Why does Pearl Jam totally disregard Binaural?

LukinAtU · September 2018

Need more diversity. And yes, more Binaural.

Brisk. · September 2018

People saying its a buzz killer i don't get. They already play slow soft songs during the encore or midset and covers that people don't know. Plus there are Rockin songs on the album.

mcgruff10 · September 2018

darwinstheory said:

kid canada said:

cwja said:

mcgruff10 said:

cwja said:

rummy said:

I know mega-fans at the Binaural show in Toronto 2016 would disagree but, trying to speak objectively, the crowd was pretty subdued during its performance. The energy picked up afterwards.

Pretty subdued is an understatement. Personally I’d choose a great set over a great crowd though. Especially in North America. If you’re looking to pay money to watch a crowd, go to Argentina.

Disagree completely. You need a balance. Newark 2010 has a fantastic set list but the crowd absolutely sucked which equated to a pretty bad show. Hartford 2010 wasn’t the greatest setlist but my god the crowd! That show is still one of my favorites.

It’s admittedly all based on personal tastes. For example, I was at the Ten and Binaural shows that year. Philly crowd was insane for the Ten show, Toronto crowd was dead for the Binaural show. I’d still take the Binaural show, sounds like you’d prefer the Ten. Just different, not better or worse, preferences.

I was at the Binaural show with a friend who is a PJ fan but not a diehard by any means. When God's Dice came on after Breakerfall I knew what was about to happen and was pretty stoked - but for my friend, the next hour or so was a stretch of songs she didn't know or at best barely knew, and other than Grievance and maybe Insignificance none of them are fast-paced rock songs. So she was really bummed for that entire stretch. Then they played Corduroy/Once/RVM to close the set, first encore had Even Flow, Better Man and Porch and the second encore was Small Town/GTF/SOLAT/Black/Real Me/Alive/RITFW and she had the time of her life.

How does your friend feel about Binaural now after time to reflect? Does she enjoy it or does she not really pay it much attention?

Just wondered. I would guess at the time she wasn't into it because she didn't know it. But after seeing PJ live, I always MUST get a copy of the show. If she did, she probably listened to it a lot, then gained a deeper appreciation for what she was there to witness.

Having seen pj as much I have I can honestly say that I too would have hated seeing binaural being played live in its entirety. The only three albums you can do that for is ten, vs and vitalogy imho.

JT167846 · September 2018

I think it's my least favourite PJ album with Avocado (though that's my no means a negative as I still really like them-though not keen on the sound of Binaural) but I'd love to hear more of it live. Amsterdam 1 in 2016 gave it some good lovin but I'd love to see NAIS & DOG live. Soon Forget I thought I'd have seen at least at an Ed show or after The Donald got elected. But I like hearing tracks from as it seems the songs sound a lot sharper live and have the energy the album lacks to me. Much like seeing Can't Deny Me the first time live last night.

PB11041 · September 2018

There is a ton to unpack here, but I think one of the things overlooked is that they do not tour the way they did in 1998 (62 shows) 2000 (75 shows) 2003 (73 shows - not including the late 2002 Seattle shows which are very much a warm up for this whole tour) 2006 (72 shows even though only half were in the US - also doesn't include the Hawaii shows)

1998 arguably would have been larger had they been quicker to the ceding to TicketOverlord.

Each of those tours saw the main record they were promoting lead the way. After which a few songs held a semi-main rotation, and so on.

For me personally, if I went to a show and never heard Jeremy or Betterman again, I'd lose no sleep, but I get that for other fans it is a big part of their night. So as much as I am a bring on the Binaural or what have you, as an example last nights show had a few odd flow points where the crowd just kind of fell out - Arms Aloft (though I was happy to catch it for my first time) Can't Deny Me (again, happy to have caught it first time) and Comatose (hadn't caught that since 2006).

The building last night was pretty hard wired for Ten and Vs. - I am sure that beyond the freaks (happily in this crew, not knocking it) it went over a lot of heads that they attempted the original lyrics to Immortality played at back to back 1994 Boston shows.

If they did an entire tour and only played tracks from Vitalogy, No Code, Yield, Binaural, whereas I'd be bonkers, I imagine a healthy portion of the crowd would leave scratching their melon.

darwinstheory · September 2018

mcgruff10 said:

darwinstheory said:

kid canada said:

cwja said:

mcgruff10 said:

cwja said:

rummy said:

I know mega-fans at the Binaural show in Toronto 2016 would disagree but, trying to speak objectively, the crowd was pretty subdued during its performance. The energy picked up afterwards.

