Original List:
- Spoiler: show
- I ranked my shows prior to the 2013 tour by listening to them all in order. I'm sure the 2013s and 2014s will move around with additional listens.
1. Ottawa, ON – September 16, 2005. An awesome show. Spectacular Black and Crazy Mary were highlights. Also featured many of my personal favorites. This was the first time I traveled to a show alone.
2. State College, PA – May 3, 2003. The band was in great spirits. A really fun show.
3. Philadelphia, PA - October 3, 2005. Toughest 10C ticket that I ever tried to get. Great set. The feedback during Crazy Mary prevents this from being higher on my list. That really derailed the momentum and flow.
4. Hartford, CT – June 27, 2008. One of the most underrated shows of the past 10 years.
5. Philadelphia, PA – October 30, 2009. The best crowd of a show I was at. Row 1, 2, 9, 10 Lottery winner. In Hiding was my single favorite song from a show that I attended.
6. Chicago, IL – July 19, 2013. Hard to rank. Unforgettable. I plucked a ball from the ivy. It’s my single greatest piece of concert memorabilia. I was grinning like a fool the entire time I was on the field.
7. Milwaukee, WI - October 20, 2014. Great crowd. The band was in great spirits. Main set Baba, quite rare. Yield in order.
8. Camden, NJ – June 19, 2008. Very solid show.
9. Philadelphia, PA – October 31, 2009. Fuck you RM.
10. New York, NY – May 21, 2010. Great crowd. Absolutely spectacular feeling the floor shake. Kinda scary too. Ben Bridwell absolutely killed Hunger Strike – the best guest participation that I witnessed.
11. Vienna, Austria – June 25, 2014. Rather unusual set.
12. Camden, NJ – September 2, 2000. This is where it all started for me.
13. Seattle, WA – December 6, 2013. The band was in great spirits. The only time I sat behind the stage.
14. Philadelphia, PA – April 28, 2003. Great crowd. Crazy Mary opener.
15. Camden, NJ – May 28, 2006. Kyle Korver left me hanging for a high-five.
16. East Rutherford, NJ - June 3, 2006. Main set power interruption which derailed momentum and flow.
17. Pittsburgh, PA – October 11, 2013. This show was a good tour opener. It exceeded my expectations.
18. Camden, NJ – July 5, 2003. Very, very hot. Plus it rained for 5 minutes to make it extremely humid. Quite disgusting. Main set RitFW, quite rare. I could not see the fireworks from where I was sitting. I enjoy listening to the bootleg more than actually being there.
19. Stockholm, Sweden – June 28, 2014. My lone GA experience. I was 3 people deep dead center.
20. Pittsburgh, PA – June 23, 2006. The only time I went to a show without having a ticket in advance.
21. Hartford, CT – May 13, 2006. This was the coldest show this side of the ice bowl. Temp was in the 40’s. I had to shell out god knows how much for an official merch sweatshirt. May have sat next to Rosario Dawson.
22. Reading, PA – October 1, 2004. My seats were last row floor.
23. Toronto, ON – September 19, 2005. Great crowd. Bono silliness. The only show that I was at where I was sick.
24. Buffalo, NY – May 10, 2010. Fatal.
25. Baltimore, MD – October 27, 2013. Band was in a terrible mood. I enjoy listening to the bootleg more than actually being there.
26. Ottawa, ON – September 14, 2011. Row 1, 2, 9, 10 Lottery winner. Accidentally knocked over a girl while reaching for a pick. She got the pick and offered it to me. I refused and apologized profusely. The only show where I remember boobies being shown.
27. Tulsa, OK – October 8, 2014. I was surrounded by asshole fans. This was the only show where I was unable to engage with the band and concert experience.
28. Philadelphia, PA – October 28, 2009. The worst of the Spectrum shows. The World Series vibe was great, though.
29. New York, NY – June 25, 2008. Great crowd. My seats were 3 rows from the very last row on the floor. Absolutely spectacular feeling the floor shake. Kinda scary too. Awful encore #2 – No More, Last Kiss, Why Go, Black Diamond, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter. That’s my least favorite encore ever. I didn’t care for the background singers during the main set either.
30. Camden, NJ – May 27, 2006. Drunkest crowd that I can remember. Featured Last Kiss with the convicts. Worst Last Kiss ever.
31. Hershey, PA – July 12, 2003. Shitty concert venue. The band was exhausted from the night before and it showed. The only time I heard Help Help, Get Right, Thumbing My Way, Thin Air and Driven to Tears.
32. Boston, MA – September 28, 2004. Great crowd. I disliked both rare covers – American in Me and Bleed For Me. Howard Zinn was brought on stage to say, “Vote.” Tim Robbins was involved. The shortest show I’ve seen. This is my favorite poster, though.
Rerank:
1. Ottawa, ON – September 16, 2005. An awesome show. Spectacular Black and Crazy Mary were highlights. Also featured many of my personal favorites. This was the first time I traveled to a show alone.
2. Hartford, CT – June 27, 2008. One of the most underrated shows of the past 10 years.
3. Philadelphia, PA – October 30, 2009. The best crowd of a show I was at. Row 1, 2, 9, 10 Lottery winner. In Hiding was my single favorite song from a show that I attended.
