It's amazing how Eddie Vedder was able to turn what would have been a very humiliating incident into one of Pearl Jam's most glorious, most memorable moments.
It all happened in Indio—polo field, lots of dirt. The year was 1993, and the band was in their Vs tour. People were throwing shoes at the best band in the world. Somehow it reminds me of that Nickelback (of which I'm not a fan, of course) show in Portugal, in which one stone (not sure if indeed it's just one)was thrown at them by someone in the audience, an act that pissed the lead singer, consequently leading to the concert’s early end. A similar incident happened to Guns n’ Roses: Axl Rose had to stop a concert because someone threw a rock onto the stage.
Something as disgraceful as that would never happen to Pearl Jam. The grungers in Indio hurled countless of shoes and various garments, but Eddie is way too wise for them. It would have been unfair for the rest of the Jamheads had Eddie put an early halt to the concert.
In that show, Eddie proves why he’s one of the best (if not the best) front man in the history of rock n’ roll. He knows how to handle the crowd; he knows how to handle a bad situation. He doesn't quit. This is the reason why he’s the last grunge hero standing.
“Me and Jeff are gonna go to the front gate," Eddie told the crowd. "And when you guys exit, we’re gonna beat the shit out of every barefoot person here.”
Then he threw in some humor, making as if licking a shoe: “Hmmm, your dirt is my f*ckin’ food, don’t you understand that by now?”
Then, still holding the shoe: “I’m just like you… so I guess it’s my turn to throw this back.”
But, of course, he had the sense not to throw the shoe at his fans. So he kept on joking around while Mike toyed with the guitar. “I just had this great idea, these are all gonna be donated to charity. Thanks so much. Thank you.”
“Alright more shoes. Shoe the shoeless.”
The crowd cheered and jeered, and garments kept flying onto the stage.
“More shoes. Shoes for my friends,” Eddie said. “I was gonna play your… a… your favorite song, but I… you know. I might get interrupted by a f*ckin’ shoe.” And more laughter from the crowd. But that did not stop the storm of shoes.
“Let’s see. I got a shoe, I got a shirt, let’s see. I need some boxers”—interrupted by a flying garment—“Ah, so good. I got some pants. Someone throw some pants; let’s see some balls out here.”
More laughter. More flying garments.
“Somebody throw up a gun, so I can shoot you all. F*ckers.” Eddie, now wearing a cap and sweater, said jokingly. “Ah, I meant that with love, you know that.”
Then our hero finally got hit. Almost in the head. The crowd went Oooooh. As in "that must have hurt". Had it been Axl Rose or Chad Kroeger in that situation, they would've had fainted.
“I’m still here. I ain’t goin’ anywhere. You f*ckers have to leave, we’re gonna kick you out.” Eddie said with a brief laugh at the end. “OK, that’s it. Goodnight.”
And he exited.
But the night didn't end there. The band, of course, found a way to continue the show. After they walked off stage, they sent the roadies out to move the amplifier stack, forming a wall in front of the stage. The rest of the band played behind the amps, and Eddie continued to dodge shoes for some songs. Epic!
The lesson here is that if you’re in a chaotic situation, be fearless and DON'T QUIT. As Eddie once said regarding the song Jeremy: "The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself. Be stronger than those people. And then you can come back."
