Sydney is one of those shows that was a blast in person, a real party atmosphere where the crowd became part of the show, and the band is in good spirits. Unfortunately that doesn't translate too well on the boot, especially with the crowd mixed so low. Ed is pretty blind from the start of the show, but taking that into consideration he doesn't do much worse vocally than most of the 2013 shows.

This guy is on-point.

- I must preface this review by giving a warning: this may be the worst performance I've ever heard from my favorite band in the world. I don't mean to take a shot at their professionalism, but this performance is mostly pathetic.

- Having Amongst the Waves follow immediately does not flow well at all, and kills the momentum completely. Furthermore, the band is noticeably off time and out of synch throughout most of Amongst the Waves. It's truly one of the worst versions I've heard; Ed's forgetting lyrics and coming in at the wrong time, for example. This is seriously rough start to the gig, and almost embarrassing.

- I hate to harp on my favorite band, but Swallowed Whole is another miniature disaster.

- Another odd placement is Future Days in the main set, and is a terrible performance. The Boom intro is absent. Ed stops midway through the first verse, quits singing for several seconds, then he goes to the chorus. It is simply inexcusable to have this amount of musical errors in one set.

- I have no idea where Ed was going with this set flow, it's almost atrocious.

- Mike goes completely silent for the last minute or so in Alive, during his solo. It leaves the song sounding very much empty. I’m told it was due to Mike jumping in the crowd! Ed even gets the lyrics wrong in the opening line of RITFW, mumbling something to cover it up.

- The main set, song after song, is just so incredibly flawed musically and utterly sloppy.

- There is neither vibe, nor flow to help save this mediocre performance. I highly urge skipping this one.

I absolutely cannot stand how ed feels the need to swear in every song. How he also needs to sing the first chorus of Present Tense in the higher octave. No subtlety in the playing at all.

Listening back to snippets of the Adelaide show, I'm pleasantly surprised that it's more enjoyable than I'd remembered.

It was honestly one of my least-enjoyed live music experiences, it wasn't a good time in any respect; I would've preferred to have been paying bills or doing laundry than watching Pearl Jam at that moment. I guess it may have just been one of those times where the environment had an overwhelmingly negative impact on my enjoyment of the show.

Looking forward to giving it a full listen tomorrow!

While I loved the two Brooklyn shows I was at, listening to them, it's apparent the band are getting better and better but eds become the weakest link. Hard to say that cos he's the talisman.
Do we know what the best shows of this most recent tour are yet?
I'd like to hear them.

While I loved the two Brooklyn shows I was at, listening to them, it's apparent the band are getting better and better but eds become the weakest link. Hard to say that cos he's the talisman.
Do we know what the best shows of this most recent tour are yet?
I'd like to hear them.

Give OKC a try. Eddie figures out pretty early on (i think during MYM, which is pretty squealy) that his high/scream range isn't quite working and adjusts pretty well. Aside from two or three small things the band is spot on, the only lyric flubs are in Sirens, and the banter is non-drunk and playful/fun. And a pretty solid setlist too.

Haha, woah.