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| GimmeExile |
Concert-goers head to exits after anti-Bush display
By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News
April 3, 2003
Incensed fans walked out of Pearl Jam's concert Tuesday after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand, then slammed it to the stage.
Most of Vedder's antiwar remarks earlier in the Pepsi Center show were greeted with mixed cheers and scattered boos. But dozens of angry fans walked out during the encore because of the macabre display with the Bush mask, which he wore for the song Bushleaguer, a Bush- taunting song from the band's latest album, Riot Act.
"When he was sharing his political views in a fairly benign manner - supporting our troops, opposing policy - that's OK," said Keith Zimmerman, of Denver.
"When he takes what looks like the head of George Bush on a stick, then throws it to the stage and stomps on it, that's just unacceptable. I love Pearl Jam, but that was just way over the edge. We literally got up and left."
Others joined Zimmerman, some complaining about the lyrics of Bushleaguer, which in part call Bush "a confidence man" and say, "He's not a leader / he's a Texas leaguer."
"I wasn't sure if it was really happening," said Kim Mueller. "We looked at each other and realized he really did have George Bush's head on a stick and was waving it in the air, then slam-med it to the ground and step-ped on it."
"It was like he decapitated someone in a primal ritual and stuck their head on a stick," Zimmerman said. "It kinda blows away the Dixie Chicks."
The Dixie Chicks were the target of boycotts and bannings after making an anti-Bush statement on a London stage in March. (On Wednesday, the Marshall Tucker Band announced it would play a May 1 concert in Spartanburg, S.C., as an alternative to the U.S. tour-opening show in nearby Greenville by the Dixie Chicks that same day.)
Vedder has used the Bush mask in previous shows in Australia and Japan, but Denver's U.S. tour opener was the first show since war broke out in Iraq.
Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis couldn't be reached for comment. The Seattle band plays Oklahoma City tonight.
Before Do the Evolution, Vedder told the crowd the tale of a Vietnam vet who expressed severe reservations about war in Iraq to Vedder. The singer was incensed when someone in the crowd yelled, "Shut up!"
"Did someone just say, 'Shut up'? I don't know if you heard about this thing called freedom of speech, man. It's worth thinking about it, because it's going away," Vedder said. "In the last year of being able to use it, we're sure as (expletive) going to use it and I'm not gonna apologize."
Later in the show, he added to that.
"Just to clarify . . . we support the troops," Vedder said to cheers. "Our problem is certainly not with anybody over there doing something that not too many of us would do right now, not for these reasons.
"So to the families and those people who know those folks and are related to those folks and are married to those folks, we send our support. We're just confused on how wanting to bring them back safely all of a sudden becomes nonsupport. We love them, we support them. They're not the ones who make the foreign policy. . . . Let's hope for the best and speak our opinions."
It was after that when Vedder put on the Bush mask and a sparkling silver jacket. He took off the mask, mounted it on the mike stand, then slammed it to the floor.
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| Angiegirl |
Glad to see Eddie's completely back to his old self after their traumatic Denmark show on Roskilde in 2000  |
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| Nellcote |
Where was Eddie Vedder protesting at the UN when Saddam was murdering 30,000 people with Nerve Gas in 1991?
Such a loser.
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| Moonisup |
quote:
Nellcote wrote:
Where was Eddie Vedder protesting at the UN when Saddam was murdering 30,000 people with Nerve Gas in 1991?
wacking off??????? |
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| gypsy |
Eddie is a bitter, bitter man... |
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| Pants Make the Man |
Is that his idea of an anti-war statement? They do things like that every day in the (dirt) streets of Nablus as pro-war statements.
Eddie Vedder has no mind of his own. |
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| TracyGene |
Looks like we got our "Martin Scheen" of grunge. |
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| Pants Make the Man |
Eddie Vedder is fucked.
I, on the other hand, have a mind of my own. Here's an original thought:
Saddam&Sons ran up a big tab on Sep 11. So, yes, we WILL take ALL of the oil fields in Iraq to pay that bill. No, that won't bring back 3,000++ lives, but you catch my drift, right? Right.
We blow up every last airplane in Iraq...military...commercial...private...blow it the fuck up!
Every place Saddam has laid his head, blow it off the face of the earth. Leave no stone unturned.
