Pearl Jam Trashes Bush at Concert; Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush

Rocky Mountain News ^ | April 3, 2003 | Mark Brown

[Mister Magoo]

Concert-goers jam exits after anti-Bush display By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News April 3, 2003

Incensed fans walked out of Pearl Jam's concert Tuesday after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand, then slammed it to the stage.

Most of Vedder's antiwar remarks earlier in the Pepsi Center show were greeted with mixed cheers and scattered boos. But dozens of angry fans walked out during the encore because of the macabre display with the Bush mask, which he wore for the song Bushleaguer, a Bush- taunting song from the band's latest album, Riot Act.

"When he was sharing his political views in a fairly benign manner - supporting our troops, opposing policy - that's OK," said Keith Zimmerman, of Denver.

"When he takes what looks like the head of George Bush on a stick, then throws it to the stage and stomps on it, that's just unacceptable. I love Pearl Jam, but that was just way over the edge. We literally got up and left."

Others joined Zimmerman, some complaining about the lyrics of Bushleaguer, which in part call Bush "a confidence man" and say, "He's not a leader / he's a Texas leaguer."

"I wasn't sure if it was really happening," said Kim Mueller. "We looked at each other and realized he really did have George Bush's head on a stick and was waving it in the air, then slam-med it to the ground and step-ped on it."

"It was like he decapitated someone in a primal ritual and stuck their head on a stick," Zimmerman said. "It kinda blows away the Dixie Chicks."

The Dixie Chicks were the target of boycotts and bannings after making an anti-Bush statement on a London stage in March. (On Wednesday, the Marshall Tucker Band announced it would play a May 1 concert in Spartanburg, S.C., as an alternative to the U.S. tour-opening show in nearby Greenville by the Dixie Chicks that same day.)

Vedder has used the Bush mask in previous shows in Australia and Japan, but Denver's U.S. tour opener was the first show since war broke out in Iraq.

Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis couldn't be reached for comment. The Seattle band plays Oklahoma City tonight.

Before Do the Evolution, Vedder told the crowd the tale of a Vietnam vet who expressed severe reservations about war in Iraq to Vedder. The singer was incensed when someone in the crowd yelled, "Shut up!"

"Did someone just say, 'Shut up'? I don't know if you heard about this thing called freedom of speech, man. It's worth thinking about it, because it's going away," Vedder said. "In the last year of being able to use it, we're sure as (expletive) going to use it and I'm not gonna apologize."

Later in the show, he added to that.

"Just to clarify . . . we support the troops," Vedder said to cheers. "Our problem is certainly not with anybody over there doing something that not too many of us would do right now, not for these reasons.

"So to the families and those people who know those folks and are related to those folks and are married to those folks, we send our support. We're just confused on how wanting to bring them back safely all of a sudden becomes nonsupport. We love them, we support them. They're not the ones who make the foreign policy. . . . Let's hope for the best and speak our opinions."

It was after that when Vedder put on the Bush mask and a sparkling silver jacket. He took off the mask, mounted it on the mike stand, then slammed it to the floor.

[College Repub]

It doesn't. That's an urban legend. The name comes from Ed's great grandmother Pearl who, as family legend had it, made a delicious jam that just happened to make all who taste it hallucinate.

[Moose4]

I love the smell of ozone in the afternoon...

}:-)4

[Beck_isright]

Welcome to the VICHY CHICK nation...

V

[plusone]

Reminds me of a scene from the movie 'Zorro, the Gay Blade'. Some activist woman was harranging a crowd against the local despot. One of his minions shows up with soldiers and tries to arrest her. She holds up a copy of their constitution and screams out that she has the right to free speech. The mayor looks at the parchment and nods his agreement. Then he orders his troops "then arrest anyone that listens!!"

[ohioman]

It's Eddie's choice and my free speech. Free speech works both ways.

[weegee]

Looks like Eddie's been a busy monkey on FR trying to defend his name!

Grunge_Monkey signed up 2003-04-03.
This account has been banned.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Yep.. they told him so by their actions and booing.. and he didn't like it.

Boo hoo... wahhhhhh. :o)

[JudyB1938]

Thanks for letting me know !!!!!

I really appreciate it, because I wasn't kidding when I said it made me sick.

[College Repub]

Further information can be found here:

---

http://theskyiscrape.com/features/faq.html#3.4

---

The Grandmother/Jam story is one that Ed's told to a magazine but some believe he was just BSing them. He has a very dry sense of humor and often jokes about every tour being the last tour just to get a reaction out of the crowd.

[College Repub]

Last Night's show in Denver:

setlist: Love Boat Captain, Hail Hail, Save You, Corduroy, Given To Fly, Even Flow, Thin Air, Help Help, You Are, I Am Mine, Don't Drive Me (Improv), Green Disease, Wishlist, Better Man, Insignificance, Do The Evolution, Porch/(Dig Me Out) encore: Thumbing My Way, Black, Bushleaguer, Daughter, Go encore 2: Soon Forget, Crazy Mary, Rockin' In The Free World

Tonight's show at Oklahoma City, OK:

setlist: Long Road, Grievance, Corduroy, Save You, Given To Fly, Dissident, Even Flow, I Am Mine, Love Boat Captain, 1/2 Full, Not For You, Off He Goes, Elderly Woman, Untitled, MFC, Happy Birthday, Driftin', DEEP, Blood encore: Better Man, Daughter/(War), Do The Evolution, Rearviewmirror encore 2: Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Statemant by the band: Statement from Pearl Jam April 3, 2003

There were close to 12,000 people at the April 1st Denver show. It’s possible two dozen left during encore but it was not noticeable amongst the 11,976 who were loudly applauding and enjoying the evening’s music. It just made a better headline to report otherwise. [You’ll note the writer doesn’t mention this in his review of the show from the day prior. See "Pearl Jam Show Will Make a Great CD" by Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News. And it is little more than a mention in any of the show reviews. Another review.]

Dissension is nothing we shy away from – it should just be reported about more accurately. Ed’s talk from the stage centered on the importance of freedom of speech and the importance of supporting our soldiers as well as an expression of sadness over the public being made to feel as though the two sentiments can’t occur simultaneously.

[TMCJR]

http://www.evkingdom.de/bbs/upload/index.php

That's another popular Pearl Jam discussion website.

You must log in to post.

Let's educate these morons as to what free speech is all about.

[an amused spectator]

So what's your point about Pearl "Necklace" Jam, newbie?

I believe that the Left's constant whining about Freedom of Speech deliberately overlooks the original context of the debate on that Right. And Vedder sounds like he needs a little cheese with that whine of his. ;-)

[College Repub]

If you want to hear free (legal) mp3s of each song of each show on the tour, you can go here:

Pearl Jam Tour MP3s