4. Philadelphia, PA - October 3, 2005. Toughest 10C ticket that I ever tried to get. Great set. The feedback during Crazy Mary prevents this from being higher on my list. That really derailed the momentum and flow.
5. State College, PA – May 3, 2003. The band was in great spirits. A really fun show.
6. Philadelphia, PA – October 31, 2009. Fuck you RM.
7. New York, NY – May 21, 2010. Great crowd. Absolutely spectacular feeling the floor shake. Kinda scary too. Ben Bridwell absolutely killed Hunger Strike – the best guest participation that I witnessed.
8. Chicago, IL – July 19, 2013. Hard to rank. Unforgettable. I plucked a ball from the ivy. It’s my single greatest piece of concert memorabilia. I was grinning like a fool the entire time I was on the field.
9. East Rutherford, NJ - June 3, 2006. Main set power interruption which derailed momentum and flow.
10. Krakow, Poland - July 3, 2018. Probably the most fun I ever had a concert.
11. Vienna, Austria – June 25, 2014. Rather unusual set.
12. Milwaukee, WI - October 20, 2014. Great crowd. The band was in great spirits. Main set Baba, quite rare. Yield in order.
13. Philadelphia, PA – April 28, 2003. Great crowd. Crazy Mary opener.
14. Prague, Czech Republic - July 1, 2018. Great city. Help! into Help, Help was a highlight.
15. Mexico City, Mexico - November 28, 2015. My only bad PJ related trip. The concert was the lone enjoyable portion of the trip.
16. Ottawa, ON - May 8, 2016.
17. Camden, NJ – May 28, 2006. Kyle Korver left me hanging for a high-five.
18. Hartford, CT – May 13, 2006. This was the coldest show this side of the ice bowl. Temp was in the 40’s. I had to shell out god knows how much for an official merch sweatshirt. May have sat next to Rosario Dawson.
19. Chicago, IL - August 22, 2016. I sat in the section from hell. I just wanted the concert to end.
20. Boston, MA - September 4, 2018. Original Immortality was great. How Ed can relearn this but then forget the lyrics of a song they play every night blows my mind.
21. Camden, NJ – June 19, 2008. Very solid show.
22. Seattle, WA – December 6, 2013. The band was in great spirits. The only time I sat behind the stage.
23. Camden, NJ – September 2, 2000. This is where it all started for me.
24. Stockholm, Sweden – June 28, 2014. My lone GA experience. I was 3 people deep dead center.
25. Boston, MA - September 2, 2018. If you tell people to show up early, get your ass on stage early.
26. Chicago, IL - August 20, 2016. The person in from of me bought over $1,000 in merch.
27. Tulsa, OK – October 8, 2014. I was surrounded by asshole fans. This was the only show where I was unable to engage with the band and concert experience.
28. Pittsburgh, PA – October 11, 2013. This show was a good tour opener. It exceeded my expectations.
29. Pittsburgh, PA – June 23, 2006. The only time I went to a show without having a ticket in advance.
30. New York, NY - May 1, 2016.
31. Ottawa, ON – September 14, 2011. Row 1, 2, 9, 10 Lottery winner. Accidentally knocked over a girl while reaching for a pick. She got the pick and offered it to me. I refused and apologized profusely. The only show where I remember boobies being shown.
32. Buffalo, NY – May 10, 2010. Fatal.
33. Reading, PA – October 1, 2004. My seats were last row floor.
34. Toronto, ON – September 19, 2005. Great crowd. Bono silliness. The only show that I was at where I was sick.
35. Camden, NJ – July 5, 2003. Very, very hot. Plus it rained for 5 minutes to make it extremely humid. Quite disgusting. Main set RitFW, quite rare. I could not see the fireworks from where I was sitting. I enjoy listening to the bootleg more than actually being there.
36. Hampton, VA - April 18, 2016. The show was ruined before it even started - PJ announced the Raleigh cancellation a few hours before showtime. A lot of (rightfully) grumpy fans.
37. Baltimore, MD – October 27, 2013. Band was in a terrible mood. I enjoy listening to the bootleg more than actually being there.
38. New York, NY - September 26, 2015. A long day culminated in a short, yet sloppy, greatest hits set. The only time that I saw PJ in a festival setting.
39. Camden, NJ – May 27, 2006. Drunkest crowd that I can remember. Featured Last Kiss with the convicts. Worst Last Kiss ever.
40. New York, NY – June 25, 2008. Great crowd. My seats were 3 rows from the very last row on the floor. Absolutely spectacular feeling the floor shake. Kinda scary too. Awful encore #2 – No More, Last Kiss, Why Go, Black Diamond, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter. That’s my least favorite encore ever. I didn’t care for the background singers during the main set either.
41. Hershey, PA – July 12, 2003. Shitty concert venue. The band was exhausted from the night before and it showed. The only time I heard Help Help, Get Right, Thumbing My Way, Thin Air and Driven to Tears.
42. Philadelphia, PA – October 28, 2009. The worst of the Spectrum shows. The World Series vibe was great, though.
43. Boston, MA – September 28, 2004. Great crowd. I disliked both rare covers – American in Me and Bleed For Me. Howard Zinn was brought on stage to say, “End The War.” Tim Robbins was involved. This is my favorite poster, though.