Pearl Jam superfan creates band's setlist for a night

[WhazUp]

Brian Farias knows that there are people who have seen Pearl Jam more than the 108 times he has. However, on June 27th, the 46-year-old Rhode Island native did something that diehard fans of the band can only dream of: he created the setlist for an entire Pearl Jam show.

"I thought I was hearing things when [frontman] Eddie [Vedder] offered it to me," Farias recalls. He was selected by Ten Club, Pearl Jam's longtime fan group, to be flown to Amsterdam to attend a pair of shows and meet the band. He is one of what the Ten Club calls its "charter members" – because, as Farias puts it, he's "been there since the very, very beginning." He was a fan club member for Mother Love Bone, the grunge outfit fronted by the late Andy Wood that gave rise to Pearl Jam. "I kinda got rolled over into Ten Club," he explains.

Farias’ first Pearl Jam experience occurred before the band had even released Ten, their landmark 1991 debut. "It wasn't even on their itinerary," he recalls of the Providence, Rhode Island show at Club Baby Head. "The paid admission was only 12 people or something. It's one of those small venues where the stage is only knee-high. Even at that, Eddie was swinging from the ceiling."

Last week, while on his flight to Amsterdam, Farias had no idea that he'd soon be making what some fans are now calling the "greatest Pearl Jam setlist of all time." But once Vedder gave him the opportunity, Farias’ real work began. As he explains, the challenge became how best to balance his own "selfish" desires with songs that audience members would enjoy, while also taking into consideration what the band was capable of playing. "It was really stressful," he admits of the setlist-building process, "because it's something you know is never gonna happen again. You’re only getting one shot at it."

Farias estimates he went through 40 or 50 drafts before deciding upon a final setlist. The band, he says, came through: they played 90 to 95 percent of his requests. He does admit there were a few songs the band opted out of playing; however, Vedder promised him that at the next show he attended, if he gave the band a week's notice, he would hear the tracks.

In the end, Farias concocted a setlist for the ages. The second of the two Amsterdam shows – or as he calls it, "my show" – included deep cuts ("Alone," a b-side from the Vs. single "Go"), vintage rarities ("Crown of Thorns," a rarely-played Mother Love Bone number) and crowd favorites ("Alive," Daughter"). In fact, there was only one song, Farias says, that he absolutely needed to hear: "Bugs." The obscure Vitalogy cut, on which Vedder plays accordion and rambles about insects, had only been played once in concert, and it was the only album cut that Farias had never heard. Vedder was initially hesitant. "Brian, we didn't bring the accordion. I don't have it with me," the singer told Farias. But, as Farias explains, "Ed being Ed, always going above and beyond, he went back to his hotel and learned a way to do it on guitar. He turned it into a totally beautiful, different song."

To top off the experience, Farias was brought out for a bow with the entire band at the end of the show. "The bow meant more to me than everything," he says. "For the Pearl Jam audience to give me that much love, I can't imagine what Eddie feels."

Now, even a week after the fact, the reality of the experience still hasn't sunk in for Farias. "It still doesn't seem real," he says. "As more time goes on, it gets even more emotional. It's better than winning the lottery. All the money in the world, I couldn't bribe Eddie Vedder to let me make his setlist. It was like programming your iPod and then Pearl Jam show up in your yard and play it for you."

Setlist:

"Wash"

"Last Exit"

"Animal"

"State of Love and Trust"

"Severed Hand"

"Corduroy"

"I Got Shit"

"Daughter/WMA"

"Nothing As It Seems"

"Got Some"

"Dissident"

"Once"

"Glorified G"

"Deep"

"The Fixer"

"Bugs"

"Better Man"

Encore 1:

"Release"

"Hail, Hail"

"Alone"

"Footsteps"

"Rearview Mirror"

Encore 2:

"Crown of Thorns"

"Sonic Reducer"

"Alive"

"Baba O’Riley"

"Yellow Ledbetter/Little Wing"

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pearl-jam-superfan-creates-bands-setlist-20120706#ixzz1zrs1YU7h

- One can only dream if GNR did this! Pearl Jam is super classy, this just adds to the list of awesome things they have done

[Haters Gonna Hate]

Brian Farias knows that there are people who have seen Pearl Jam more than the 108 times he has. However, on June 27th, the 46-year-old Rhode Island native did something that diehard fans of the band can only dream of: he created the setlist for an entire Pearl Jam show.

