Holy Repeats Batman!

Ledbetterman10 · June 2008

Zoso wrote:

as pj fans we're so spoilt really I mean they will have played most of their catalogue (over 200 songs) by the end of the tour in only what 13 shows? Thats unheard of today or in the past.

people who are complaining about 11 repeated songs at MSG need to stop going to multiple shows.

LeilaMoonTurtle · June 2008

I agree

that means I get floor again and closer

yay!

Ledbetterman10 wrote:

people who are complaining about 11 repeated songs at MSG need to stop going to multiple shows.

acoustic guy · June 2008

BUSH-lager wrote:

Just when I was starting to kinda sorta buy into the whole "Pearl Jam is a modern day Grateful Dead" argument, they play 2 nights at MSG and play the following on both nights:

Why Go

All Night

Corduroy

Given to Fly

Who You Are

Even Flow

Do The Evolution

W.M.A.

No More

I Believe In Miracles

Alive

Not knocking the band or the gigs at all. I had a freakin' blast and they certainly mix it up way more than just about anyone else I've ever seen, but I think the whole Dead comparison is, well, dead. I realize there is more to that analogy then just setlist variety, but that was always the crux of the argument for me.

Oh, well, still an epic couple nights.
Hope it's less than 5 years before they come back!

Yea I agree. I heard almost every song they did at MSG during either night 1 or 2 at Camden.
To tell ya the truth it bummed my first MSG experience out.
That and the dirt weed the guy next to me gsve me to puff on.
Nasty brown crap. I never ever smoke anymore, but if I do it better be the dank, I did puff on the kind bud at the train station

:D:D

Shawn Smith Collective · June 2008

October22 wrote:

were they wearing the same clothes both nights (i can't remember)?

maybe they were filming, hoping to get the best parts of performances to edit together.

I mentioned the filming/DVD thing in a previous thread, and I really think this is the case. I get the feeling the band wasn't thrilled with a few of the performances and replayed songs on night 2 to compile a new (MSG) DVD properly. Throughout the night, I was trying to figure out if they were wearing the same clothes also. Great minds think alike.

pc_loadletter · June 2008

corduroy, alive, and even flow should not be used in this argument because all three are played in 99.99999999% of their shows. its a cold day in hell when they dont play all three

Joe2TheRevenge · June 2008

Ledbetterman10 wrote:

people who are complaining about 11 repeated songs at MSG need to stop going to multiple shows.

No kidding. Some people forget that not everyone is so obsessive about Pearl Jam that they go to every show within 100 miles.

Some people only have tickets to one show, and deserve to see some hits.

Also, with that said, The Grateful Dead were able to mix up their setlist more than anyone else for 2 reasons:

1. They had ZERO hits. Every song was on an equal level.
2. They suck and everyone was on drugs. So it didn't matter what they played.

Fighting Hellfish · June 2008

pc_loadletter wrote:

corduroy, alive, and even flow should not be used in this argument because all three are played in 99.99999999% of their shows. its a cold day in hell when they dont play all three

add do the evolution to that list. It's the only song played in each of my 20 shows. Even Flow is 19-20

toronado10 · June 2008

in terms of setlist variety, the grateful dead comparisons should have stopped a long time ago. they still play a wide variety of songs over the course of a given tour, but the setlists seem to have become a little more predictable.

red mos · June 2008

BUSH-lager wrote:

Just when I was starting to kinda sorta buy into the whole "Pearl Jam is a modern day Grateful Dead" argument, they play 2 nights at MSG and play the following on both nights:

Why Go

All Night

Corduroy

Given to Fly

Who You Are

Even Flow

Do The Evolution

W.M.A.

No More

I Believe In Miracles

Alive

Not knocking the band or the gigs at all. I had a freakin' blast and they certainly mix it up way more than just about anyone else I've ever seen, but I think the whole Dead comparison is, well, dead. I realize there is more to that analogy then just setlist variety, but that was always the crux of the argument for me.