Eddie Vedder is anathema. |
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| beer |
eddie and his band are crap, but he should be able to express himself in any way he wants. who cares. there are far more legitimate ways of getting your point across, no matter how valid they are. but that's what makes rock-n-roll great: expression. it's really not that shocking, considering some of the stances others in R-n-R have taken over the years...
If that's how he chooses to convey his feelings about what's going on right now, good for him. at least he has the balls to do it. |
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| fmk438j |
Is veddar's protest any different to an anti vietnam war protest was?
It would irk me though, even though I am anti.
There's letting people know your position, and then there's ramming it down their throats to the point where they'll turn away and ignore whetever it is that you were trying to say.
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| Zeeta |
Good point Beer - you gotta give him that, he got balls!
Pants = speak logically |
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| F505 |
There are more! Branford Marsalis performed in the Bimhuis, Amsterdam and played a brand new song: No a la Guerra. Great song (although his version of Love Supreme was amazing). Next week Steve Earle will be playing in Utrecht and I have a feeling good old Steve is gonna say something about this war... |
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| Doxa |
quote:
Pants Make the Man wrote:
Leave no stone unturned.
Yeah, leave "No Stone Unturned" - a nice collection of rare tracks indeed. A Decca vinyl.
Doxa
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| ShannonDC |
Hey Pants . . . what tab did Saddam and Sons run up on Sept. 11? You're not one of those folks who thinks Saddam had something to do with 9/11, are you? Even Bush didn't try to con us about that. |
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| jb |
Pearl Jam is a has been and the faker Vedder should be imprisoned under the homeland security act for such inciteful and dangerous behavior. |
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| Joey |
" Vedder should be imprisoned under the homeland security act for such inciteful and dangerous behavior . "
Josh , you make Joey giggle .
I can't wait to meet you August 4th in Denver for the Steely Dan gig at Fiddlers Green .
Developing ..............
Joey ! |
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| jb |
Their my best friend Russell's favorite group of all time. |
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| Joey |
Can't wait to meet Russell , yourself and your beautiful wife in Denver at this summer's " DanFest " .........
THE JOEY !
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| hoobler |
i can tell you where uncle sam was before, during and after saddam gassed the kurds, he was selling him the stuff to make the gas and other deadly weapons. those very guys selling saddam the gas are the guys in the white house right now. i'm gonna have to side with vedder on this one. |
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| Riffhard |
Uhhhhh wrong hoobler. The gas that killed the Kurds was mustard gas. It was provided by our friends the Germans. The fact is Germany dosen't support this war b/c they know what they have sold Saddam since the UN resolution was put in place in 1991. Same goes for the French goverment. They are both about to get found out and it's scaring the hell out of them. Read up on it,or just wait till the truth comes out. Alot of 'splainin to do from these two goverments. You just wait! I find it very amuseing that both Germany and France are the first in line to help with the rebuilding of Iraq! Here's a clue for Chirac and Schroeder. Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first!
Riffhard |
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| TracyGene |
Hoobler,
Sorry,but your arguement doesn't wash.We did sell Iraq weapons in the 1980's against Iran.Look at it this way;Your uncle (Uncle Sam) buys you a gun,he says "be careful and don't point it at anyone that you don't want to shoot"."Use some responsibility when you use it."Eddie Vedder doesn't grasp this concept and really I doubt he even cares.I think he and most hollywood liberals are so out of touch with the real world that they haven't a clue. |
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| Mathijs |
Eddie Vedder will forever be my hero.
Mathijs |
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| Mathijs |
oh, and by the way: the equipment to make biological and chemical weapons weren't sold to Iraq by Germany and France, but given to them by the US in order to fight Iran in the 80's. And, do you know which country has the largest stock of chemical weapons? Right, the US. All stuck away on the beach of an US island.
"but Saddam did use chemical weapons, and the US never will" I hear you say.
Ask the Vietnamese.
Mathijs
ps after 20 days of war, what has been found in Iraq? Any long distance missiles? Any trace of chemical weapens? |
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| jb |
Mathjis, I respect your dissent on the war, but am I correct in assuming that you still support our troops and still love America? |
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| telecaster |
quote:
Mathijs wrote:
oh, and by the way: the equipment to make biological and chemical weapons weren't sold to Iraq by Germany and France, but given to them by the US in order to fight Iran in the 80's. And, do you know which country has the largest stock of chemical weapons? Right, the US. All stuck away on the beach of an US island.
