Giving us all at The A.V. Club office an idea of what it would look like if/when our own Josh Modell gets arrested, here’s a video of a Pearl Jam fan belting out “Even Flow” as he’s being led away in handcuffs. The moment comes from a recent-ish episode of A&E’s Live PD, as well as the collective fire burning in the belly of all those moved by Eddie Vedder’s earnest rock anthems.
This gentleman, bloodied for reasons we have not researched, initially balks at being filmed. But he soon seizes the opportunity to begin singing the 1991 ode to the plight of the homeless, before informing the cops, redundantly, that he loves Pearl Jam. “He’s the baddest motherfucker alive,” he says, seemingly regarding “Pearl Jam” as a single human man. “He’s my religion.”
Unfortunately, the cops cannot and do not indulge the fan’s request to “tear it down” and remove his shirt, presumably to show off his enormous Eddie Vedder back-piece, nor do they believe him when he swears that Pearl Jam has a song called “I Got Shit.” Also, he was arrested on television. Nevertheless, he still got to share Mr. Jam’s music and his familiar credo—“Eddie Vedder, man, live or die, right bro?”—with the world. What better tribute could the band ask for?