Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Sings & Drinks With Birthday Boy, "Loses Virginity with Colombia"

Pearl Jam have been on the road, tackling gig after gig of their 2015 Latin American tour, which wraps up November 29 in Mexico City. After expanding into new musical territories by covering Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" for the first time and taking on John Lennon's "Imagine," the group offered an odd sentiment during their Wednesday night gig in Bogota, saying that "We are losing our virginity with Colombia." Another cause of "celebration" occurred during Sunday's Rio de Janeiro show when frontman Eddie Vedder invited a birthday boy to the stage to sing a song and have a drink.

Refering to his notes and speaking to the Bogota crowd in Spanish, Vedder offered a strange sentiment that an El Tiempo newspaper critic could only describe as "precarious." "I'm going to say something I've never said before," Vedder announced to the audience in Spanish. "Hola Bogotá! We are losing our virginity with Colombia," the critic recounted via Billboard.

The set rolled out Pearl Jam staples as well as hidden gems, a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" and Pink Floyd's "Mother," all of which was "tied to the collective memory of various generations" of Colombian fans as El Tiempo noted. In the middle of performances, Vedder spoke to the crowd in their native tongue, removing his sweater to show his undershirt that read "por una Colombia que dice No a la violencia contra las mujeres," which translates to "Colombia says no to violence against women."

"You've received us in a way that we never expected, we're taking great memories with us," Vedder explained as the show came to an end. The gig came after fans tirelessly tried to bring Pearl Jam to Colombia, with one superfan claiming "We've been waiting for you for twenty years," in a video plea, Billboard reports.

During the group's Rio de Janiero concert, the "Even Flow" singer spotted a birthday boy in the crowd who seemed to have dubbed an entire week as his birthday. According to Alternative Nation, after putting attention on a fan who's sign read, "It's My Birthday Can I please sing a song with you?" Vedder continued, "It is your birthday? Now let's see I saw you 3 days ago holding the same sign and a few days before that with the same sign. It must be nice to have every day be your birthday." After buying the alleged birthday fan a drink, he was granted his wish with a performance of "Porch."

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Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder
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