Ramone's last days and seeing the circle of life.
10. Pittsburgh 2013 - Solid show. Extra boost from being right on the heels of Lightning Bolts' release and hearing several songs live for the first time ever. Also had Global Citizen tickets
11. - Baltimore 2013 - Cool venue. Good show. HTI... Habit, Blood, Reign.
12. - Boston 2 2004 - The better of the 2 VFC warm up shows. Gave away a ticket before the show and some asshole showed up as the lights went down and crammed like 4 people into my area, and tried to tell me that I had the wrong seat. The Seeker
13. - PJ20 2 - It was very chilly and I was under-dressed. Decent show, but the PJ20 shows did not live up to the hype. Liam/Habit was the high point of the weekend. A floating tealight almost set the amphitheater ablaze
14. East Rutherford 2 2006 - Blew out the electronics on Animal. Heard Rats 1st time live. Garden
15. Philly 1 2009 - Good opening show, behind the stage empty. Felt like a more intimate show/warm up for what was to come. Everyone in the crowd was in high spirits
16. Buffalo 2010 - Pretty standard. Fatal was the high point. Also an important message was delivered to Eddie Via a shoe that would play out in coming weeks.
17. - MSG I 2010 - Accidentally peeked at the setlist which was a bummer. Also had the girl in front of me calling a friend and holding her arm right in front of me as if that improved the sound. I think her friend kept hanging up on her.
18. - Philly 2 2009 - The 'weakest' of the Philly shows.... most formulaic show. i had a blast, brought 2 PJ virgins and they were blown away.
19. - Boston I 2004 - pretty standard-far show. The Red Sox were in a pennant race and way too many people were stuck in the concourses watching the game.
20. - Buffalo 2013 - Nothing really special on Pearl Jam standards (which is a different scale than most)
21. - Camden I 2008 - Really nothing stands out to me from this show in a poor venue
22. - Camden II 2008 - See above
23. - PJ 20 I - Long and rainy day. The show was so/so. I subscribe to the belief that all the Cornell/ToTD brought the show to a halt. I was at a perfect angle of a bright spotlight behind Jeff/Mike that was absolutely blinding.
24. - Hartford 2006 - Was the only 'poor' PJ show I have ever seen. Was a very cold May day in an outdoor venue (I dont like the Meadows). It really seemed like they went through the motions a bit.

Soon: Toronto I to make 25!

edited to add MSGs 2016

walkunafraid · April 2016

intodeep said:
Wow that is impressive.
Being a Neil and PJ fan i always thought the Bridge School would be epic. Seems you did not have the greatest time at those shows. Would you not suggest traveling for those shows?

As a frequent Bridge School goer myself, I can say this: In terms of the atmosphere, the community, the uniqueness of the event, the (typically) eclectic collection of bands, the fact that the entire show is acoustic, the cause, and the kids on stage, it is well worth traveling to these shows.

However, a 7-song (approximately) acoustic performance is hard to compete with a full-on 30+ song Pearl Jam show, which is most likely why the OP has these shows ranked at the bottom. And that to the fact that Pearl Jam is beloved at these shows but not in the way they are on typical tour stops (ie, lots of people at Bridge School are there to see Neil #1, or possibly other bands, depending on who is playing) so that you won't get the typical rabid PJ fan experience...in other words, if the swell of the PJ crowd is your thing, it will be much less pronounced at Bridge School.

Bottom line: Amazing experience, amazing event, amazing kids, amazing time. But don't expect to walk away calling it the greatest PJ experience of your life, simply because their time on stage is limited to 30-45 minutes and the crowd isn't going to be as raucous as they might be at a tour show.

ikiT · April 2016

I hit a milestone of TEN shows with Columbia...

Charlottesville 2013 epic
Leeds 2014 almost as epic 1st GA
Columbia 2016 GA perfection
Montreal 2011 with the youngster...PJ is his Rolling Stones
Hampton 2016 spaceship
Phoenix 2013 x country
Memphis 2014 boomin best sounding venue
Worcester 2 2013 word
Worcester 1 2013 wooooooooosta
Bristow 2010 1st show back...opening with EWBTCIAST---my fave of ALL songs

unikunka · April 2016

intodeep said:
Wow that is impressive.
Being a Neil and PJ fan i always thought the Bridge School would be epic. Seems you did not have the greatest time at those shows. Would you not suggest traveling for those shows?

Bridges are very cool but PJ typically play very laid back sets and it's more about the entire day then just them -- tough to rank them over full shows even though you definitely get cool stuff (like first Thin Air and NAIS) -- the 99 shows are still the best of the best of the Bridges I've seen.

unikunka · April 2016

mcgruff10 said:
After this tour I ll be at 57 shows. Man that s gonna be tough to rank. I guess for now my top eleven would be:
1. MSG 9/11/98. First row in front of Ed
2. Randall's night 2 9/29/96. Longest pj show for awhile. 33,000 people, on the rail between Ed and mike. One hell of a first show.
3. 9/11/11 Toronto. The electricity in the building that night was amazing. Uncle Neil to end things. Wow. I got long road as an opener which is my favorite song. When the song concluded Ed threw the pic out to the crowd and yours truly got it.
4. Philly 10/30+31/09 I can't seperate these two. Both nights were incredible.
5. Holmdel 03. Incredible set list. Best porch ever.
6. 7/13+14/98 la shows. Yield tour. First time traveling to see pj.
7. House of blues orlando Florida 03. Small intimate venue. Killer set. Angry Ed was in the house that night.
8. Kitchener 9/11/05. Another small venue. What a fun night.
9. MSG night one 03. The stage freaking bounced!!!
10. MSG night 2, 2010. Hunger strike sealed the deal.
11. Penn state. Holy long set!!

That's a hell of a Top 11. Definitely remember Penn State as an "epic".

mcgruff10 · April 2016

unikunka said:

mcgruff10 said:
After this tour I ll be at 57 shows. Man that s gonna be tough to rank. I guess for now my top eleven would be:
1. MSG 9/11/98. First row in front of Ed
2. Randall's night 2 9/29/96. Longest pj show for awhile. 33,000 people, on the rail between Ed and mike. One hell of a first show.
3. 9/11/11 Toronto. The electricity in the building that night was amazing. Uncle Neil to end things. Wow. I got long road as an opener which is my favorite song. When the song concluded Ed threw the pic out to the crowd and yours truly got it.
4. Philly 10/30+31/09 I can't seperate these two. Both nights were incredible.
5. Holmdel 03. Incredible set list. Best porch ever.
6. 7/13+14/98 la shows. Yield tour. First time traveling to see pj.
7. House of blues orlando Florida 03. Small intimate venue. Killer set. Angry Ed was in the house that night.
8. Kitchener 9/11/05. Another small venue. What a fun night.
9. MSG night one 03. The stage freaking bounced!!!
10. MSG night 2, 2010. Hunger strike sealed the deal.
11. Penn state. Holy long set!!
That's a hell of a Top 11. Definitely remember Penn State as an "epic".

thanks bud. i've been really lucky over the years. 10c and pearl jam have treated me quite nicely. I've only had a few "crappy" shows in the mix: hershey 03, camden shows 08, hartford 06 and global citizens was pretty bad.

Indifference · April 2016

MayDay10 said:
22. - Hartford 2006 - Was the only 'poor' PJ show I have ever seen. Was a very cold May day in an outdoor venue (I dont like the Meadows). It really seemed like they went through the motions a bit.

That is funny as here is mine.
#1 - The experiment 7/11/03 - wish I had pics as was front row center EV gave me mic at beginning of Breath
99 other shows
#101- Hartford 2006

MayDay10 · April 2016

heh. Im glad its not just me. I remember having feelings at the end of the show like "that is it?"

kmac1976 · April 2016

Great post...I was at a few of the same shows.

Irvine#1 in 2003 was my first PJ show ever, and a boot I listen too often in the car....Of the Girl + Deep + a great version of Blood.
LA#1 in 2013...Release into Long Road into Coduroy(ed yelling at chick in the pit), was a great start. All or None in the encore....IMO a step above LA2(although getting 'NO Way, Breath and Mother was pretty amazing).

LC · April 2016

Awesome thread.

