Eddie Vedder calls Pearl Jam’s “frightening” recent illness a “near-death experience”

nme.com:

Eddie Vedder described Pearl Jam’s recent health scare as a “near-death experience” when speaking to fans over the weekend.The grunge icons had to cancel tour dates in London and Berlin over the last couple of weeks, something Vedder discussed during the band’s encore in Barcelona on Saturday (July 6).In between performing ‘Just Breathe’ and ‘Wasted Reprise’, the Pearl Jam frontman said: “Can I just say that the last week, it almost felt like a near-death experience.

It was very uncomfortable, and it got frightening. It felt like chest bronchitis. It felt like maybe you couldn’t breathe, and maybe you wouldn’t make it through the night, and maybe you’d have to go to the hospital.”He explained that the illness affected “a few” of the travelling party, and added: “You just realize how precious this life is.

How lucky we are to have been living on a planet where we can go around and play to incredible people like the people in this room here tonight.

So, it was a poignant experience. I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon. And we won’t be forgetting tonight anytime soon.”I have it here pic.twitter.com/vAjCcLtAJ4— Seb (@sebthobald) July 6, 2024Pearl Jam first cancelled a show at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on June 29, citing illness, before then cancelling two shows in Berlin on July 2 and 3.