who's better live....U2 or Pearl Jam??

[angelordevil]

Well, just got back from another 2 hour PJ marathon here in St. John's....amazing again!!! Among the highlights: Ed compared people to icebergs, and how we really only see 1/10th of what an individual is on the outside; he said the band will try to come back to Newfoundland; the band ended "Black" with a completely different ending that was in the tune of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," with Ed singing "Ahh, look at all the beautiful people"...very nice.

Pearl Jam are as big as they want to be, which says so much about their talent and ability.

 

[chrischob]

I saw PJ in Winnipeg and U2 in Minneapolis about 2 weeks apart. Both bands are amazing but put on 2 different shows. U2 is more of a show, PJ is more of a rock concert.

I'd like to see a stripped down U2 concert without all the addons. Just a stage and some lights. Well maybe a smoke machine too. What they need is a non-hits tour

Chris

 

[ZeroDude]

Hmmmm...... my screen name says it all doesn't it?

I love both bands. I do. However, Pearl Jam is my favorite of the two.

I LOVE Pearl Jam LIVE. Unlike U2 they do not need the "Flashy" stage and fancy screens/lights.. they can just go out there and play their hears out!!

I also like how Pearl Jam shows are UNPREDICTABLE, unlike U2. Whenever I go to a U2 show more than once, I kinda know what is going to happen next.. it gets too predictable after a while. However, with Pearl Jam you just never know!

Pearl Jam always gives me goosebumps and they make me want to get up and dance/sing like a possed maniac .. something I don't get with U2.. Oh I will be singing but I don't get that "feeling" I get with Pearl Jam.

Plus, I preffer McCready's guitar playing over Edge anyday. When Mike McCready goes into a guitar solo.. WOW, he does circles around Edge's guitar playing! (I know I will get hated over this by U2 fans but oh well )

Also the fact that Eddie cracks me up in every show I go! I swear that man is a comedian!! Plus he's !!

Don't get me wrong I still U2 very much, but my love goes to PJ first!!

Now, go and ask this at the Pearl Jam board?

Both bands are great (U2 are my faves though) for completely different reasons, both rock

P.S. Edge owns Mike anyday of the week, not in chops but in originality and well being the Edge but they're very different guitarists, Mike plays straight blues influenced lead while Edge is one of the greatest rythmn players ever to set foot on this planet imo, It's like comparing John Frusciante to Jimmy Page.

But really who cares it's the songs that count...................!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

well there's two ways to answer this question... casual vs. die hard.

for a die hard fan... pearl jam is more satisfying than a u2 concert, for the exact reasons why we complain, here, on interference about u2 concerts... pearl jam will play any song in their cataloge on any given night. if acrobat or dirty day was a pearl jam song, you can bet both songs would have been played already on this tour.

for the casual to none fan, u2's production values and hit filled set blows pearl jam away. there would be a whole lot more "what the fuck song are htey playing?" moments at a pearl jam show as compared to a u2 show.

so, really, the answer to the question depends on the person asking it.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

well there's two ways to answer this question... casual vs. die hard.

for a die hard fan... pearl jam is more satisfying than a u2 concert, for the exact reasons why we complain, here, on interference about u2 concerts... pearl jam will play any song in their cataloge on any given night. if acrobat or dirty day was a pearl jam song, you can bet both songs would have been played already on this tour.

for the casual to none fan, u2's production values and hit filled set blows pearl jam away. there would be a whole lot more "what the fuck song are htey playing?" moments at a pearl jam show as compared to a u2 show.

so, really, the answer to the question depends on the person asking it.

but surley even with changing sets, there will be bits the die hards didnt like? for instance a die hard goes to one show, has time of his life, but then looks at the set from the pervious night, and see's they played a setlist that he/she would have rather heard than the set he got?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

but surley even with changing sets, there will be bits the die hards didnt like? for instance a die hard goes to one show, has time of his life, but then looks at the set from the pervious night, and see's they played a setlist that he/she would have rather heard than the set he got?

the only time i was less than satisfied after leaving a pearl jam concert was when eddie went into a prolonged anti george bush rant last spring at the nassau coliseum... nassau county, long island, being a strong republican area, booed eddie after the rant, which seemed to piss him off, they played free world, eddie slammed the microphone stand down in a very axl rose like moment and walked off the stage.

