Pearl Jam experienced a bit of a lineup change at their concert last night in Oakland after drummer Matt Cameron tested positive for COVID-19.
Touring member and former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer stepped behind the kit when Pearl Jam began their show. (Klinghoffer also performed a solo set to open the evening.) But he wasn’t the only one doing drumming duties.
Oakland-based drummer Richard Stuverud and Klinghoffer took turns playing drums throughout the concert until the final song, when fan Josh Arroyo was brought onstage to perform ”Yellow Ledbetter.” Pearl Jam had earlier asked fans to submit videos via their Ten Club for a chance to play with the band.
You can watch fan-filmed footage of Arroyo’s performance below.
“Matt Cameron is a true artist and he’s a force of nature,” singer Eddie Vedder said at the top of the show. “However, even his superhero status could not prevent him from testing positive. This damn COVID thing yesterday. We’ve been scrambling for 24 hours because after 25 months of … we were supposed to be here 25 months ago … we’ve been waiting and we’ve been waiting. Postponing wasn’t an option and for us, neither was canceling. We didn’t want to pull the plug and we couldn’t pull the plug. We’ve got our group here, we’ve got our equipment here and most importantly you’re here.
“So, lucky for us we have some friends and one of our friends has already been on our team this tour — the multitalented, multifaceted, multi-instrumentalist playing behind the drum kit right now, Mr. Josh Klinghoffer. Like the Shohei Ohtani of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Pearl Jam are scheduled to tour North America until May 20. They’ll break for most of the summer and then pick up again in Quebec City on Sept. 1.
Pearl Jam Opening Night 2022
Pearl Jam’s long-awaited return to the road took place May 3, 2022.