Pearl Jam on SNL

[iarwain]

Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).

This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

[Squier]

Post by iarwain
Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

yeah I agree. I liked them better when they were a tight
garage band sound... like Neil Young/Crazy Horse inspired type band.
Pretty soon at this rate they'll be heading for a Vegas lounge act.

[Les Cargill]

Post by Squier

Post by iarwain
Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

yeah I agree. I liked them better when they were a tight
garage band sound... like Neil Young/Crazy Horse inspired type band.

I liked "Mirrorball" best - when they *WERE* Crazy Horse-for-a-day.
Ten warn't bad. VS warn't bad. Lost 'em after that.

Post by Squier
Pretty soon at this rate they'll be heading for a Vegas lounge act.

--
Les Cargill

[Nil]

Post by Les Cargill
I liked "Mirrorball" best - when they *WERE* Crazy
Horse-for-a-day. Ten warn't bad. VS warn't bad. Lost 'em after
that.

I never liked Pearl Jam much. The music is monochromatic, the
guitarists are non-distinctive, and Vedders mewling melodramatic vocal
style annoys me. I appreciate their work ethic, though.

[dvaoa]

Post by Nil

Post by Les Cargill
I liked "Mirrorball" best - when they *WERE* Crazy
Horse-for-a-day. Ten warn't bad. VS warn't bad. Lost 'em after
that.

I never liked Pearl Jam much. The music is monochromatic, the
guitarists are non-distinctive, and Vedders mewling melodramatic vocal
style annoys me. I appreciate their work ethic, though.

I got completely turned off by them when they were so blatantly trying
to *be* Crazy Horse, as opposed to borrowing elements and making a new
brew out of it.

Just my opinion.

-d

[RichL]

Post by dvaoa

Post by Nil

Post by Les Cargill
I liked "Mirrorball" best - when they *WERE* Crazy
Horse-for-a-day. Ten warn't bad. VS warn't bad. Lost 'em after
that.

I never liked Pearl Jam much. The music is monochromatic, the
guitarists are non-distinctive, and Vedders mewling melodramatic vocal
style annoys me. I appreciate their work ethic, though.

I got completely turned off by them when they were so blatantly trying
to *be* Crazy Horse, as opposed to borrowing elements and making a new
brew out of it.
Just my opinion.

Old fogeys ;-)

[Nil]

Post by RichL
Old fogeys ;-)

I won't admit to that.

[dvaoa]

Post by RichL

Post by dvaoa

Post by Nil

Post by Les Cargill
I liked "Mirrorball" best - when they *WERE* Crazy
Horse-for-a-day. Ten warn't bad. VS warn't bad. Lost 'em after
that.

I never liked Pearl Jam much. The music is monochromatic, the
guitarists are non-distinctive, and Vedders mewling melodramatic vocal
style annoys me. I appreciate their work ethic, though.

I got completely turned off by them when they were so blatantly trying
to *be* Crazy Horse, as opposed to borrowing elements and making a new
brew out of it.
Just my opinion.

Old fogeys ;-)

I prefer old fart.

As I'm bailing out my basement after the 5" of rain (& counting) we've
had since last night...and counting. Sucks.

At least my gear's off the floor.

-d

[RichL]

Post by dvaoa

Post by RichL

Post by dvaoa

Post by Nil

Post by Les Cargill
I liked "Mirrorball" best - when they *WERE* Crazy
Horse-for-a-day. Ten warn't bad. VS warn't bad. Lost 'em after
that.

I never liked Pearl Jam much. The music is monochromatic, the
guitarists are non-distinctive, and Vedders mewling melodramatic vocal
style annoys me. I appreciate their work ethic, though.

I got completely turned off by them when they were so blatantly trying
to *be* Crazy Horse, as opposed to borrowing elements and making a new
brew out of it.
Just my opinion.

Old fogeys ;-)

I prefer old fart.
As I'm bailing out my basement after the 5" of rain (& counting) we've
had since last night...and counting. Sucks.

