Even though Pearl Jam has been one of the biggest bands in the world since the beginning of their career, they're still a band of the people, as singer Eddie Vedder proved earlier this month to a fan named Joe Wolfe. Vedder took a photo with Wolfe at a recent show in Cincinnati, and though that's not at all uncommon in and of itself, this particular photo had been promised to Wolfe 22 years ago.
After seeing Pearl Jam in 1992 at Bogart's in Cincinnati, Wolfe encountered the band at a local movie theater. "I ran into [Vedder] and the band when they all went to the theater to see 'Wayne's World,'" Wolfe tells Diffuser. "There weren't camera phones back then and he said he would do a picture with me the next time I saw him."
When Wolfe ran into Vedder again earlier this month before Pearl Jam's show at U.S. Bank Arena, he reminded him that the two had met back in 1992, but apparently Vedder decided not to take the picture, mistaking Wolfe for some guy who stole his joint at the Bogart's show in 1992 (time to let that one go, Eddie). That could have been a very depressing end to this story, but Vedder realized his mistake and told the story to 18,000 people at the U.S. Bank Arena, and eventually invited Wolfe backstage for a picture, autograph, and guitar pick.
You can check out a video of Eddie Vedder telling the story to a crowd in Cincinnati right here:
