Lets talk about the 2009 tour

[Norris]

And as a side note: I've always considered that Albany show as a prime example that you don’t need a super long show to have a very very very good show.

Loved that show so much. It was also the scene of my first ever Internet meetup.

[bluestate]

Philly 4 '09 started out as what could've/should've been one of the greatest nights of my life... but it all went to hell during the first encore (IIRC they were playing Speed of Sound at the time), shortly after that douchebag A-Rod hit a go-ahead homer for the Yanks in that pivotal Game 3 of the World Series. My night was never the same again. The energy dropped out of half the building as well. The band noticed it too I believe but they could never regain the momentum that was apparent in the first set.

It was torture to be standing there watching my favorite band in what should've been one of the greatest moments of my life, while my favorite team was letting the World Series slip away to my most hated team in the universe... torture. I felt like something special was stolen from me that night. Even PJ couldn't make me feel better.

I remember walking back to my car super depressed. However, now when I go back and listen to the box set I am able to look back on the whole experience with fond memories I suppose. And when I listen to them play The Fixer that night ("fight to get it back again!")... I'm choosing to believe that this lame story will somehow have a happy ending someday.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I thought they sounded much sloppier in State College in 2003, and everyone seems to love that show.

Are you serious? State College is a super tight show, aside from "Satan's Bed". It was the end of a tour. The Philly '09 shows have trainwreck after trainwreck, all four nights, and the band sounded like they hadn't played together in years.

[warehouse]

Philly 4 '09 started out as what could've/should've been one of the greatest nights of my life... but it all went to hell during the first encore (IIRC they were playing Speed of Sound at the time), shortly after that douchebag A-Rod hit a go-ahead homer for the Yanks in that pivotal Game 3 of the World Series. My night was never the same again. The energy dropped out of half the building as well. The band noticed it too I believe but they could never regain the momentum that was apparent in the first set.

It was torture to be standing there watching my favorite band in what should've been one of the greatest moments of my life, while my favorite team was letting the World Series slip away to my most hated team in the universe... torture. I felt like something special was stolen from me that night. Even PJ couldn't make me feel better.

I remember walking back to my car super depressed. However, now when I go back and listen to the box set I am able to look back on the whole experience with fond memories I suppose. And when I listen to them play The Fixer that night ("fight to get it back again!")... I'm choosing to believe that this lame story will somehow have a happy ending someday.

were u at the second show? the phils won that night, the chick kept coming out w/ the scoreboard, eddie vedder was running around w/ it when the game went final. the entire run at the spectrum while the world series was going on was incredible. pics of ed in a phils hat at the game, phillies players being at the shows, phillies/yankees fans at the same concert while the teams were playing each other across the street, etc. the whole thing was an experience. i'm sure the boots arent great to listen to, but the entire week was awesome.

[liebzz]

I had the opposite experience that somewhat annoyed me. I'm a Yankees fan, along with my wife, and during the show she kept updating me with the score, which was distracting me from the show. I was more or less saying "I love the Yankees, but right now I'm watching the Pearl Jams marathon on a show that just might never end!"

[Birds in Hell]

Though the 2009 isn't thought of very highly, I think it's the strongest run of shows the band's done post-Backspacer. These guys are almost invariably at their sharpest when they're clearly excited to be playing new material (regardless of how much I actually like that material.)

All of these were very good to excellent Pearl Jam shows:

Ridgefield/Portland
Salt Lake City
Los Angeles 4
Adelaide
Melbourne
Brisbane
Auckland
Christchurch

Last edited by Birds in Hell on Thu April 25, 2013 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

[WtOB?]

Though the 2009 isn't thought of very highly, I think it's the strongest run of shows the band's done post-Backspacer. These guys are almost invariably at their sharpest when they're clearly excited to be playing new material.

All of these were very good to excellent Pearl Jam shows:

Ridgefield/Portland
Salt Lake City
Los Angeles 4
Adelaide
Melbourne
Brisbane
Auckland
Christchurch

I agree that those Aus/NZ shows are really great. But I put on that SLC boot like a week ago and was appalled by it. Ottawa 2011 is better.

[Birds in Hell]

Really?

Bummer.

Try Ridgefield, seriously. That show rules hard.

[WtOB?]

Really?

Bummer.

Try Ridgefield, seriously. That show rules hard.

Yeah, I'll remember for next time I try on the 09 shows. I just played Chicago and SLC after listening to a couple of 08ers and a 10er and really enjoying them and just thought naahh.... I'm gonna put on something else. So I'm kind of jaded towards the 09 shows at the moment.

[matt reeder]

Really?

Bummer.

Try Ridgefield, seriously. That show rules hard.

This show brought me back from the brink of giving up PJ fandom. I was so appalled by the lack of touring, the fixing, the ticket prices and the Target thing that I didn't even buy my ticket to this show until a couple weeks before. I wound up getting a lawn ticket for $30 and I'm really, really glad I went. What a great show. Oh man...the bootleg is a pretty good representation of what it was like at the show. They were all just...on.

The only thing that bums me out is that I found out they soundchecked "Breakerfall". My heart broke instantly as I doubt I'll ever get to hear that song live. Sigh...

[WtOB?]

Alright, alright. I'll check it out. Not sure I've even heard it before.

[yofismom]

The October 9 show in San Diego was killer. The crowd was great, the band was perfect and the wife and I were drunk.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2009/oct ... eminisces/

Loved that show!! Had a great time.

[Norris]

About the Philly run:

I swear to Yahweh that at some point during these four shows Ed talks to the crowd about how when they want money, they can just do shows, and then refers to the fans as like the band's ATM.