Yeah, we've had the deluge here for the past few days. Just a bit of
drizzle today, though. Fortunately my house is on a high spot. Walking in
the yard is like walking on a sponge, though. Good luck with your basement!

Post by dvaoa
At least my gear's off the floor.

I have mine in the family room. Above basement level. Just as a
precaution, you know ;-)

[Nil]

Post by dvaoa
As I'm bailing out my basement after the 5" of rain (& counting)
we've had since last night...and counting. Sucks.

Me, too. I was away all weekend and I got home not too long after water
started coming under my back basement door, which it does once or twice
a year when the ground can't absorb any more water. I think it's about
time to go run the sump pump again! Bye!

[dvaoa]

Post by Nil

Post by dvaoa
As I'm bailing out my basement after the 5" of rain (& counting)
we've had since last night...and counting.  Sucks.

Me, too. I was away all weekend and I got home not too long after water
started coming under my back basement door, which it does once or twice
a year when the ground can't absorb any more water. I think it's about
time to go run the sump pump again! Bye!

I have a sump that takes care of the back of the house, but the
front...manual shop-vac duty. Fill-dump-repeat. Gotta go brew some
Luzanne coffee...gonna be a long night.

-d

[Rufus]

Post by dvaoa

Post by Nil

Post by dvaoa
As I'm bailing out my basement after the 5" of rain (& counting)
we've had since last night...and counting. Sucks.

Me, too. I was away all weekend and I got home not too long after water
started coming under my back basement door, which it does once or twice
a year when the ground can't absorb any more water. I think it's about
time to go run the sump pump again! Bye!

I have a sump that takes care of the back of the house, but the
front...manual shop-vac duty. Fill-dump-repeat. Gotta go brew some
Luzanne coffee...gonna be a long night.
-d

...all I can can say after nearly 20-odd years of living in the high
Mojave is - "what's a basement?"...

...OTOH, I did grow up on the other side of the block from a swamp fed
by a natural spring...if somebody spit on the ground our basement would
flood. Sump pump or not...so I grew up and moved west.

[dvaoa]

Post by Rufus

Post by dvaoa

Post by Nil

Post by dvaoa
As I'm bailing out my basement after the 5" of rain (& counting)
we've had since last night...and counting.  Sucks.

Me, too. I was away all weekend and I got home not too long after water
started coming under my back basement door, which it does once or twice
a year when the ground can't absorb any more water. I think it's about
time to go run the sump pump again! Bye!

I have a sump that takes care of the back of the house, but the
front...manual shop-vac duty.  Fill-dump-repeat.  Gotta go brew some
Luzanne coffee...gonna be a long night.
-d

...all I can can say after nearly 20-odd years of living in the high
Mojave is - "what's a basement?"...
...OTOH, I did grow up on the other side of the block from a swamp fed
by a natural spring...if somebody spit on the ground our basement would
flood.  Sump pump or not...so I grew up and moved west.
--
      - Rufus

I've come to appreciate that hydrostatic pressure will not be denied.

I live on top of a hill, but the ground is almost all clay...ie,
cement. It doesn't percolate, so naturally water will find the path
of least resistance. In this case, minute cracks in foundations. This
flooding is pretty bad, but we go through this probably once every 2-3
years. I just heard that when this is all done by midnight tomorrow,
up to 8" of rain will have fallen in 48 hours. That's pretty bad...at
least for us the northeast. The midwest along the Mississippi has
seen worse.

-d

[Dr. Zontar]

Post by Les Cargill
Ten warn't bad. VS warn't bad. Lost 'em after that.

That's pretty much how I feel. The first two albums hold my interest.
Everything after that bores me. By the time they accidentally re-wrote
"Going to California", I stopped paying any attention to them.

- Rich

[Lea Eberhardt]

Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night.  Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who).  But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront.  This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound.  Again, not bad, but different.