"I thought I was hearing things when [frontman] Eddie [Vedder] offered it to me," Farias recalls. He was selected by Ten Club, Pearl Jam's longtime fan group, to be flown to Amsterdam to attend a pair of shows and meet the band. He is one of what the Ten Club calls its "charter members" – because, as Farias puts it, he's "been there since the very, very beginning." He was a fan club member for Mother Love Bone, the grunge outfit fronted by the late Andy Wood that gave rise to Pearl Jam. "I kinda got rolled over into Ten Club," he explains.

Farias’ first Pearl Jam experience occurred before the band had even released Ten, their landmark 1991 debut. "It wasn't even on their itinerary," he recalls of the Providence, Rhode Island show at Club Baby Head. "The paid admission was only 12 people or something. It's one of those small venues where the stage is only knee-high. Even at that, Eddie was swinging from the ceiling."

Last week, while on his flight to Amsterdam, Farias had no idea that he'd soon be making what some fans are now calling the "greatest Pearl Jam setlist of all time." But once Vedder gave him the opportunity, Farias’ real work began. As he explains, the challenge became how best to balance his own "selfish" desires with songs that audience members would enjoy, while also taking into consideration what the band was capable of playing. "It was really stressful," he admits of the setlist-building process, "because it's something you know is never gonna happen again. You’re only getting one shot at it."

Farias estimates he went through 40 or 50 drafts before deciding upon a final setlist. The band, he says, came through: they played 90 to 95 percent of his requests. He does admit there were a few songs the band opted out of playing; however, Vedder promised him that at the next show he attended, if he gave the band a week's notice, he would hear the tracks.

In the end, Farias concocted a setlist for the ages. The second of the two Amsterdam shows – or as he calls it, "my show" – included deep cuts ("Alone," a b-side from the Vs. single "Go"), vintage rarities ("Crown of Thorns," a rarely-played Mother Love Bone number) and crowd favorites ("Alive," Daughter"). In fact, there was only one song, Farias says, that he absolutely needed to hear: "Bugs." The obscure Vitalogy cut, on which Vedder plays accordion and rambles about insects, had only been played once in concert, and it was the only album cut that Farias had never heard. Vedder was initially hesitant. "Brian, we didn't bring the accordion. I don't have it with me," the singer told Farias. But, as Farias explains, "Ed being Ed, always going above and beyond, he went back to his hotel and learned a way to do it on guitar. He turned it into a totally beautiful, different song."

To top off the experience, Farias was brought out for a bow with the entire band at the end of the show. "The bow meant more to me than everything," he says. "For the Pearl Jam audience to give me that much love, I can't imagine what Eddie feels."

Now, even a week after the fact, the reality of the experience still hasn't sunk in for Farias. "It still doesn't seem real," he says. "As more time goes on, it gets even more emotional. It's better than winning the lottery. All the money in the world, I couldn't bribe Eddie Vedder to let me make his setlist. It was like programming your iPod and then Pearl Jam show up in your yard and play it for you."

Setlist:

"Wash"

"Last Exit"

"Animal"

"State of Love and Trust"

"Severed Hand"

"Corduroy"

"I Got Shit"

"Daughter/WMA"

"Nothing As It Seems"

"Got Some"

"Dissident"

"Once"

"Glorified G"

"Deep"

"The Fixer"

"Bugs"

"Better Man"

Encore 1:

"Release"

"Hail, Hail"

"Alone"

"Footsteps"

"Rearview Mirror"

Encore 2:

"Crown of Thorns"

"Sonic Reducer"

"Alive"

"Baba O’Riley"

"Yellow Ledbetter/Little Wing"

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pearl-jam-superfan-creates-bands-setlist-20120706#ixzz1zrs1YU7h

- One can only dream if GNR did this! Pearl Jam is super classy, this just adds to the list of awesome things they have done

That's Awesome. Also if GNR did this Axl probably won't be able to handle it vocally

[Subtle Signs]

I love Pearl Jam and that is a sick setlist!

If GnR let anyone from this Forum do that it would be a 3 hour show with Coma,TWAT and unreleased songs!

Edited July 6, 2012 by xGNRxSTARx

[Powerage5]

Now that's cool! If I ever had a chance to pick Maiden's setlist, I don't even know where I'd begin...

[bran]

thats pretty cool

[chevelle]

That's fucking awesome. I used to love Pearl Jam, but I don't listen to them that much anymore, but this kind of makes me want to go listen to a few albums now. Really ace move.