A few weeks ago I opened all the songs from the 4 shows in Adobe Audition and scanned through all the between song banter and couldn't find it. Does anyone else remember him saying this at one of those shows? Did they edit it out of the bootlegs?

[WtOB?]

About the Philly run:

I swear to Yahweh that at some point during these four shows Ed talks to the crowd about how when they want money, they can just do shows, and then refers to the fans as like the band's ATM.

A few weeks ago I opened all the songs from the 4 shows in Adobe Audition and scanned through all the between song banter and couldn't find it. Does anyone else remember him saying this at one of those shows? Did they edit it out of the bootlegs?

Is there an audience boot you can check? I remember him saying something at one of the 09 shows about how he never needs to worry when going to an ATM cos there's always money in there and he thanks the fans for that. Is that what you're thinking of?

[Norris]

About the Philly run:

I swear to Yahweh that at some point during these four shows Ed talks to the crowd about how when they want money, they can just do shows, and then refers to the fans as like the band's ATM.

A few weeks ago I opened all the songs from the 4 shows in Adobe Audition and scanned through all the between song banter and couldn't find it. Does anyone else remember him saying this at one of those shows? Did they edit it out of the bootlegs?

Is there an audience boot you can check? I remember him saying something at one of the 09 shows about how he never needs to worry when going to an ATM cos there's always money in there and he thanks the fans for that. Is that what you're thinking of?

Maybe that was it. I wish I knew which of the four shows it was because I'm not going through all four audience recordings.

[Kevin Davis]

The second Seattle show is the one that contains the passage WTOB is referring to.

[Norris]

Oh, well I was at the show I'm thinking of.

[matt reeder]

Philly 4 '09 started out as what could've/should've been one of the greatest nights of my life... but it all went to hell during the first encore (IIRC they were playing Speed of Sound at the time), shortly after that douchebag A-Rod hit a go-ahead homer for the Yanks in that pivotal Game 3 of the World Series. My night was never the same again. The energy dropped out of half the building as well. The band noticed it too I believe but they could never regain the momentum that was apparent in the first set.

It was torture to be standing there watching my favorite band in what should've been one of the greatest moments of my life, while my favorite team was letting the World Series slip away to my most hated team in the universe... torture. I felt like something special was stolen from me that night. Even PJ couldn't make me feel better.

I remember walking back to my car super depressed. However, now when I go back and listen to the box set I am able to look back on the whole experience with fond memories I suppose. And when I listen to them play The Fixer that night ("fight to get it back again!")... I'm choosing to believe that this lame story will somehow have a happy ending someday.

Are you sure it wasn't the massive shitstorm that was the first encore at that show? I mean, look at the encore setlist again:

first encore: Just Breathe, The End, Low Light, Speed Of Sound, Jeremy, Inside Job, Bugs, Spin The Black Circle, Porch

That's like a murderers row of shit there. It wasn't just the World Series - that encore sucked the life right out of the crowd. Even the last three songs couldn't get back the momentum. The second encore was much better, but the first encore (and the overall sloppiness of the show) took away any chance the show had of being great.

Imagine if the encore setlist was this: Just Breathe, Wash, Sleight of Hand, Hard to Imagine, Jeremy, Oceans, Bugs, Spin the Black Circle, Porch

They very easily could have done that. Instead they went the mellow new songs route, and the crowd got so bored they started playing with their phones, where they discovered their beloved Phillies were losing.

Ugh, that show was so, so, so disappointing.

[corduroy2121]

Philly 4 '09 started out as what could've/should've been one of the greatest nights of my life... but it all went to hell during the first encore (IIRC they were playing Speed of Sound at the time), shortly after that douchebag A-Rod hit a go-ahead homer for the Yanks in that pivotal Game 3 of the World Series. My night was never the same again. The energy dropped out of half the building as well. The band noticed it too I believe but they could never regain the momentum that was apparent in the first set.

It was torture to be standing there watching my favorite band in what should've been one of the greatest moments of my life, while my favorite team was letting the World Series slip away to my most hated team in the universe... torture. I felt like something special was stolen from me that night. Even PJ couldn't make me feel better.

I remember walking back to my car super depressed. However, now when I go back and listen to the box set I am able to look back on the whole experience with fond memories I suppose. And when I listen to them play The Fixer that night ("fight to get it back again!")... I'm choosing to believe that this lame story will somehow have a happy ending someday.

huh?? they just won the World Series the year before. you really let yourself get that depressed over not winning it again? if you allowed that to ruin a Pearl Jam concert for you, that's a real shame

[matt reeder]

Philly 4 '09 started out as what could've/should've been one of the greatest nights of my life... but it all went to hell during the first encore (IIRC they were playing Speed of Sound at the time), shortly after that douchebag A-Rod hit a go-ahead homer for the Yanks in that pivotal Game 3 of the World Series. My night was never the same again. The energy dropped out of half the building as well. The band noticed it too I believe but they could never regain the momentum that was apparent in the first set.

It was torture to be standing there watching my favorite band in what should've been one of the greatest moments of my life, while my favorite team was letting the World Series slip away to my most hated team in the universe... torture. I felt like something special was stolen from me that night. Even PJ couldn't make me feel better.

I remember walking back to my car super depressed. However, now when I go back and listen to the box set I am able to look back on the whole experience with fond memories I suppose. And when I listen to them play The Fixer that night ("fight to get it back again!")... I'm choosing to believe that this lame story will somehow have a happy ending someday.

huh?? they just won the World Series the year before. you really let yourself get that depressed over not winning it again? if you allowed that to ruin a Pearl Jam concert for you, that's a real shame

More than half of the floor were on their phones during encore 1. It was sad to see.