up to that moment in the concert, which was in the 2nd encore, the show was one of the best i'd seen them do.

so to answer your question... no. diehard pearl jam fans know that they might not hear their favorite song when they go, but they also know that they may hear something they've never heard live before... heck, they may hear something that nobody has heard live before. it's very satisfying leaving, knowing that you've heard something from each and every album they've put out... wether or not your particular favorite song was played or not. yes, some setlists are better than others, depending on your own personal opinion. but all i'm talking about is being satisfied while leaving the show... not looking back and comparing setlists after the fact.

crazy mary, a cover they do, is one of my favorite live pearl jam songs... they played it the night before a show that i was going to, so i was a little ticked going in because i know they usually don't play a song like crazy mary on back to back nights. so what do they do? they open with the damn song... open with a cover song. who the hell does that?

there's still something great about going to a concert and having absolutely no idea what song they're gonna play next...

 

[KUEFC09U2]

the only time i was less than satisfied after leaving a pearl jam concert was when eddie went into a prolonged anti george bush rant last spring at the nassau coliseum... nassau county, long island, being a strong republican area, booed eddie after the rant, which seemed to piss him off, they played free world, eddie slammed the microphone stand down in a very axl rose like moment and walked off the stage.

up to that moment in the concert, which was in the 2nd encore, the show was one of the best i'd seen them do.

so to answer your question... no. diehard pearl jam fans know that they might not hear their favorite song when they go, but they also know that they may hear something they've never heard live before... heck, they may hear something that nobody has heard live before. it's very satisfying leaving, knowing that you've heard something from each and every album they've put out... wether or not your particular favorite song was played or not. yes, some setlists are better than others, depending on your own personal opinion. but all i'm talking about is being satisfied while leaving the show... not looking back and comparing setlists after the fact.

crazy mary, a cover they do, is one of my favorite live pearl jam songs... they played it the night before a show that i was going to, so i was a little ticked going in because i know they usually don't play a song like crazy mary on back to back nights. so what do they do? they open with the damn song... open with a cover song. who the hell does that?

there's still something great about going to a concert and having absolutely no idea what song they're gonna play next...

cool

 

[angelordevil]

crazy mary, a cover they do, is one of my favorite live pearl jam songs... they played it the night before a show that i was going to, so i was a little ticked going in because i know they usually don't play a song like crazy mary on back

They played it last night...amazing. Ed couldn't 'pass around' the glass bottle of wine as mentioned in the lyrics, so instead, he filled up a water bottle with wine and threw it into the crowd!

 

[Mrs. Vedder]

P.S. Edge owns Mike anyday of the week, not in chops but in originality and well being the Edge but they're very different guitarists, Mike plays straight blues influenced lead while Edge is one of the greatest rythmn players ever to set foot on this planet imo, It's like comparing John Frusciante to Jimmy Page.

But really who cares it's the songs that count...................!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think so!! Mike McCready is..... AMAZING. Edge, is a good guitarist, I'm not denying that.. but Mike.. now he is just a guitarist god!


I agree, it depends on who you ask I mean there has been TONS of PJ or U2 threads at the Pearl Jam section.. here is one: http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=143219&highlight=Mike+McCready+Edge If you are bored and want to know what die hard PJ fans think of U2 Live, read that! Some of it is quite humorus I must add!!

I really want to see a "strip down" U2. Leave the fancy stage behind and the nice bright shinny lights and just go out there and play! Play something that will move me.. something that hasn't been played before.. .something obscure... something memorable! I think FOR ME that is what lacking at aU2 Live show! Like I said, I still love this band very much but not as much as I onced used to though!

I'm in the mood to listen to U2 actually!!!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

mike mcready is a better technical player than the edge... but the edge has created a sound all his own, which is something very few guitar players can say.

thus then the edge ranks higher on my personal all time list

 

[babyman]

mike mcready is a better technical player than the edge... but the edge has created a sound all his own, which is something very few guitar players can say.

thus then the edge ranks higher on my personal all time list

it depends of the genre, of course. but i would list an infinite mass of guitarists who have a sound of their own, it's not a few.
john petrucci, mark knopfler, carlos santana, john frusciante, dave gilmour, tom morello, joe satriani, eric johnson, yngwie malmsteen, steve vai, eric clapton and really really many many others............it would take me the whole night mentioning you guitarists you recognize after the first string picking!
actually, every good guitarist has a personal sound....................