Oh, well, still an epic couple nights.
Hope it's less than 5 years before they come back!

I'm sure someone will blast me for this but in reality it's true. Pearl jam do change up their setlists greatly but there are always repeats in the set. usually about 7-10 songs are repeats in setlists probably more common in back to back same city shows. I am glad that pearl jam does mix up their set but even excluding the staples (e flow, black, corduroy, yl, RVM) They still have repeats nightly. The band does a great job going through their catalog. I've immensley enjoyed seeing many old songs return to the set this tour that have been absent for over a decade. Congrats to all who have been able to see pj in the last 5 years, that's hpw long it's been since they have played the shithole I live in. :(

MUZIK · June 2008

When going to state to state you obviously cant get to picky when they play the same sht BUT when they play the same state, same city, same venue, and repeat the same 11 f'N songs? i mean common i could name it least 20 that i would wanna hear then what was repeated, but i guess beggers cant be choosers.

But this is New York City where in 03 we had over 8,000+ fan club members, so im sure the band knows that a lot of fans not only from ny but from all over the world just dont come for just one show they come for both nights and the majority would wanna hear something different then the previous night.

slightofjeff · June 2008

corduroid wrote:

They will never be a modern day Grateful Dead, nothing to do with setlists.

They are simply not an improvisational band.

Oh, they can jam out hard and sometimes long within a given structure, nobody can deny that. But they regurgitate meat and potatoes, night after night. Extremely good meat and potatoes, but whimsical creativity, exploration, intuitive ingenuity, variations of tempo, song structure, rhythmic play, or breaking any form of new ground does not happen 'in the moment.' Pearl Jam is one of the least 'jammy' bands going, especially nowadays. :eek:

For sure the Dead juggled sets around but on any given run you'd hear many of the same things over the course of two or at least three nights: Tennessee Jed, Deal, Loser, Bertha, Looks Like Rain, Sugaree ... dozens of first set examples ... all of Bobby's cowboy songs ... these things fell into definite slots, especially first and early second sets. People often overlook this.

Yet it's the truth that to often even casual listeners they wouldn't play the songs exactly the same way twice, even on back-to-back nights. There was always some variation in how they approached a song, sometimes subtle, sometimes not so. That was their calling card, their genius. With PJ, when you hear the first notes of any given song you know exactly how it's going to play out - Mike's featured solos notwithstanding [but that's really beside the point.]

Not saying it's a bad thing; I love PJ's emotional range, musicianship, and passionate fire, but in a fundamental musical sense PJ could not be further from the Grateful Dead. The comparisons never should have started.

This might be getting off the subject, but the point of the Dead comparison never had anything to do with the style of music. It had more to do with the scene around it ... people caravanning from show to show, taking in whole tours, etc etc. That only happens with a small handful of bands. The Dead are one. PJ is another.

The comparison is a valid one.

Nobody ever said the two bands *sound* alike.

slightofjeff · June 2008

High Fidelity 2000 wrote:

I too thought there quite a few repeats for a 2 night stand.

In 2003, if I remember correctly, they only repeated 5 songs. I might be wrong but I am almost positive it wasn't anywhere close to 11.

And it is not a small percentage of people that go to both shows. Look at this board. I bet it's a pretty big percentage. Maybe a small percentage that are able to score 10C seats for both. But I bet it's at least 1/3 of that crowd that goes to both shows. At least.

What's with the backup singers? I mean, I know what's with them. I read the posts... I just think backup singers are cheesy. Pearl Jam already added a keyboard player. That's enough in the "predictable added band members" category, thanks. No backup singers. No trumpet players. No Go Go dancers. The other 5 guys in the band can't sing backup good enough?

You didn't think Fonzie and crew were f'n hilarious?

JeffAment's-Floor · June 2008

slightofjeff wrote:

This might be getting off the subject, but the point of the Dead comparison never had anything to do with the style of music. It had more to do with the scene around it ... people caravanning from show to show, taking in whole tours, etc etc. That only happens with a small handful of bands. The Dead are one. PJ is another.

