Peal Jam bite back over anti-Bush story.

On the defensive for some antiwar remarks at the opening show of their first North American tour in nearly three years, the grunge rockers are rejecting as media hype a report that there was a mass walkout by upset fans after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand during the encore.
"There were close to 12,000 people at the April 1 Denver show. It's possible two dozen left during the encore, but it was not noticeable amongst the 11,976 who were loudly applauding and enjoying the evening's music," the band said in a statement. "It just made a better headline to report otherwise."
The headline in question stemmed from a story by Scripps Howard News Service reporter Mark Brown, who wrote on Wednesday that dozens of angry fans walked out after Vedder's tirade, complaining that he went too far during his anti-Bush song "Bushleaguer" (the lyrics says the President is "not a leader/he's a Texas leaguer"), which concluded the show.
Brown didn't note that some concertgoers traditionally leave during the encore just to beat the traffic. In its statement, Pearl Jam also points out that Brown never mentioned any incensed fans in his review of the concert for the Rocky Mountain News, entitled "Pearl Jam Show Will Make a Great CD."

posted by James Russell | 3:41 PM