 

[The OOTS]

Mcready is a very underrated guitarist. He'll bust out many different sounding solos on any given night. For example, the solo on Corduroy varies every night. With Edge, you could pretty much hum the solo along with his playing. He sticks to the plan.

Also, PJ has been known to play 3+ hours on occasion. Has U2 ever done that?

I agree with the person who said that U2 puts on a SHOW and PJ is a staight ahead rock show. They are both excellent and very different performances.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

I love both.

The thing I like about PJ is the fact that their hands aren't tied by some computer kicking out pre-recorded music. U2 has come to rely upon that tech stuff way too much.

When you are at a PJ show all the music you hear comes from the stage, not below it.

 

[ZeroDude]

it depends of the genre, of course. but i would list an infinite mass of guitarists who have a sound of their own, it's not a few.
john petrucci, mark knopfler, carlos santana, john frusciante, dave gilmour, tom morello, joe satriani, eric johnson, yngwie malmsteen, steve vai, eric clapton and really really many many others............it would take me the whole night mentioning you guitarists you recognize after the first string picking!
actually, every good guitarist has a personal sound....................

Yngwie
He's almost as bad as EVH

You've listed some great players, no arguements from me on this, every good/ great guitarist has an unique sound and also imo needs tonal variety, Morello and Edge are kicking it from that angle, Vai, Satch, Johnson, Petrucci et al kick it from a technical angle and Carlos, John F et al play nice guitar in more or less words......................

Gilmour and Eric are in something else,

Hendrix owns all

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Hendrix owns all

and that's baisicly the end all comment to any and every guitar player argument

 

[angelordevil]

I love both.

The thing I like about PJ is the fact that their hands aren't tied by some computer kicking out pre-recorded music. U2 has come to rely upon that tech stuff way too much.

When you are at a PJ show all the music you hear comes from the stage, not below it.

I see them as flip sides of the same musical coin...it's no coincidence, for example, that they shared the stage a few times last week in Toronto. For anyone who hasn't gotten into Pearl Jam, see them live, and I guarantee you'll have a new band to mix in with that other, greatest band, we all love.

As for playing music below the stage, well, I see that as an effort to experiment. I admire U2 for that, and it's something that a band like Radiohead strives for as well. I find the drive to go somewhere different with sounds, etc, very compelling. I was thinking during the St. John's shows about Pearl Jam doing this a bit more, and adding a theatrical element to their shows, but I don't know if they have it in them, in terms of being interested in that.

There's no doubt in my mind, however, that Pearl Jam would be the number 1 or 2 band in the world today when it comes to selling records, if they had chosen to go that route. For someone who has never followed them, they probably seem off the radar a bit, a holdover from that dreaded term, 'Grunge.'

For me, the interesting thing is how, instead of fading out of popularity or sucking, they literally walked away from the hype and hoopla at the peak of success to focus on making music and touring.

 

[ZeroDude]

and that's baisicly the end all comment to any and every guitar player argument

And it's true as well, no explanation necessary

 

[babyman]

Yngwie
He's almost as bad as EVH

You've listed some great players, no arguements from me on this, every good/ great guitarist has an unique sound and also imo needs tonal variety, Morello and Edge are kicking it from that angle, Vai, Satch, Johnson, Petrucci et al kick it from a technical angle and Carlos, John F et al play nice guitar in more or less words......................

Gilmour and Eric are in something else,

Hendrix owns all

yeah, jimi the father of all guitar players, no argue!
ok, yngwie, not.......
i've heard he became that fat that he needs bass strings to play guitar! His fingers are to big for a normal string..............
but in the past he did some good stuff, his problem is his dumbass character, he gets in trouble with everyone............he wasn't able to make any g3 without a quarreling..............what to do, this is malmsteen..........