Well, they're older now. They seem to stand a lot more still than they
did in their heyday. Remember when they were the angry young agile
dudes? Ah, 1992...
;^)

-dave-----:::
www.myspace.com/geetardave

[Rufus]

Post by Lea Eberhardt

Post by iarwain
Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

Well, they're older now. They seem to stand a lot more still than they
did in their heyday. Remember when they were the angry young agile
dudes? Ah, 1992...
;^)
www.myspace.com/geetardave

Not to mention that Mike McCready suffers from Crohn's disease...and
pretty badly from what I've read of his own accounts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn%27s_disease

As someone whom also has Crohn's (I was finally diagnosed with "mild" CD
in the spring of '07..."mild", even though I'd damn near bled to death
from it in teh fall of '06...), I can speculate that it's very possible
that the band has had to change up a bit in order to accommodate his
disease as he gets older...I've read that they all get along well enough
to do that for him and that he's pretty grateful to them for it.

["Monster Zero" >]

Post by Rufus

Post by Lea Eberhardt

Post by iarwain
Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

Well, they're older now. They seem to stand a lot more still than they
did in their heyday. Remember when they were the angry young agile
dudes? Ah, 1992...
;^)
www.myspace.com/geetardave

Not to mention that Mike McCready suffers from Crohn's disease...and
pretty badly from what I've read of his own accounts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn%27s_disease
As someone whom also has Crohn's (I was finally diagnosed with "mild" CD
in the spring of '07..."mild", even though I'd damn near bled to death
from it in teh fall of '06...), I can speculate that it's very possible
that the band has had to change up a bit in order to accommodate his
disease as he gets older...I've read that they all get along well enough
to do that for him and that he's pretty grateful to them for it.
--
- Rufus

I love hearing little bits of info like that. So many of these high and
mighty music stars are so self absorbed that it ruins their respective band.
Hell even the player I look up to the most (Tony Iommi) I've read and heard
from people that know him that he's an absolute dickhead to work with. On
the flipside another one of my guitar idols Zakk Wylde is supposedly one of
the most humble and affable players/stars out there. It really shouldn't
matter to me but it does. I think we New Englanders tend to respect the
"non-divas" a lot more than the prima donna types. Especially in sports and
entertainment in general.

[TheChris]

Post by "Monster Zero" >
I love hearing little bits of info like that. So many of these high and
mighty music stars are so self absorbed that it ruins their respective band.
Hell even the player I look up to the most (Tony Iommi) I've read and heard
from people that know him that he's an absolute dickhead to work with. On
the flipside another one of my guitar idols Zakk Wylde is supposedly one of
the most humble and affable players/stars out there. It really

shouldn't

Post by "Monster Zero" >
matter to me but it does. I think we New Englanders tend to respect the
"non-divas" a lot more than the prima donna types. Especially in sports and
entertainment in general.

Funny - I've heard the opposite about both people... That Iommi is
great, and Wylde an arrogant prick - which really bothered me, because I
remember the young, fresh-faced kid who got the break of a lifetime....
So, that's good to hear...

Who's dissing Iommi??? Dio???
--
Christopher Bell
http://www.myspace.com/bellboudreaux

______________________________
| |
| Any Amp! |
| ________________________ |
| |!!o Q Q Qž Q Q Q :: | |
|==============================|
Linux user #497844

[Rufus]

Post by "Monster Zero" >

Post by Rufus

Post by Lea Eberhardt

Post by iarwain
Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

Well, they're older now. They seem to stand a lot more still than they
did in their heyday. Remember when they were the angry young agile
dudes? Ah, 1992...
;^)
www.myspace.com/geetardave

Not to mention that Mike McCready suffers from Crohn's disease...and
pretty badly from what I've read of his own accounts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn%27s_disease
As someone whom also has Crohn's (I was finally diagnosed with "mild" CD
in the spring of '07..."mild", even though I'd damn near bled to death
from it in teh fall of '06...), I can speculate that it's very possible
that the band has had to change up a bit in order to accommodate his
disease as he gets older...I've read that they all get along well enough
to do that for him and that he's pretty grateful to them for it.
--
- Rufus

I love hearing little bits of info like that. So many of these high and
mighty music stars are so self absorbed that it ruins their respective band.
Hell even the player I look up to the most (Tony Iommi) I've read and heard
from people that know him that he's an absolute dickhead to work with. On
the flipside another one of my guitar idols Zakk Wylde is supposedly one of
the most humble and affable players/stars out there. It really shouldn't
matter to me but it does. I think we New Englanders tend to respect the
"non-divas" a lot more than the prima donna types. Especially in sports and
entertainment in general.