[Guest Len B'stard]

My God, Pearl Jam playing Sonic Reducer...there should be a law against that..

[Chinaski]

Sometimes I want to get myself more into Pearl Jam just because there can not be many bands around at the moment it is more enjoyable to be a hardcore fan of.

EDIT: Thats especially cool that they promised to play the couple of songs they missed next time he sees them.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Chinaski

[GivenToFly]

Looks like he's a fan of VS.

[The Sandman]

Lucky him - sounds awesome!

[Guest Len B'stard]

three words, patronising...corny...bollocks.

I mean come onnnn, thats just fuckin embarassinggg

[WhazUp]

three words, patronising...corny...bollocks.

I mean come onnnn, thats just fuckin embarassinggg

I like it!

[GivenToFly]

I don't know what I'd pick.

I'd end with Leash and Yellow Ledbetter, because I have a playlist that ends like that and it sounds pretty good.

[Guest Broskirose]

three words, patronising...corny...bollocks.

I mean come onnnn, thats just fuckin embarassinggg

Did you just judge an entire band based on a music video? Lol, ever seen a Guns music video?

[Guest Len B'stard]

Did you just judge an entire band based on a music video? Lol, ever seen a Guns music video?

i never mentioned the entire band.

Edited July 8, 2012 by sugaraylen

[Dead Flower]

gentaaaaly spokeeeeen cassidyyyyyy

ayye ayyye ohhh ayyye oh!

[dalsh327]

Very cool of Pearl Jam to let a longtime supporter do that, but they still had complete control of the setlist. It still wasn't "have it your way".

[Johnny Drama]

gentaaaaly spokeeeeen cassidyyyyyy

ayye ayyye ohhh ayyye oh!

LMFAO!

[chevelle]

three words, patronising...corny...bollocks.

I mean come onnnn, thats just fuckin embarassinggg

They probably thought the same thing, they stopped making videos for like ten years after that.

[bran]

three words, patronising...corny...bollocks.

I mean come onnnn, thats just fuckin embarassinggg

They probably thought the same thing, they stopped making videos for like ten years after that.

yeah all videos sucked basically lol but that song is amazing and very sad

[Spoon87]

I saw Pearl Jam twice back to back a few days ago and it was pure magic. 52 different songs, 58 songs in all, each and every one of my wishes came true. Both nights they played at least 2 and a half hours, they were firing on all cylinders.

Easily the greatest nights of my life.

[batman007]

That is above and beyond! What happend to JerEmy?

[WhazUp]

I saw Pearl Jam twice back to back a few days ago and it was pure magic. 52 different songs, 58 songs in all, each and every one of my wishes came true. Both nights they played at least 2 and a half hours, they were firing on all cylinders.

Easily the greatest nights of my life.

Man I am so jealous! Glad you had a great time, I saw them back in 2009 in LA and it was hands down the best show I have ever seen

[Spoon87]

I saw Pearl Jam twice back to back a few days ago and it was pure magic. 52 different songs, 58 songs in all, each and every one of my wishes came true. Both nights they played at least 2 and a half hours, they were firing on all cylinders.

Easily the greatest nights of my life.

Man I am so jealous! Glad you had a great time, I saw them back in 2009 in LA and it was hands down the best show I have ever seen

I saw them in 2007, 2009 and 2010 already, but these 2 shows last week topped everything, which I thought wasn't really possible. Fuck man, Oceans as the opener for show 2. Down, Indifference, It's ok Tag after Daughter, Immortality, Present Tense, In my Tree... And these are just the highlights off the top of my head...

[WhazUp]

I saw Pearl Jam twice back to back a few days ago and it was pure magic. 52 different songs, 58 songs in all, each and every one of my wishes came true. Both nights they played at least 2 and a half hours, they were firing on all cylinders.

Easily the greatest nights of my life.

Man I am so jealous! Glad you had a great time, I saw them back in 2009 in LA and it was hands down the best show I have ever seen

I saw them in 2007, 2009 and 2010 already, but these 2 shows last week topped everything, which I thought wasn't really possible. Fuck man, Oceans as the opener for show 2. Down, Indifference, It's ok Tag after Daughter, Immortality, Present Tense, In my Tree... And these are just the highlights off the top of my head...

Hell yeah man the It's Ok tag on Daughter is the best! Present Tense, Indifference, and Oceans are all great live tunes as well

When they did In My Tree did they do it with the original drum into or is it more like the other live performances where it starts with guitar?