 

[norsehorse23]

someone give me a ticket to see pearl jam and i will tell you... one of my coworkers loves pj, and has seen them some ridiculous amount of times. he is a member of their fanclub, and whenever they go on tour, they always get first dibs, in fact, if i recall when u2 screwed this up in january/february, pearl jam was the one band everyone brought up when it came to treatment of the fanclub. i do know for a fact that at least one of their shows in boston last october was only made up of fanclub members. i also know that their setlist will change every night, especially when they do multiple shows in a row. for example they will play every song they have ever recorded if they are in a place for three days, a completely different setlist every night. that is sweet. so someone give me a ticket to see pearl jam (who i love anyway) and i will tell you who is a better concert.

 

[ZeroDude]

yeah, jimi the father of all guitar players, no argue!
ok, yngwie, not.......
i've heard he became that fat that he needs bass strings to play guitar! His fingers are to big for a normal string..............
but in the past he did some good stuff, his problem is his dumbass character, he gets in trouble with everyone............he wasn't able to make any g3 without a quarreling..............what to do, this is malmsteen..........

Ah, Yngwie, my main problem with the man is his general lack of new ideas, sure he can play guitar amazingly well and rip off Bach of all people but he hasn't done anything in a long time that's really worth listening too, his only redeeming feature is his ability to make people "Feel The Focking Fury!" and the fact he still has hair, unfortunately Satch and Edge are left scratching their bald heads on that one, the guitarists of the eighties what a strange diverse bunch

Seeing this discussion popped out of somewhere, here's a big shout out for Johnny Marr and John Squire

 

[babyman]

Ah, Yngwie, my main problem with the man is his general lack of new ideas, sure he can play guitar amazingly well and rip off Bach of all people but he hasn't done anything in a long time that's really worth listening too, his only redeeming feature is his ability to make people "Feel The Focking Fury!" and the fact he still has hair, unfortunately Satch and Edge are left scratching their bald heads on that one, the guitarists of the eighties what a strange diverse bunch

Seeing this discussion popped out of somewhere, here's a big shout out for Johnny Marr and John Squire

Or how about Steve Lukather or Steve Morse?!?!?!?

these 2 gave a name to music!!!
The problem of malmsteen was that he did everything he can at the beginning of his career, then he kinda repeated always the same things, but continuing believing he's the best!

 

[ZeroDude]

Or how about Steve Lukather or Steve Morse?!?!?!?

these 2 gave a name to music!!!
The problem of malmsteen was that he did everything he can at the beginning of his career, then he kinda repeated always the same things, but continuing believing he's the best!

Lol, too true, poor Yngwie well relatively poor

Good shout out especially on Morse

I reckon we could fill this whole thread with guitarists names, but It would be foolish not to give Stevie Ray Vaughn a mention if not our eternal gratitude

Reply to thread starter: music is class
Joe Perry, Eric Bell, John Mc Lauglin, Duane Allamn, Omar Lopez Rodriguez, Keith Richards, Tom Verlaine, Ali Di Meola all play guitar is great ways too

 

[babyman]

Lol, too true, poor Yngwie well relatively poor

Good shout out especially on Morse

I reckon we could fill this whole thread with guitarists names, but It would be foolish not to give Stevie Ray Vaughn a mention if not our eternal gratitude

Reply to thread starter: music is class

Stevie Ray Vaughn........unforgettable
...................here are other two...........
Angus Young, Frank Zappa............!!
Oh, i could go on the whole night talking about guitarists!
Good to know you have a fabolous music taste, ZeroDude, I'm happy when i find persons like you!!
Especially in times like these, where music is slowly disappearing.......
I was listening to Steve Vai's "For the love of God" a few minutes ago...................
Man! This man makes his guitar breathing and speaking..........

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

for example they will play every song they have ever recorded if they are in a place for three days, a completely different setlist every night.

well they only tried that once... in boston a few years back... and i do believe they fell a couple songs short. but the effort was there.

here are the setlists from those three shows (which weren't consecutive, btw)

July 2, 2003 - Tweeter Center; Mansfield, Massachusetts
Opening: Buzzcocks
Ed solo before opening band: Dead Man
Set List: Oceans, Go, Hail Hail, Save You, Deep, Get Right, Dissident, I Am Mine, Even Flow, Help Help, Immortality, In My Tree, Light Years, Evacuation, Whipping, Grievance, Present Tense, Porch;
1st encore: Thumbing My Way, Small Town, Smile, State of Love and Trust, Leaving Here;
2nd encore: Soon Forget, Bu$hleaguer, Fuckin' Up

