Pearl Jam Cancels 4/20 Raleigh, NC Concert in Opposition to HB2; Official Band Statement

I saw how much joy was in the crowd last night in Lexington. Reinforces my belief that the show must play on.

How does one unsubscibe from threads here? Can't get the notifications to stop.

Whew, finally caught up on this thread, lol, hope it's ok to offer a couple observations.

First, thanks to the mods for letting people express themselves here. I think it's a testament to the community that's developed here over the years (I'm a Johnny-come-lately) that there can be this much disagreement and debate with only a handful of posts being deemed off-limits by the mods.

Second, it is good to see that the HB2 law is pretty well universally disliked, and that the primary issue here has been the timing of the cancellation (which is the only factor I spoke up against upthread). That said, I think all those who object to the timing would still be appreciative of some clear reason behind the timing of the announcement (operative word here being clear).

For what it's worth, I was back listening to bootlegs 24 hours later, and was back on the forum a couple days after that (mainly to follow the fanview threads, lol).

As a last aside, thanks to those who clarified Pink Floyd's The Wall, from someone who is in the process of tearing down their own Wall (before I'm sentenced to be "exposed before your peers," lol). As the original work comes across to me, it is about an individual's struggles, while Roger Waters' recent reinterpretation is clearly far more political (anti-war) than the original album and film were (at least the movie was, I didn't catch the tour).

Once again, thanks to the mods and the community for not taking this discussion to some dark(er) places it could have gone.

fall by the wayside said:

The band is not punishing you. You are collateral damage. It sucks. It's just that the band thinks the civil rights of others are more important than your concert. End story.

Boom! Truth bomb. Adapt and overcome.

hedonist said:

scottjf8 said:

How does one unsubscibe from threads here? Can't get the notifications to stop.

You can't!


(actually, if you scroll to the top of the page, you should be able to click on the star on the right to unsubscribe)

I don't see a star. Maybe cause I'm mobile? I'll try from my computer at home in a bit...

Ah, I see... it's an all or nothing thing I guess, since under "my notifications" this thread doesn't show up... I guess I have to uncheck "notify when someone posts in a thread i've participated in."

For the millionth time, this forum software here sucks. Time for vBulletin.

PJ_Soul said:

Pretty sure they felt that what they did WAS choosing to make a real statement. Obviously not the one you would have made, but a statement nonetheless, and clearly the one they thought would be heard the loudest (I think they were right - cancellations have had much more impact than non-cancellations where someone said something that no one who wasn't at the show even heard about).

I agree. I know the band made the decision after much thought and what they felt was best. I see both sides to the argument and initially supported the boycott decision. I've changed my mind due to several things that have happened since I returned from tour (I live in NC, so this issue will be on my mind through November), but I don't condemn their decision. Boycotts have a lot of merit to them. My post above was just some thoughts going through my head last night.

bluesuedeitzrad said:

I live in NC too and was supposed to be at that show. They made a statement, yeah, but that statement was already made by The Boss.

I think its a little too easy for people out of state, that weren't planning to attend the show to give full forgiving support. What they are forgetting is the people that live here that aren't huge fans like us – that were looking forward to the show. The band could have come and given a message about HB-2 and gained MORE support. Now they have pushed away people.

A statement was made, but that doesn't mean it was a wise decision.

Not to mention fans that traveled across the country to see this show. I think they made a horrible decision and it screwed over a lot of their fanbase.

And skipping concerts had no effect on the legal ruling that everyone knew was coming eventually.