Pretty subdued is an understatement. Personally I’d choose a great set over a great crowd though. Especially in North America. If you’re looking to pay money to watch a crowd, go to Argentina.

Disagree completely. You need a balance. Newark 2010 has a fantastic set list but the crowd absolutely sucked which equated to a pretty bad show. Hartford 2010 wasn’t the greatest setlist but my god the crowd! That show is still one of my favorites.

It’s admittedly all based on personal tastes. For example, I was at the Ten and Binaural shows that year. Philly crowd was insane for the Ten show, Toronto crowd was dead for the Binaural show. I’d still take the Binaural show, sounds like you’d prefer the Ten. Just different, not better or worse, preferences.

I was at the Binaural show with a friend who is a PJ fan but not a diehard by any means. When God's Dice came on after Breakerfall I knew what was about to happen and was pretty stoked - but for my friend, the next hour or so was a stretch of songs she didn't know or at best barely knew, and other than Grievance and maybe Insignificance none of them are fast-paced rock songs. So she was really bummed for that entire stretch. Then they played Corduroy/Once/RVM to close the set, first encore had Even Flow, Better Man and Porch and the second encore was Small Town/GTF/SOLAT/Black/Real Me/Alive/RITFW and she had the time of her life.

How does your friend feel about Binaural now after time to reflect? Does she enjoy it or does she not really pay it much attention?

Just wondered. I would guess at the time she wasn't into it because she didn't know it. But after seeing PJ live, I always MUST get a copy of the show. If she did, she probably listened to it a lot, then gained a deeper appreciation for what she was there to witness.

Having seen pj as much I have I can honestly say that I too would have hated seeing binaural being played live in its entirety. The only three albums you can do that for is ten, vs and vitalogy imho.

I definitely understand any casual fan not enjoying it so much. I'm sure they would feel pretty lost out there during such a show. The only full album show I went to was the Yield show (missed the No Code when I lost the 10C lottery).

It was a neat experience. I wouldn't want a full album show every time though. The 1st 3 albums would absolutely work the best for it, I agree. But, I love me some Binural and Avocado. With so many of these songs being MIA, I would really enjoy the full album show.

I just wondered what the casual fan may have thought of the experience after having an opportunity to see it live, listen to the boot (if she did) and reflect on it. Wonder if it made her enjoy the whole show and album more. Did it help her become a bigger fan? Did she resent them for filling an hour of the show with shit she didn't know? Maybe she's still a casual fan.

PJ_Soul · September 2018

Gern Blansten said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

Might fall into songs that are too complicated to play. Several band members have mentioned liking the easier songs to play somewhere, sometime.

No way....I play guitar. None of those songs are anymore difficult to play than RVM, GTF, etc.

I know that Mike once specifically said that NAIS at least is too hard and that is why they rarely play it, and I think it's the same deal with others. The tunes are tricky - also to do with some being tough for Eddie to sing right.

mrussel1 · September 2018

PB11041 said:

There is a ton to unpack here, but I think one of the things overlooked is that they do not tour the way they did in 1998 (62 shows) 2000 (75 shows) 2003 (73 shows - not including the late 2002 Seattle shows which are very much a warm up for this whole tour) 2006 (72 shows even though only half were in the US - also doesn't include the Hawaii shows)

1998 arguably would have been larger had they been quicker to the ceding to TicketOverlord.

Each of those tours saw the main record they were promoting lead the way. After which a few songs held a semi-main rotation, and so on.

For me personally, if I went to a show and never heard Jeremy or Betterman again, I'd lose no sleep, but I get that for other fans it is a big part of their night. So as much as I am a bring on the Binaural or what have you, as an example last nights show had a few odd flow points where the crowd just kind of fell out - Arms Aloft (though I was happy to catch it for my first time) Can't Deny Me (again, happy to have caught it first time) and Comatose (hadn't caught that since 2006).

The building last night was pretty hard wired for Ten and Vs. - I am sure that beyond the freaks (happily in this crew, not knocking it) it went over a lot of heads that they attempted the original lyrics to Immortality played at back to back 1994 Boston shows.

If they did an entire tour and only played tracks from Vitalogy, No Code, Yield, Binaural, whereas I'd be bonkers, I imagine a healthy portion of the crowd would leave scratching their melon.

