COVID-19 Made Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder See His ‘Life Flash’ Before His Eyes
At Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder's solo performance in Los Angeles last week (Feb. 25), the musician explained that he had a "serious" case of COVID-19 several weeks ago, saying he even saw his life "flash" in front of his eyes during the experience.
Vedder shared as much during the Feb. 25 show from his solo band, Eddie Vedder and the Earthlings, at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif. The gig was the penultimate stop on Vedder's brief spring U.S. tour behind Earthling, his new solo album.
See fan-captured footage near the bottom of this post.
During the concert, Vedder again invited his daughter Olivia onstage to perform their collaborative tune, "My Father's Daughter." He also covered Tom Petty and The Police with his band that includes Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Josh Klinghoffer (Pearl Jam, ex-RHCP) and Andrew Watt (producer for Ozzy Osbourne, Post Malone, etc.), plus L.A.-specific special guests Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). (via Spin)
Motioning to the crowd as Olivia took the stage to join him, Vedder told the audience, "I just wanted her to take a quick second to look at this because it's very rare. It's incredible. I got the COVID right before we were supposed to start practicing, about five or six weeks ago, and literally saw my life flash in front of my eyes." (via Ultimate Classic Rock)
He continued, "It felt pretty serious. And to get through that, and then be back in a room like this, facing this many people facing this way, listening to us — really, truly, it's been a gift and an honor."
Vedder Criticizes Crue
Last month, whether intentionally or not, Vedder started a war of words with Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx after he criticized Crue and 1980s hair metal.
On Jan. 31, Vedder The New York Times Magazine that he "despised" most hair metal of that era. He singled out Motley Crue and their 1987 single "Girls, Girls, Girls" from the album of the same name.
Sixx struck back on Twitter on Feb. 5, calling Pearl Jam "one of the most boring bands in history" and making fun of Vedder's singing style. Pearl Jam responded with a tongue-in-cheek tweet on Feb. 6 that said, "We [love] our bored fans." It included a video of excited concertgoers at a Pearl Jam show.
Vedder again took a swipe at Motley Crue at the Pearl Jam singer's Feb. 6 performance in Newark, N.J., at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Ahead of a drum solo from Smith, Vedder seemingly invoked Motley Crue's stage theatrics, particularly drummer Tommy Lee's often elaborate setups. He told the audience, "That drum kit — that silver, beautiful machine that he is the engine of — does not need to elevate or rotate to do its job. Let me just point that out."
Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard subsequently offered a defense of Crue, explaining that other Pearl Jam members enjoyed that style of hard rock and saying he bought Crue's first independent album.