anybody catch Pearl Jam last night at Manchester Arena?

One of the best shows I have ever been too. The band could not be any more accomplished (despite it being their first gig of 2012 I believe). Eddie Vedder's voice is better than it has ever been, Mike and Stone are two of the best guitar players who have ever lived and get nowhere near the amount of credit they should do.

I know they were the worlds biggest band in 1992, but it says alot that they have few 'hits' yet can sell out 20,000 plus venues 20 years on.

It was a great gig..and they headline the Isle of White festival on saturday (Tom Petty fri, Bruce Springsten sun)...its on Sky Arts and I can't wait to watch that either.

It's called hype. They had loads of it then for no apparent reason and it's stuck as if they were a Perseus or Heracles of grunge when they were more like a Stavros.

EDIT: Don't take that personally btw I'm just on one today. In fact I've got the urge to watch their film and write about it lol.

Its not just hype though is it..of course Media without doubt helps bands, but still, Pearl Jam/Nirvana.......Oasis/Blur...Beatles/Stones didn't all sell millions purely through hype.

Plus (and im not having a go either haha) is exactly that....yes they were hyped..but the fact 20 years on so many still turn up proves their worth.

EDIT.....I'd highly recommend the Pearl Jam film....Cameron Crowe has done a great job.

Pearl Jam and Cameron Crowe? I'm going to need to contact the spirit of Lester Bangs for this one.

Haha, iv'e sold it well then!

Recently acquired myself a turntable to play around with tebold vinyl in the loft.

Turns out I've now been given original releases of the Doors and Dark Side of the Moon. Gotta love my folks sometimes.

But what struck me more was how much I prefer listening to vinyl. The quality may not be as crystal as the modern media, but there is a magic around needle on groove, turning over the disc to another side.

Retro is the future.

I went to see Pearl Jam at the MEN last night and they were outstanding. The energy and passion they have still shines through even after all this time and they're one of the finest sets of musicians I've see live Jeff Amitt and Matt Cameron are as good as any rhythm section I've seen live, and as a group are so underrated as you say. I did think they played 15 20 mins too long but I was amazed by how many people knew pretty much every word to every song.

On the PJ film, I wade a point of watching it before I went to the gig and I highly recommend it. Theywent up in my estimation after watching it.

Glad you enjoyed, wish I could have gone to the 2nd night at the MEN too, they played 27 songs the night I went and I believe 26 songs last night...........just 4 songs were played both nights (Alive, Why Go, Just Breathe,Even Flow)...if i'd have knew the set list were going to be so different (I should have known this anyway) i'd have got to both shows.

I don't think I heard 'Why go'. I was looking forward to that one, and I'm pretty sure they didn't do it. No Pearl Jam set is ever the same as the last, I think they only decide on the set a couple of hours before the show. They didn't play 'Rockin in the free world' last night, would've liked to hear that.

I'd rather Mr Young got his backside over here and played it himself though.

But not by enough for their names to stick in your mind though?