Check out the Friday Austin Fuego > Golden Age. It's like you're saying - these 60 year old dudes just cranking out fluid jams is wild. I was there, and it's like they were uninterrupted - all four of them were locked in with no unwavering. It's not as groovy as years past, but it's full-on energy, which is very captivating.
You sure made up any Fishman neglect with that excellent paragraph!
But yeah I think overall that's *one* of the many advantages of 1.0 vs 3.0, there is somehow something more exciting about listening to 4 guys who are still playing a certain edge...kind of mad at each other, feeling like they have something to prove, trying to sleep with groupies, high...the flip side to that was horrible music, but there remains something thrilling when it was working. Even if the modern era is excellent.
BTW check out Boulder N2 + N3 set IIs if you have time....I was at Manch N3 but really love those Boulder shows.
Fitting that you talk about this on the day Matt Cameron retired. He has talked a lot about the toll touring takes on drummers as they age, and PJ's shows have been shorter, I think, in the last year or two. And they rarely played back-to-back shows.
The two bands are more similar than most people think, and we are so lucky to have Fish killing it at 60.
I'm not a big Pearl Jam fan but was at the PJ20 show in Alpine Valley, and quickly realized everyone around me was talking in dates like Phish fans do.
Thank you for mentioning Fish during that Pgh Mind. I gained a whole new level of respect for him (+250 show vet here) as he carried that jam. Had the privilege of being in pretty close proximity to him that night. He did not let up the entire duration. Fuego donuts, indeed.
There was a clear point where Trey purposely eschewed the obvious peak and instead got 2.0 weird and Fish just kept it percolating. I had a feeling that yeah, we're gonna go really deep now and sure enough, 6th longest jam later...and I was able to take the bus to that show and sleep in my own bed afterwards.
There are certainly some side band nuggets from the hiatus I'm sure you'll get to.
Standout among your always standout reviews. Spotlighting Fish and the comparisons with the current state of affairs are much appreciated.
Like Steven, I recommend the Fuego > Golden Age from Austin N1, which I actually prefer to the next night's Ruby Waves. I haven't listened to everything from the tour yet, but some of the shorter jams from the Austin run--Mike's and Cities from night 1, Plasma from night 2--are also worth your attention. Manchester Twist, Halley's, Stash, Carini, also excellent. It is truly unbelievable the band is still--or is AGAIN--this good.
I'm glad the newsletter isn't going to disappear during the 1.0 / 2.0 gap. But now what about the 2.0 / 3.0 gap?!?!? (joke) (mostly)
I have to push back a little bit on all the Fish love. He still remains rock solid and shines in certain jams, he has absolutely slowed down over the years. Sample any random Weekapaug or Maze from the past few years and compare it to any random version from early 3.0. The tempo is way slower nowadays. I'm at Charleston right now and having a blast, but the Disease and Chalkdust song sections were slow as molasses.
None of this is really his fault, drumming is very physical and he's 60 years old! But I constantly see takes that he's as good as he ever was and that's just not true.
Drummer and huge Fishman fan here. I’ve been thinking the 2025 jam style right now feels akin to the experimental long jams of the 95 era where things progressed through a lot of different themes more quickly, and they latch onto the small nuggets and go with it sort of like the “adding your own Hey” exercises, but with the whole new sonic pallet of the modern age
Check out the Friday Austin Fuego > Golden Age. It's like you're saying - these 60 year old dudes just cranking out fluid jams is wild. I was there, and it's like they were uninterrupted - all four of them were locked in with no unwavering. It's not as groovy as years past, but it's full-on energy, which is very captivating.
Fishman rips in that Fuego… was wondering how Trey would keep up’!
You sure made up any Fishman neglect with that excellent paragraph!
But yeah I think overall that's *one* of the many advantages of 1.0 vs 3.0, there is somehow something more exciting about listening to 4 guys who are still playing a certain edge...kind of mad at each other, feeling like they have something to prove, trying to sleep with groupies, high...the flip side to that was horrible music, but there remains something thrilling when it was working. Even if the modern era is excellent.
BTW check out Boulder N2 + N3 set IIs if you have time....I was at Manch N3 but really love those Boulder shows.
Fitting that you talk about this on the day Matt Cameron retired. He has talked a lot about the toll touring takes on drummers as they age, and PJ's shows have been shorter, I think, in the last year or two. And they rarely played back-to-back shows.
The two bands are more similar than most people think, and we are so lucky to have Fish killing it at 60.
I'm not a big Pearl Jam fan but was at the PJ20 show in Alpine Valley, and quickly realized everyone around me was talking in dates like Phish fans do.
Thank you for mentioning Fish during that Pgh Mind. I gained a whole new level of respect for him (+250 show vet here) as he carried that jam. Had the privilege of being in pretty close proximity to him that night. He did not let up the entire duration. Fuego donuts, indeed.
There was a clear point where Trey purposely eschewed the obvious peak and instead got 2.0 weird and Fish just kept it percolating. I had a feeling that yeah, we're gonna go really deep now and sure enough, 6th longest jam later...and I was able to take the bus to that show and sleep in my own bed afterwards.
There are certainly some side band nuggets from the hiatus I'm sure you'll get to.
Standout among your always standout reviews. Spotlighting Fish and the comparisons with the current state of affairs are much appreciated.
Like Steven, I recommend the Fuego > Golden Age from Austin N1, which I actually prefer to the next night's Ruby Waves. I haven't listened to everything from the tour yet, but some of the shorter jams from the Austin run--Mike's and Cities from night 1, Plasma from night 2--are also worth your attention. Manchester Twist, Halley's, Stash, Carini, also excellent. It is truly unbelievable the band is still--or is AGAIN--this good.
I'm glad the newsletter isn't going to disappear during the 1.0 / 2.0 gap. But now what about the 2.0 / 3.0 gap?!?!? (joke) (mostly)
Fishman's ride cymbal always sounds perfect.
I have to push back a little bit on all the Fish love. He still remains rock solid and shines in certain jams, he has absolutely slowed down over the years. Sample any random Weekapaug or Maze from the past few years and compare it to any random version from early 3.0. The tempo is way slower nowadays. I'm at Charleston right now and having a blast, but the Disease and Chalkdust song sections were slow as molasses.
None of this is really his fault, drumming is very physical and he's 60 years old! But I constantly see takes that he's as good as he ever was and that's just not true.
Drummer and huge Fishman fan here. I’ve been thinking the 2025 jam style right now feels akin to the experimental long jams of the 95 era where things progressed through a lot of different themes more quickly, and they latch onto the small nuggets and go with it sort of like the “adding your own Hey” exercises, but with the whole new sonic pallet of the modern age