Pearl Jam Mailed It In On Monday Night

PhishinPearls said:

I'm going to preface this by saying MSG2 was my first show in six years. Not because I love the band any less, but sometimes life gets in the way, and lots of things happen - before you know it, it's been six years. But I've also seen my fair share of shows - some spectacular shows (Borgata 2 in 05, my first show, followed by the Philly 05 show, the final two shows at the Spectrum) and some mediocre ones (Camden and Mansfield in 08).

Knowing what this band can do, having seen them many times on back to back nights, having seen them really dig into their catalogue, etc., I can honestly say last night's show was a huge disappointment.

I don't come to see Pearl Jam to hear their greatest hits, and I can safely say the majority of us don't come to hear a greatest hits album either, but that's what we basically got. 7 songs off of Ten, 7 covers, 4 from LB, 3 from Vs. and 3 from Vitalogy. 75% of the show was either their newest album, not their stuff, or written before 1995. I know that's how this band actually got popular, but the reason they developed a devout following was because of albums like No Code, Yield, Binaural, and Riot Act.

Yes, it was great to see All or None, great to see Present Tense, great to see Breath. But a few songs in a first encore a show does not make. And frankly, the encore wasn't spectacular even with those songs.

Think of shows like 10/3/05 in Philly - a first set that had Wash, Brain of J, Faithfull, Sad, Alone, and Green Disease in the first 10 songs alone.

It's MSG. It's the second night in the same city, and they chose to play it safe and play their hits, which is their right. But let's not fool ourselves and say what a great show this was. It wasn't, and it wasn't even close. I recognize the guys are getting long in the tooth, I recognize it's the fourth show in five nights, but they can be so much better than what they gave us last night. This isn't sour grapes, it's just an honest assessment.

I respect your opinion. Everyone has different expectations going into a PJ show and different criteria of what makes a great show (crowd energy, band energy, setlists, acoustics, etc..). This show did not live up to what you were looking for but it's hard to say the mailed it in. Their plan for the night was just different from yours.

marcos said:

This thread reminds me of something Donald Trump would say

Let's make PJ great again!

All Or None
Breath
In Hiding
I Got Id
Rats
Footsteps
Chloe Dancer
Crown Of Thorns
Present Tense
Leatherman
Garden
Deep
Takin' It To The Streets
Surrender w/ Cheap Trick
Driven To Tears w/Sting

I hope they mail it in next time they visit NYC

PJ always repeats their songs. This is why, as a Phish fan first and foremost, I laugh at people who say PJ plays a different show every night. Sorry, not even close. PJ shows are very predictable. But who cares? They are the best rock show today. Period. They play with heart top to bottom.

I did indeed like n1 better than n2 though.

PhishinPearls said:

OceansJenny said:

PhishinPearls said:

The choice of songs is a direct correlation to the effort, in my opinion.

No. Effort is playing your heart out. They LIKE playing Even Flow, Given to Fly, Lightening Bolt etc. Get over it.

I bet they mix up the setlist when they get bored. But they don't get as big of a FULL ARENA fan reaction when they do, bc its just 10c area reacting. They get more full arena responses from the hits. And that's what they felt like doing last night.

Well, based on the shows you've seen, I think it's hard to make an argument last night's show held a candle to Philly 05 or East Rutherford 06, for example.

I never said it did. It wasn't an "epic" show. Not every show is or SHOULD be. But I still had a good time. Am I glad I didn't spend $400 a ticket? Yes.

I think people are only disappointed bc they expect MSG shows to always be epic. I think whether you get an "epic" show depends on 1) band mood 2) crowd mood. Also depends on which songs in their catalogue they've practiced lately,

I've only been to 3 full band shows over the last 6 years and am thankful every time I get to go. I enjoy Sirens and Lightening Bolt bc I've only seen them live 2-3 times. The more shows you go to, the more bored you get of the repeats. At least for the complainers

I know I was feeling it and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

fish? does that play music?

sak300zx said:

Isn't it ironic that on a PEARL JAM website ( the most pro-"speak your mind", "free speech" band which unabashedly gives its political and social views during concerts) that people are getting bashed for simply saying they wish they could hear different songs?!

Honestly, are people really that upset over someone appreciating this band so much that they want to hear more songs??? It's not even criticizing the band... It's saying your so good I can't get enough. That's an indictment on how great this band is.

Agree 100%. But don't say they phone it in and only cater to casual fans. That's when I feel the need to speak up.

It's always someones first show. I'm sure if it was someone's first show, they were blown away. For me, I'll take PJ anytime, anywhere if I'm lucky enough to make it there.

They played 2 nights in 2008 at MSG and my wife and I were lucky to attend. They played some of the same songs night 2 that they played night 1. At first I was little bit unhappily surprised, but then I immediately thought at the time... Holy shit. Who cares. I'm rocking out to PJ at the back of the floor at MSG. Fuck yeah!!! Not my favorite shows for the setlists, but some of my favorite shows for the bands energy and for the venue (which actually happily surprised me that it wasn't as huge as I thought it would be) (and Elwayvedder better not say that's what she said!! )