Some of what Mike has to say about it, in his own words. He's been an
advocate for CD patients for some time now.

http://www.crohnsandme.com/pearljam/

<http://www.everydayhealth.com/crohns-disease/pearl-jams-mike-mccready-on-the-road-with-crohns/mikes-band-mates-support-him-through-tough-times.aspx>

[Evolution]

Post by Lea Eberhardt

Post by iarwain
Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

Well, they're older now. They seem to stand a lot more still than they
did in their heyday. Remember when they were the angry young agile
dudes? Ah, 1992...
;^)
www.myspace.com/geetardave

Heh heh, it's interesting that you all would make generalizations about
a band like Pearl Jam from listening to 2 songs. In a 12-13 date tour,
they will generally play over 120 different songs. Most of it is
balls-to-the-wall hard rock, and they will usually play a few softer
songs and some covers, too.

As for their movement, you obviously haven't seen them in concert. A
sterile TV performance on a small stage, without their audience, is not
a good way to judge them. You can't have seen Eddie do a backwards yoga
bend, supporting himself only with one hand on the mic stand and say
that he is old and can't move. Besides, they play 25+ songs at every
show, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and in the early days, they played for 45
minutes. They have to pace themselves now.

That being said, I really wished they would have played Gonna See My
Friend, which is a real garage rocker, instead of Just Breathe... But
Just Breathe was a huge, unexpected hit for them, so they obliged. On
the new album, however, the first 3 songs are rock, brilliant rock, some
of the best they've done. Unthought Known, the second song they played
on SNL, is a masterpiece, imo. It was hugely popular on their last tour.

Gone are the days of Ten, when they played simple songs for simple
tastes... they have become better songwriters, with songs which grow on
you, but are not immediately likeable as pop music usually is. They
challenge the listener... They have 5 songwriters and so never get
stale; no two songs are alike.

All I can say is, if you haven't given their later stuff a good listen
or seen them live, you are missing out on something spectacular. I've
seen them over 150 times, and each show is completely different.

[RichL]

Post by Lea Eberhardt

Post by iarwain
Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

Well, they're older now. They seem to stand a lot more still than they
did in their heyday. Remember when they were the angry young agile
dudes? Ah, 1992...
;^)
www.myspace.com/geetardave

Heh heh, it's interesting that you all would make generalizations about a
band like Pearl Jam from listening to 2 songs. In a 12-13 date tour, they
will generally play over 120 different songs. Most of it is
balls-to-the-wall hard rock, and they will usually play a few softer songs
and some covers, too.
As for their movement, you obviously haven't seen them in concert. A
sterile TV performance on a small stage, without their audience, is not a
good way to judge them. You can't have seen Eddie do a backwards yoga
bend, supporting himself only with one hand on the mic stand and say that
he is old and can't move. Besides, they play 25+ songs at every show, 2
1/2 to 3 hours, and in the early days, they played for 45 minutes. They
have to pace themselves now.
That being said, I really wished they would have played Gonna See My
Friend, which is a real garage rocker, instead of Just Breathe... But
Just Breathe was a huge, unexpected hit for them, so they obliged. On the
new album, however, the first 3 songs are rock, brilliant rock, some of
the best they've done. Unthought Known, the second song they played on
SNL, is a masterpiece, imo. It was hugely popular on their last tour.
Gone are the days of Ten, when they played simple songs for simple
tastes... they have become better songwriters, with songs which grow on
you, but are not immediately likeable as pop music usually is. They
challenge the listener... They have 5 songwriters and so never get stale;
no two songs are alike.
All I can say is, if you haven't given their later stuff a good listen or
seen them live, you are missing out on something spectacular. I've seen
them over 150 times, and each show is completely different.

