Eddie Vedder says Dennis Rodman dragged him to Las Vegas for a 'relaxing' time at Jane's Addiction concert
The iconic Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder recently revealed another hilarious detail about his celebrated friendship with NBA legend Dennis Rodman. The eccentric Chicago Bulls star and Vedder have got into all kinds of shenanigans in the past, and their bromance has been well documented. This includes the times that Rodman once gatecrashed a Pearl Jam concert in Chicago with a ukelele a couple of years ago, and two years prior to that, the power forward even carried Vedder in his arms as he performed 'Black, Red, Yellow' during a Pearl Jam show.
During the weekend, Eddie Vedder appeared on Saturday night's episode of 'The Bill Simmons Podcast' on The Ringer, and waxed eloquent on the wildcard nature of Dennis Rodman, including how their deep friendship blossomed over the years. Talking about Rodman's love affair with Seattle grunge icons, the 55-year-old singer revealed, "He would put on our [Pearl Jam's] music and watch the [NBA game] tapes, put on his music and watch the tapes."
Vedder also revealed that it was no coincidence that Rodman was one of the leading rebounders in the NBA at the time. "That guy worked so hard. There was all the... the wedding dress and all the stuff he would do, but man, that guy worked hard."
Vedder also revealed the basketball star once surprised him with Jane's Addiction concert tickets - and the duo promptly went for the Las Vegas gig together. According to the 'Even Flow' singer, it happened when the Chicago Bulls once visited Seattle to play an NBA game against the Seattle SuperSonics. One day before the game, Rodman's security guard George gave Eddie Vedder three plane tickets to Las Vegas.
"I said, 'What the f*** is that?' I thought we were going to go up, I brought a book,'" a chuckling Vedder recalled, as he had planned to do some reading that night. "And he said, 'Jane's Addiction is playing in Las Vegas.' And I'm like, 'Jesus Christ, it's like f***ing six o'clock. He's like, 'We'll get there by 9, they don't go on until 9:30.'" Knowing all about Rodman's rockstar jet-set lifestyle, an amused Vedder agreed to tag along and accepted the last-minute invite.
He then narrated the hilarious story saying, "We end up going through the f***ing Seattle Airport. I mean, old ladies loved Dennis Rodman. I mean, we're just like running through the airport. People are like creating a running trail behind him like this river," he reminisced. "Dennis! Dennis!' [they're] screaming. And he's going, 'Eddie Vedder right here! Eddie Vedder right here!' He's pointing at me."
Thankfully, they made it to Las Vegas with no further incidents and the two icons ended up enjoying Jane's Addiction show along with some beers. "Dennis looks over at me and he goes, 'It's relaxing, right?" Vedder revealed, still laughing at the memory. You can check out the segment by clicking here.