Total Songs Played: 26

July 3, 2003 - Tweeter Center; Mansfield, Massachusetts
Opening: Buzzcocks
Ed solo before opening band: You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
Set List: Release, Animal, Gods' Dice, Do The Evolution, Insignificance, Love Boat Captain, I Got Shit, Low Light, Rival, Lukin, Not For You, Daughter (WMA), You Are, In Hiding, I Am A Patriot, Once, Rearviewmirror;
1st encore: Driven To Tears, Corduroy, Soldier Of Love, Crazy Mary, Alive;
2nd encore: Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Total Songs Played: 25

July 11, 2003 - Tweeter Center; Mansfield, MA
Opening: Sleater-Kinney
Extra acoustic set before opening band: Long Road, Of The Girl, Sometimes, Off He Goes, All Those Yesterdays, Driftin', Thin Air, Sleight of Hand, Footsteps, All Or None, Parting Ways, Indifference;
Set List: Can't Keep, Breakerfall, Brain of J., Spin the Black Circle, Ghost, Green Disease, Tremor Christ, Given To Fly, Nothing As It Seems, Cropduster, Faithfull, Why Go, Wishlist/(Why Can't I Touch It?), Leatherman, Nothingman, Better Man, 1/2 Full, Untitled, MFC, Blood;
1st encore: Breath, Habit, Down, Mankind, U, Black, Jeremy;
2nd encore: Arc, I Believe In Miracles, Know Your Rights, Fortunate Son with Sleater-Kinney, Rockin' in the Free World with Sleater-Kinney, One Note [literally play one note & leave];
3rd encore: Yellow Ledbetter

Total Songs Played: 46

so in total, over three nights in massachusets, pearl jam played a grand total of 97 songs, 96 of them being unique... only yellow ledbetter was played twice.

and u2 plays vertigo twice in the same show...

 

[ZeroDude]

Stevie Ray Vaughn........unforgettable
...................here are other two...........
Angus Young, Frank Zappa............!!
Oh, i could go on the whole night talking about guitarists!
Good to know you have a fabolous music taste, ZeroDude, I'm happy when i find persons like you!!
Especially in times like these, where music is slowly disappearing.......
I was listening to Steve Vai's "For the love of God" a few minutes ago...................
Man! This man makes his guitar breathing and speaking..........

I was in a bit of a guitar geek mode earlier today and Vai is an incredible guitarist

After my guitar posturing though I feel the need to listen to music purely for the songwriting ability of those involved, Leonard Cohen is playing on my PC right now

The lesson kids, all music regardless of genre can kickass

 

[norsehorse23]

thanks for clarifying headache, i was going off the information given to me by my coworker.

 

[Nickel II]

My vote goes to PJ for pretty much the reasons posted by others. They mix things up a lot and you never know what you are going to get. They play for 3 hours. Add in ticket prices and how they treat their fan club members...PJ kicks U2's ass.

Yellow Leadbetter kicks the ass of any song U2 has ever closed with, minus 40 which I am glad to see U2 closing with again.

People use the excuse of U2 not playing longer shows because of Bono's voice. That is hogshit, how many songs do they have that the Edge sings. Add some of those in and you can add on another 30 minutes, and play some songs that maybe aren't so tough on Bono's voice.

Don't get me wrong, U2 is still great live. But there are few bands like PJ and The Cure that I think put more heart into their shows and care about giving the fans a more unique expereince vs. a predictable show.

 

[U2@NYC]

Never liked Pearl Jam.

Eddie Vedder yells too much.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

thanks for clarifying headache, i was going off the information given to me by my coworker.

well they certainly got close enough... 96 different songs over three shows is certainly an impressive feat.

 

[Chizip]

well they certainly got close enough... 96 different songs over three shows is certainly an impressive feat.

god it must be great to be a die hard PJ fan. You could just download those three shows, which they make readily available, and have a live version of basically every song.

while I do prefer the U2 experience more to pearl jam, U2 could definitely learn a lot from PJ when it comes to taking care of the die hard fans.