The comparison is a valid one.

Nobody ever said the two bands *sound* alike.

I think the comparison also has to do with variety within shows, and I do think that his claim is correct that Pearl Jam sticks to the same song structures that they play. The only songs that they jam out to are the ones they always jam out to. (Porch, RVM, Crazy Mary, Daughter, Betterman, etc, etc) Not to complain though. I'm just saying that's how it is. I'd love to hear a Marker in the Sand jam out for instance on that outro, but it's just not going to happen (unless it's preplanned pre-tour in which case every time the play it, it will be jammed out on). Ed called WMA at MSG1 an "experiment." No it wasn't. It was played that way all tour. Again, not trying to take anything away from the Pearl Jam live show. In fact, I HATE the Dead, but the poster does have a point with his post.

MattyJoe · June 2008

Gotta love W.M.A., that was consistently one of my favorite parts of the shows I went to. Those chords with the vocal melody are just chilling. Beautiful.

U R A Crazy Breed · June 2008

BUSH-lager wrote:

Yeah, I mean none of the songs are bad (except No More, gimme a break, Ed).

i know huh..fucking Ed,not wanting to see our brothers/fathers/sons/daughters/mothers/sisters dying in the sand of a country we shouldn't be in,over lies!

fucking guy has some nerve!

sorry but i hate you ignorant assholes.i am always so peaceful and feeling the love vibe at the show until i hear the "shut up and sing Jeremy" fuck heads and it incites me to be violent!! luckily God grants me the strength to restrain myself from choking one of you stupid assholes.

SheetsOfClay · June 2008

Crazy Breed wrote:

i know huh..fucking Ed,not wanting to see our brothers/fathers/sons/daughters/mothers/sisters dying in the sand of a country we shouldn't be in,over lies!

fucking guy has some nerve!

sorry but i hate you ignorant assholes.i am always so peaceful and feeling the love vibe at the show until i hear the "shut up and sing Jeremy" fuck heads and it incites me to be violent!! luckily God grants me the strength to restrain myself from choking one of you stupid assholes.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe the original poster just doesn't like the song, regardless of the message? I love when people use "god" and "asshole" in the same sentence. It says a lot about your religious conviction.

Red Burrito · June 2008

You must remember that this tour is not an "album tour". If this were an album tour you could easily replace 5 "old" songs with 5 "new" songs. With there being 11 repeats at MSG , add 5 "new" and different album songs each night and you are only left with one repeat...probably Evenflow, Corduroy, or DTE.

PJ_Jammer · June 2008

I much would have rather heard black then alive again. Evenflow is always a awesome song, wheather it be Mike palying guitar behind his head, or Matt going nuts on the drums. I have been to 5 shows and never heard Black yet. IMO playing 3 of the same songs is fine but some other songs would have been nice.

blueeyedevil · June 2008

I don't know.......I was at both Camden shows and MSG II, and the amount of repeats was a bit surprising. Just because people have been talking about it doesn't mean they are bashing the band, they are just surprised.

I had a great time at all of the shows, and I have to think that's the most important thing. Would I have preferred a little more variety? Of course. But the shows were great, I got to hear a few tracks that I've missed in the past, and seeing Ace Frehley at MSG II was a real treat for someone who grew up a KISS fan.

Some people need to remember that we will never get an all rarities setlist, even at a fanclub show like the Vic. The band decides what to play,and either live with it, or don't go to the shows.

Others need to stop "defending" the band over what is an innocent enough topic for discussion. People have a right to comment on what they just paid to see.

Both camps seem to be a wee bit sensitive, no?

RedMosquito22 · June 2008

They repeated 9 songs out of 30 and you are complaining? You can't count corduroy and evenflow as repeated songs since they are played at every single show.

Holy Repeats Batman!

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