For the first time in 14 years Bad Religion will be opening up for Pearl Jam. Their last tour in 1995 didn’t go exactly as expected, given that 7 of the 15 shows got canceled. Why you may ask? Well..I guess no one really knows. Bad Religion did a report on the tour in Bad Times issue #5, which you can read by viewing the Full Story. Will this time around go more according to plan? Let’s hope so!
They will be arriving in Chicago for the August 23rd and 24th shows. To check out more info click here or go to the band’s myspace page. The dates will be officially posting soon, so keep checking back to the Dying Scene Shows section.
Bad Religion is reportedly currently writing material for a follow up album to their 2007 release of “New Maps Of Hell” on Epitaph Records.
BR/PEARL JAM FEST
June and July, 1995 were spent touring with Pearl Jam on their ill-fated summer extravaganza. Although many of the shows were cancelled part of the way through, it was still a fun way to spend part of the summer. Did it negatively affect BRs credibility? That is debatable, but suffice it to say that there were not a lot of people at those shows who came to see BR. Basically it was Pearl Jam fans who were treated to a blast of classic american punk rock, some of them liked it, some didn’t. BR fans did not show up by and large, and that is a good thing for a couple of reasons. First, it was a bit more expensive than we would charge for our concerts and we played a shorter set, so it was not a very good value. Second, it was not a typical setting for the band. In general, BR enthusiasts are not used to huge arenas, and the power of BRs performance is not fully appreciated at such venues.
The good elements of the tour were that it was really fun to be able to play for a mainstream audience without worrying about how well it went over. It felt good to know that some people who had never heard of BR found the new exposure to be a positive experience.
Many people have asked BR what was the real reason Pearl Jam cancelled so many shows? Given our proximity to the situation and our freindship with the band it seems logical that we would be the rock and roll Deep-Throat, and have the real inside story. However, there are conflicting indications from numerous sources and to this day none of the band members (from either Pearl Jam or Bad Religion) seem to have the same understanding of why the tour was cancelled. Suffice it to say that Pearl Jam had a vision of how they wanted to tour, and how they wanted to treat their fans. For numerous reasons their vision didn’t materialize. To their credit, they are trying to balance the tough job of being true to themselves in the midst of tremendous popularity. Their ideas are usually noble and good for their fans. But the difficulty of carrying out those good intentions is often times insurmountable because of the rigid structure of the music industry. In general promoters, and record sellers are not interested in helping out the fans. Furthermore, they are not interested in helping bands with gestures of good will to the fans. They are in it to make as much money as quickly as possible. Without the sympathy of the industry, a huge rock band has to fight an uphill battle. Pearl Jam shows us just how hard that battle is, it might be un-winable once a certain level of popularity is achieved. It might always result in cancelled shows and awkward ticket buying promotions. For an independent or relatively small band, it is easier to side-step some of the industry’s rigidity in order to bolster the relationship with the fans. But Pearl Jam cannot go back to that level.
Ultimately, the decision to cancel seemed to be based on numerous industry issues as well as certain shortcomings of the band’s collective psychology. If you want some dirt, look elsewhere, we have no tabloid-worthy information to report.