Meeting Eddie Vedder

Meeting Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam, has been a dream of mine since I first heard "Evenflow" back in 1991. That first album, Ten, grabbed a hold of me in a way that nothing else has ever possessed me. It was a frequent topic of gentle cajoling amongst my friends. How would I react if I ever had the chance to meet Eddie? Would I keel over? Pass out? Or would I be able to keep my cool?

Usually at concerts, the tour buses are parked in such a way that it is almost impossible to access the celebrities. Backstage passes are hit or miss without proper connections. And I have a ridiculous aversion to fan clubs. When I went solo to Eddie's 2008 solo tour in Boston, promoting his Into the Wild soundtrack, I realized that it would be easy to access the tour bus outside a small theatre, but unfortunately didn't have the opportunity.

In 2009, Eddie went on another East Coast tour promoting his album. This time a friend was accompanying me, and we would be driving my car to Albany, NY to see him at the Palace Theatre. We only had tickets to the second show on June 10th, because the first show on June 9^th was sold out. I immediately started having dreams that I got tickets to the first show and that we met him after. When I managed to get fantastic tickets to that sold out show, I had a feeling my dream was more a premonition.

When that first show was over, we huddled with a small gathering of other people along the barricades by his tour bus. It was cold and drizzling, but I refused to move. When the craziness of some fool stealing the license plate off a tour bus finally died down, one of the security guards came out and said, "Okay, he is coming out. Just some hellos and handshakes. No pictures, no autographs."

I was ecstatic, yet terrified at the same time. And then, he came out. You could tell he was stoned out of his mind, but I didn't care. He finally made his way to where I was standing and took a hold of my hand. I simply said, "Thank you," and he replied the same. We watched him make his way around to everyone else, then walked away, crying and laughing at the same time.

The second night, June 9, 2009, we were so excited about our encounter meeting Eddie Vedder, that we were determined to have a repeat. I had a hard time sitting still through the show, because I was also fearful it wouldn't happen again. Lightning doesn't strike twice, right?

People had obviously heard that he had come out the night before, because there were many more people standing outside. We couldn't even get to the barricade this time. We waited for a couple of hours for him to come out again. This time, we were permitted to take pictures of him, but none with him, nor were we allowed to ask for autographs.

When the crowd surged forward, I feared I would miss my chance because I was a couple of rows back. But finally that moment came when his hand closed over mine. I said, "Thank you for the last 18 years of my life."

He replied, "Really? Wow," and squeezed my hand tightly. I said, "Yes, you have been a part of my life for the last eighteen years, and kept me going. Thank you." He thanked me back, and kept going. When at some point he replied to another fan, "Stay alive," he pointedly looked back at me. We followed him around to the other side, to continue taking pictures and listening to him speak to other fans. When his bus left, we left, but the experience of meeting Eddie Vedder and giving profound thanks to my muse never will.