1. 7/11/03 Mansfield - The acoustic experiment puts it at the top
2. 9/16/05 Ottawa - an underrated Friday night show
3. 5/17/10 Boston - Crazy setlist...Pilate, Push me, pull me, undone, Crown of Thorns
4. 7/2/03 Mansfield - Unreal feeling when Ed tells the crowd they won't be repeating a song for 3 nights........except YLB
5. 9/29/04 Boston - 2nd VFC show....Great covers...I've got a feeling, The Seeker
6. 8/29/00 Mansfield - my first show....great set
7. 5/25/06 Boston - The Leash got dropped for the first time in years
8. 7/19/13 Wrigley - feel like this would have been #1, but the delay was tough
9. 10/15/13 Worcester - Release/Long Road start fantastic
10. 5/15/10 Hartford - "OTOTO" for AINT talking bout love...even though it wasn't
11. 7/3/03 - Mansfield - LOUD crowd...listen to BAba on the bootleg
12. 6/30/08 - Mansfield - Education.....Mama Son trilogy
13. 10/8/04 - Kissimmee - Fun atmosphere after watching the Sox win a ALDS game in an Orlando bar in the afternoon
14. 6/29/03 - Montreal - Alive was insane with the crowd
15. 5/12/06 - Albany - RATS, Hide your love away
16. 5/24/06 Boston - 2 Dylan songs for his 65th birthday
17. 6/28/08 Mansfield - only time I've heard Hard to Imagine
18. 9/15/05 Montreal - only this low because I was over served at Grumpy's pre-game..ha
19. 9/28/04 Boston - Howard Zinn on stage for VFC 1
20. 5/13/06 Harford - Rainy, cold day....blah performance

hsohi · April 2016

To the original poster...the one who started the thread.... Thank you for taking the time to do this

intodeep · April 2016

unikunka said:

intodeep said:
Wow that is impressive.
Being a Neil and PJ fan i always thought the Bridge School would be epic. Seems you did not have the greatest time at those shows. Would you not suggest traveling for those shows?
Bridges are very cool but PJ typically play very laid back sets and it's more about the entire day then just them -- tough to rank them over full shows even though you definitely get cool stuff (like first Thin Air and NAIS) -- the 99 shows are still the best of the best of the Bridges I've seen.

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

walkunafraid · April 2016

unikunka said:

intodeep said:
Wow that is impressive.
Being a Neil and PJ fan i always thought the Bridge School would be epic. Seems you did not have the greatest time at those shows. Would you not suggest traveling for those shows?
Bridges are very cool but PJ typically play very laid back sets and it's more about the entire day then just them -- tough to rank them over full shows even though you definitely get cool stuff (like first Thin Air and NAIS) -- the 99 shows are still the best of the best of the Bridges I've seen.

I second this point about getting cool stuff at Bridge School. If you're a rarities seeker, it's definitely the place to go. In the 5 Bridge School shows I have attended at which Pearl Jam has played (I have also been to Bridge School shows at which Eddie played solo, which is also a treat), I have gotten 7 tracks that the band has played live 6 times or less over the course of their career:

- 25 Minutes To Go (performed 3 times total)
- Santa Cruz (only time ever performed live)
- Dancing Barefoot (only time ever performed live)
- Walk With Me w/ Uncle Neil (performed twice, both at Bridge School)
- Rain (performed in full 5 times total)
- Driftin' (performed 6 times total)
- Other Side (performed 2 times total)

I would say that's a pretty damn good ratio of shows/rarities, especially since a typical PJ Bridge School setlist is 7-10 songs. Add to that somewhat rare performances of other tracks (Masters of War, Around the Bend, Hunger Strike), along with vastly reworked versions of songs (slow version of Better Man!), and just cool songs to hear acoustically (Given to Fly, Fuckin' Up, etc.), and I would say I have been extremely fortunate to be able to attend these shows.

adamg5 · April 2016

Dude don't forget jack irons guest playing hail hail and in my tree (both correctly/how they should be). Santa Barbara 03 That was amazing!!

Red Mosqito · April 2016

intodeep said:
Wow that is impressive.
Being a Neil and PJ fan i always thought the Bridge School would be epic. Seems you did not have the greatest time at those shows. Would you not suggest traveling for those shows?

Thankfully the Shoreline Amphitheater is in my backyard so I never have to travel for these performances. Personally I wouldn't recommend for anyone to travel to these shows as the sets are too short to justify all the travel cost, even if you did both nights. But if you're attending other shows on the West Coast and can swing attending I would recommend experiencing PJ at BSB at least once.

My 50 Shows... Ranked.

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