Eddie Vedder has come good on a promise he made a fan over two decades ago, though the Pearl Jam frontman did slightly alter the original deal. According to Pearl Jam fan Joe Wolfe, Vedder promised to take a picture with him after a chance meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio way back in 1992.
Wolfe first encountered Pearl Jam, who were in town performing, at a cinema where Vedder and the band went to see cult comedy Wayne’s World. Wolfe approached the singer to take a picture but alas was foiled by ’90s technology.
“There weren’t camera phones back then,” Wolfe told Diffuser. “He [Vedder] said he would do a picture with me the next time I saw him.”
Flash forward 22 years into the present. Wolfe, ready to attend a Pearl Jam gig at Cincinnati U.S. Bank Arena, again ran into Vedder two days ahead of the show. Remembering Vedder’s prior promise Wolfe approached Ed for the long-awaited pic but was met with an abrupt, “Fuck off, dude!” Eddie say waaat?
No doubt Joe would have been stewing (read: tearing his soul into little pieces of pity party confetti) after being dismissed so harshly, but who’s gonna throw away a Pearl Jam ticket? No-one, that’s who, and a good thing too, because here’s where the story smacks us right in the feels.
Mid-set, Vedder stopped the show to address the situation. He apologised to Wolfe for a case of mistaken identity — apparently, ol’ Ed thought Wolfe was “the guy” who stole his joint from Bogarts, the venue Pearl Jam played in 1992. We’d be pissed too, frankly.
To make up for his blunder, Vedder, after the show, shook Wolfe’s had and finally came through on his promise of a picture, though it wasn’t an extreme close-up (as you can see above). Vedder also gave Wolf a guitar pick and autograph as way of thanks for attending the performance. Party on, Ed. Party on, Wolfe.
You can watch Vedder tell his side of the Wolfe story below. The story starts around 1:30.