"but Saddam did use chemical weapons, and the US never will" I hear you say.
Ask the Vietnamese.
Mathijs
ps after 20 days of war, what has been found in Iraq? Any long distance missiles? Any trace of chemical weapens?
Mathijs all the chemical weapons the US has are in the process of being destroyed.
And the answer to your questions is YES to both.
Traces of chemical weapons and long distance missiles.
How many times can you be so wrong??????????
Do you have any hobbies besides being anti US and loving
Guns N Roses?
[Edited by telecaster] |
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| Nellcote |
Stil another article to convince Eddie Vedder, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, and Mathy why the US went into Iraq.
Imagine your child held like this, for five years?
Death by missle strike is too good for Saddam...
Jailed Iraqi children run free as marines roll into Baghdad suburbs
Tue Apr 8,12:30 PM ET
BAGHDAD (AFP) - More than 100 children held in a prison celebrated their freedom as US marines rolled into northeast Baghdad amid chaotic scenes which saw civilians loot weapons from an army compound, a US officer said.
Around 150 children spilled out of the jail after the gates were opened as a US military Humvee vehicle approached, Lieutenant Colonel Fred Padilla told an AFP correspondent travelling with the Marines 5th Regiment.
"Hundreds of kids were swarming us and kissing us," Padilla said.
"There were parents running up, so happy to have their kids back."
"The children had been imprisoned because they had not joined the youth branch of the Baath party," he alleged. "Some of these kids had been in there for five years."
The children, who were wearing threadbare clothes and looked under-nourished, walked on the streets crossing their hands as if to mimic handcuffs, before giving the thumbs up sign and shouting their thanks.
It was not clear who had opened the doors of the prison.
Civilians also took advantage of the collapse of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s authority to grab weapons from an army base, said Group Sergeant Jeff Treiber.
As marines were alerted by radio that civilians had seized weapons, Treiber warned that anyone seen to be armed could be a target of US-British coalition forces.
"With the weapons they are becoming combatants," said Treiber. "If they don't take the weapons they will be fine."
Other residents stole air conditioning units, television sets and furniture from government buildings in an echo of the looting that was seen in the southern city of Basra.
A 19-year-old called Haider said people had been ransacking government compounds since the morning to steal weapons and furniture.
"Since the morning, nine o'clock, they have been looting. They are stealing weapons and I took three doors," he said.
At one stage the marines opened fire after coming under attack from snipers, leaving at least two civilians wounded.
One man needed treatment for gunshot wounds to his stomach and left arm.
But his friend, Abdul Amir Jaffa, said he did not resent the Americans despite the shooting.
"Americans are coming to free us," he told AFP.
The last sentance says it all.
Now, why can't Fox hire "Baghdad Bob"? |
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| Doxa |
"Stil another article to convince Eddie Vedder, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, and Mathy why the US went into Iraq."
Do you really, I mean REALLY believe that the US went to Iraq only and only to free Iraqi people from the scenes like that?
If you are convinced of that then I conclude that G�bbels was an amateur.
C�mon.
Doxa |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
Fuck.
Are we gonna start this played out song again?
We all know who stands where. Can't we just let it go?
I mean, the war news is all over the place....can't this board be a little respite from all of that stuff?
Keep going if you like...but I swear, I will flood this thread to 500 posts so fast if it continues. We've already had these fights, and we've already had this thread many time over.
Let's stick to music, OK? |
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| Cracker2550 |
Well, first of all it's their right to do that on stage if they feel like it. Second, it's the fans rights to leave the concert. To me, people seem to hate America and its policies because it's the "cool" thing to do... fuck that. Just because people that still love America are usually more "reserved" and don't go and complain about everything they wish, they're still a great number of us, and if we ever were to be attacked it would be us that save the rest of the whining (sp?, complaining, freeloaders here. Just like Pearl Jam did, I have the right to say fuck them, and that's why this country is great. Just don't abuse the privilege.
[Edited by Cracker2550] |
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| cocksucker |
Don't start all over again |
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