Pearl Jam Tour Illness ‘Almost Felt Like a Near-Death Experience’

The “iilness” that forced Pearl Jam to cancel multiple overseas tour dates in late June and early July has been described by Eddie Vedder as something that “almost felt like a near-death experience.”

On Saturday (July 6), the band returned to the stage in Barcelona, Spain, touring in support of their new album, Dark Matter. At the encore of that show, Vedder customarily walked out to perform an acoustic song by himself. This time, it was “Just Breathe,” after which he addressed the crowd, detailing the aforementioned illness.

“Can I just say that the last week, it almost felt like a near-death experience,” an emotional Vedder said. “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 and maybe you’d…,” he trails off as the crowd claps to support him.

“A few of us… it just felt… 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,” Vedder says, his voice trembling a bit as he struggles to gather his thoughts. “So, it was a poignant experience. I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon. And we won’t be forgetting tonight anytime soon.”

The singer then launched into “Wasted Reprise,” marking the first time Pearl Jam have played the track off their self-titled album on this tour.

Watch the video clip below.

READ MORE: The Five Heaviest Pearl Jam Songs

About Pearl Jam’s Recent Show Cancelations

Pearl Jam’s U.K. and European tour began on June 22 in Dublin, Ireland. On June 28, the band issued a statement announcing that the June 29 show in London had “regrettably been canceled due to illness in the band.”

The day after what was supposed to be the London stadium show, Pearl Jam shared another statement, informing fans that the two dates in Berlin, Germany had also been canceled for the same reason.

With the band back on the road, it hopefully means all is well going forward as Pearl Jam continue their world tour.