Wait, they attempted to play the original pre-Cobain death lyrics last night??

mrussel1 · September 2018

I can see why Binaural could bring a crowd down if they just spent time whipping them into a frenzy, but that's where the first Encore works wonders. Thin Air at Seattle was lovely. And i'm surprise that no one here has mentioned what a beautiful song Light Years is. They pull out the green and yellow lights during the song and it is fantastic, and most definitely not a buzz kill. I have seen it a handful of times post 2000 and it makes my night.

Ledbetterman10 · September 2018

CantKeepmedown said:

I followed them around on both the Binaural and Riot Act tours, so I've seen each album in full. But I just don't see them playing more than 1-2 songs from each during a show, especially in a stadium. If they ever (which I'm sure won't happen) do a fanclub type only run of shows, then I'm sure they'd pull that stuff out. But these stadium shows with 40K people, they'd lose 3/4 of the crowd. The 2 from Riot Act last night were probably the most fan friendly (maybe Can't Keep to open) songs they could play in a stadium. From Binaural, maybe Of the Girl to open, then Insignificance or Grievance and that's about it.

I cringed when they started Arms Aloft last night because the place was absolutely buzzing with the GTF, Animal, Save You start. I was in a fanclub section, and barely anybody knew AA.

Barely anyone knew it? Or barely anyone liked it? As was the case at PJ20, that song just doesn’t work that early in the show...if at all.

That aside, this was probably my favorite PJ show in years. Just great in every way.

EnterThanman · September 2018

Gern Blansten said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

Might fall into songs that are too complicated to play. Several band members have mentioned liking the easier songs to play somewhere, sometime.

No way....I play guitar. None of those songs are anymore difficult to play than RVM, GTF, etc.

Simple could also mean song structure. RVM is a very simple song structure, with very simple timing, where as Grievance is not. There’s zero chance anyone in the band (aside from maybe Eddie) would struggle with the playing of any song in their catalogue, but structurally a song with odd timing or strange punctuations might just not be as fun to play.

EnterThanman · September 2018

Could it also be that maybe the guys don’t like this album that much? I know Mikes said that era was a dark time for him, and I think it was Stone that said it was the moment they felt they were losing relevance. Maybe the connection the band has to the songs just aren’t as positive as with other albums. I could obviously be way off, but just a thought.

jefft · September 2018

rummy said:

I know mega-fans at the Binaural show in Toronto 2016 would disagree but, trying to speak objectively, the crowd was pretty subdued during its performance. The energy picked up afterwards.

Totally agree. I was there too

jhager79 · September 2018

Gern Blansten said:

I've been harping this (and Riot Act) for a few years. I don't get it.

I went to both Chicago shows and both Boston shows and scratched exactly one song off my list of "haven't heard live" tunes.

There are 6 Binaural songs and 7 Riot Act songs that I haven't heard live.

I was in heaven night 1 in Toronto 2016 when we got the whole album

Gern Blansten · September 2018

EnterThanman said:

Gern Blansten said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

Might fall into songs that are too complicated to play. Several band members have mentioned liking the easier songs to play somewhere, sometime.

No way....I play guitar. None of those songs are anymore difficult to play than RVM, GTF, etc.

Simple could also mean song structure. RVM is a very simple song structure, with very simple timing, where as Grievance is not. There’s zero chance anyone in the band (aside from maybe Eddie) would struggle with the playing of any song in their catalogue, but structurally a song with odd timing or strange punctuations might just not be as fun to play.

Trust me... That's not why. Practice it twice and it's done.

Milestone · September 2018

Nothing As it Seems is usually reserved for when someone important to the band dies. I’ve heard Ed say something along those lines at one point.
Specifically played it for Jack White’s keyboard player at Detroit 2014.
i had to imagine that the Seattle version was for Chris Cornell, although nothing was said. One of my favorite songs, especially Mike’s pedals and solo.

Milestone · September 2018

Whoops. Double post, sorry.

deftones · September 2018

Binaural and Ten are my favorite albums, still trying for NAIS. I hope they give it more love in the future.

Tristelune · September 2018

Milestone said:

Nothing As it Seems is usually reserved for when someone important to the band dies. I’ve heard Ed say something along those lines at one point.
Specifically played it for Jack White’s keyboard player at Detroit 2014.
i had to imagine that the Seattle version was for Chris Cornell, although nothing was said. One of my favorite songs, especially Mike’s pedals and solo.

Sounds more like Light Years than NOAIS to me

lastexitlondon · September 2018

This thread made me go off and play evacuation on my guitar. Thank you

Why does Pearl Jam totally disregard Binaural?

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