At the end of last week, Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron tested positive for COVID-19 and, consequently, missed a live performance with the band for the first time in his 24 years with the band.
“Matt Cameron is a true artist and he’s a force of nature,” Eddie Vedder told the crowd. “However, even his superhero status could not prevent him from testing positive. This damn COVID thing yesterday. We’ve been scrambling for 24 hours because after 25 months of… We were supposed to be here 25 months ago. We’ve been waiting and we’ve been waiting. Postponing wasn’t an option and for us neither was canceling. We didn’t want to pull the plug and we couldn’t pull the plug. We’ve got our group here, we’ve got our equipment here and, most importantly, you’re here.”
To help the show go on, Josh Klinghoffer, a touring member with the band since last September, and Richard Stuveru stepped in to fill Cameron’s big shoes. Klinghoffer took on 11 of Pearl Jam’s 16-song set, and Stuveru handled 12. Vedder ended up playing two songs solo before surprising the audience with a special finale drummer: a fan!
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Vedder said, “Please welcome one of your own: Mr. Josh Arroyo!”
According to a YouTube comment from a supposed member of the crowd who witnessed the exciting moment recalled: “Eddie asked if there were any drummers in the crowd that wanted to play. Josh jumped up and ran to the front isle. Eddie saw his shirt, which listed all of the PJ drummers. Then Eddie said, ‘Get him tested for COVID and bring him out for the encore!’ The place went NUTS!”
Arroyo supported Pearl Jam in their finale performance of “Yellow Ledbetter.”
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