My 50 Shows... Ranked.

walkunafraid said:

Here are my rankings:

Full shows:
1. Los Angeles 2, 11/24/2013: This show was all over the place setlist-wise, and I have to admit that it took a while for the crowd to get going as a consequence. Got to hear a handful of absolute treasures (Low Light, Present Tense, No Way (!), Save It For Later tag on Betterman, Another Brick in the Wall tag on Daughter, After Hours, Mother, Breath were all highlights), as well as some of my least-favorite live songs (Last Kiss, Sleeping By Myself). But the reason I rank this #1 (and believe that it will never be topped) is the timing of it. This show came at a point where I had hit absolute rock bottom in my life with no hope in sight. I didn't even bother to get 10C tickets to either LA show because I honestly questioned if I would even make it to November. I've always said that music is therapy, and this was the strongest proof I have of that. For three solid hours I was able to forget about all the shit in my life and focus on the elation and hope that Pearl Jam has always brought me. I needed this show, and the band delivered as powerfully as I could have wished for. On an added note, for the person I went with this was her first Pearl Jam show (she had become a rabid fan because of me). The first song I had ever played for her was "Oceans", and that had become "our" song in more ways than I can possibly describe. So when the band opened with it at this show -- the first song of the first PJ show we went to together -- we both cried. That's a moment I'll remember like it was yesterday even when I'm 100.

2. Los Angeles I, 7/9/2006: Just a fun, energetic, crowd-friendly show. Great mix of fan favorites and a few songs I had been dying to see live (Crown of Thorns, Inside Job, Whipping). But the main reason I rank this so high is that it was the show at which I finally got to hear my all-time favorite Pearl Jam song, "Release". I still get goosebumps thinking about the goosebumps I got when I realized that's how they were opening.

3. Los Angeles 3, October 6, 2009: I scored a last-minute ticketmaster-released front row (Mike's side) ticket for this one, and went nuts the entire night. Ended up with at least 5 guitar picks including one of his personalized ones with a dog on each side. Fun setlist, most memorably for the surprise duet with Chris Cornell on "Hunger Strike" (the crowd lost its shit), but also the opener ("Sometimes") into "Breakerfall". Also got Faithfull and Off He Goes, two of my all-time favorite PJ tracks.

4. Santa Barbara, 7/13/2006: Beautiful venue, beautiful day, beautiful set. First 10 songs were all acoustic (Oceans, Hard to Imagine, Low Light were highlights). Had great 10C seats and the band seemed happy as shit that day.

5. PJ 20 I, East Troy, 9/3/11: Yes it was freezing and raining and I was out on the lawn, but who cares? We got Release, In My Tree, Who You Are, Push Me, Pull Me, In The Moonlight, Help, Help, Education...plus a Temple of the Dog reunion set. Truly a set for the hardcore fans, and just an amazing experience overall.

6. Los Angeles I, 11/23/13: I feel like this should be ranked higher, but everything above was so amazing that I don't know which show to move back. The opening trio was mind-blowing: Pendulum -> Release -> Long Road, and this was just a solid, fun show to be at (even including Ed's pissed off rant at the shitty fan in the pit).

7. PJ 20 II, East Troy, 9/4/11: Another show heavy on fan favorites and rarities: Wash, All Night, Pilate, No Way, Smile, to name a few. I did think that a second night of Cornell taking over much of the vocals was a bit of a letdown, but it just feels wrong to complain about that.

8. LA IV, 10/7/2009: The end of a four-show run in Los Angeles, and, among those 4, the one that the band seemed most loose and carefree. Nice setlist with some real treats (Alone, Long Road, All Those Yesterdays, Crown of Thorns, Kick Out the Jams with Jerry Cantrell). Only thing that brought it down, in my opinion, was a fourth-consecutive night of a mini-orchestra set playing the exact same songs to open the first encore (the band sounded great, but I suppose as PJ fans we get spoiled by them mixing things up to the extent that having an entire portion of the encore identical for four consecutive shows is a bit of a letdown).

9. Missoula, 6/20/98: My first PJ show! I was 19 at the time and had taken a 3-day Amtrak train from Los Angeles to Missoula in order to visit a girl and see PJ from the GA section on a football field. Based on the rush of the crowd (it was impossible to stand still for more than about 5 seconds without being pushed or pulled or swayed) and the fact that this was my first PJ show, this should really be ranked higher, but I was admittedly more of a casual/semi-serious fan back then, and I didn't appreciate the moment as much as I would as the rabid fan that I am today. My lasting memory of this set is In Hiding, which was absolute euphoric.

10. LA I, 9/30/09: Bit of a short set, but I got to hear Rats for the first time, so it was all good. Also my first time with some of the Backspacer tracks (Unthought Known, Amongst the Waves), which I thought were pretty amazing live.

11. LA II, 10/1/09: Nothing at all wrong with this show, but nothing remarkably standout, either. Psyched to see Driven to Tears for the first time.

12. Outside Lands festival, San Francisco, 9/28/09: The band was great and the setlist was solid, but my most vivid memory of this show was of a huge, drunk Samoan dude with a long, sweaty ponytail who alternated whipping said ponytail at everyone around him and threatening to fight people for no apparent reason. It sucks how one shitty "fan" can drag down an entire show...

13. San Bernardino, 10/28/00: My second PJ show, and my first with 10C seats (which ended up being great). The setlist and band/crowd energy were fine, but it was freezing, and I was sick as a dog, and I probably annoyed my neighbors by coughing all night...so this one ranks at the bottom for me.

Bridge School shows: I feel like these have to be ranked separately because they are a completely different experience than full shows:

1. 10/23/10: Mind-blowing set featuring THREE songs never played outside of Bridge School (Santa Cruz, Dancing Barefoot, Walk With Me w/ Uncle Neil). And yet the highlight was an absolutely stunning, slow, stripped-down version of Better Man that I became obsessed with for months that followed.

2. 10/25/03: My first Bridge School ever. At that point I had never heard Pearl Jam's version of Masters of War, so when that was how they opened their set, I was absolutely blown away. This set also included amazing versions of Man of the Hour, Black, and one of the only three performances of 25 Minutes To Go that the band has performed.

3. 10/15/14: Hard to pick the highlight of this set: acoustic Hunger Strike with Chris Cornell or acoustic Given to Fly? Both were stunning. Rain and Fuckin Up' were also incredibly fun to hear in this setting.

4. 10/24/10: Really amazing set featuring more rarities: Other Side, Driftin', Walk With Me with Uncle Neil. I would probably rank this higher except that I was more stoned than I have ever been in my life and it hazed over my view of the set.

5. 10/22/06: Every Bridge School performance I have been to has been beautiful, so it sucks that there has to be a last place. This was a fun set that included Masters of War, Around the Bend, Thin Air, Black, and Throw Your Hatred Down. No complaints whatsoever.