Eddie Vedder had an audience member removed from Pearl Jam’s August 22 show at Chicago’s Wrigley Field after the man became confrontational with a woman.
Pearl Jam were playing their song “Lukin,” from 1996’s No Code, when Vedder cut off his band mates.
“Hey, mister, get your finger out of that woman’s face, motherf…,” he said, his voice trailing off. “Hey, mister, all the fingers are pointing at you. Clear out, mister.”
Security escorted the man out as the crowd cheered. Once he left, Vedder checked in on the woman to see if she was okay and complimented a man who was apparently helping her. “That’s a good man, taking care of your woman,” Vedder said. “And then she was taking care of herself too pretty good.”
The show also saw an appearance by Chicago Bulls legend Dennis Rodman, who walked onstage during a performance of “Black, Red, Yellow.” Vedder jumped up several times trying to reach the Basketball Hall of Famer’s six-foot-seven height. Rodman took the mic briefly before lifting up Vedder and cradling him.
Rodman has said Pearl Jam are one of his favorite bands. He appeared onstage with the group in 1996 and gave Vedder a ride on his back. At his 2011 Hall of Fame induction, he called the frontman a personal inspiration.
Rodman enters around 2:40 in the clip shown below.
Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.
