Someone better check the scaffolding strength at Mount Smart Stadium before Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder takes the stage there later this year.
He was well-known for climbing stages and not giving a fuck about potentially falling from his death. One of his most memorable stunts came in 1992 at Seattle’s ‘Drop in the Park’ festival.
Apparently, the then 28-year-old frontman threw his microphone up in the air and it got caught in the stage scaffolding. So, he fetched it himself by scaling up with no protection and he got himself back down by sliding down the microphone wire like it was a fireman pole.
I mean, it is a pretty reckless move but you've got to respect the upper-body strength on display and the kahunas to start dangling.
Years after, Vedder reflected on his hooliganism performances, pretty much saying it just felt right and he was playing with house money.
“I was channelling something different," he told Revolver. “I got to that place you hear about where the mom lifts the car off the two-year-old kid.”
“It was that kind of adventure. At that point in life and having at long last the opportunity to play for bigger crowds, I really and truly felt like I had nothing to lose.”
“No thoughts of what may be waiting in my future. It was all about the now. And that was part and parcel with whatever message the group and I had to impart on the audience at that instance. Risking your hide to evoke that emotion became part of the program."
If you love it, sign up to get tickets to their one NZ concert here, and then watch this incredible 16-minute compilation of every time Vedder risked his life for a roar from the crowd.
FYI: He’s probably not going to stage climb anymore, but he and the band will put on a show.