"Backspacer", their most recent album, is superb! I'm with you -- anyone
who thinks they've wrapped their heads around Pearl Jam on the basis of one
or two albums isn't seeing the whole picture. And this is from a guy who
was 15 when the Beatles first hit the US shores. Like the Beatles, Pearl
Jam has gone through several evolutionary changes.

"Speed of Sound" is a track from that album that I really found appealing:

[Evolution]

Post by Evolution

Post by Lea Eberhardt

Saw Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live last night. Usually I am pretty
blown away by the high energy live performance Pearl Jam puts on (sort
of like the original Who). But I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam last night (not bad, just different).
This appeared to be because the songs were so heavily built around
Eddie Vedder's guitar playing, which was very upfront. This forced
the rest of the band to play in a more supporting role, which resulted
in a softer sound. Again, not bad, but different.

Well, they're older now. They seem to stand a lot more still than they
did in their heyday. Remember when they were the angry young agile
dudes? Ah, 1992...
;^)
www.myspace.com/geetardave

Heh heh, it's interesting that you all would make generalizations
about a band like Pearl Jam from listening to 2 songs. In a 12-13 date
tour, they will generally play over 120 different songs. Most of it is
balls-to-the-wall hard rock, and they will usually play a few softer
songs and some covers, too.
As for their movement, you obviously haven't seen them in concert. A
sterile TV performance on a small stage, without their audience, is
not a good way to judge them. You can't have seen Eddie do a backwards
yoga bend, supporting himself only with one hand on the mic stand and
say that he is old and can't move. Besides, they play 25+ songs at
every show, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and in the early days, they played for
45 minutes. They have to pace themselves now.
That being said, I really wished they would have played Gonna See My
Friend, which is a real garage rocker, instead of Just Breathe... But
Just Breathe was a huge, unexpected hit for them, so they obliged. On
the new album, however, the first 3 songs are rock, brilliant rock,
some of the best they've done. Unthought Known, the second song they
played on SNL, is a masterpiece, imo. It was hugely popular on their
last tour.
Gone are the days of Ten, when they played simple songs for simple
tastes... they have become better songwriters, with songs which grow
on you, but are not immediately likeable as pop music usually is. They
challenge the listener... They have 5 songwriters and so never get
stale; no two songs are alike.
All I can say is, if you haven't given their later stuff a good listen
or seen them live, you are missing out on something spectacular. I've
seen them over 150 times, and each show is completely different.

"Backspacer", their most recent album, is superb! I'm with you -- anyone
who thinks they've wrapped their heads around Pearl Jam on the basis of
one or two albums isn't seeing the whole picture. And this is from a guy
who was 15 when the Beatles first hit the US shores. Like the Beatles,
Pearl Jam has gone through several evolutionary changes.

Exactly. The fact that they didn't simply duplicate Ten over and over
speaks volumes for them.

http://youtu.be/2Es_Zong-8Q

Now that's interesting... that's the song I usually skip on the album!
But that's what I love about PJ... they have such variety in their
music, that everyone has a different favorite song, and there is always
something for everyone.

Actually, I thought Backspacer had 7 masterpieces and one song (The End)
which is too depressing to listen to (given that it's about dying and he
keeps smoking, and my mom is currently slowly and painfully dying from
smoking), and 3 songs I really don't like.

There are few PJ songs I don't like, but this album is very uneven. I
blame Brendon O'Brien... it's overproduced; he inserts himself into the
music too much, and he wrecked Springsteen's last album, too. But the 7
songs work really well live.

[Restless Fingers Syndrome]

Post by iarwain
I didn't think they sounded quite like
Pearl Jam

Me too.

I saw them on Austin City Limits awhile back and they needed
poked with a stick to see if they were alive. IMO ... Pretty flat.