The crowd at a Pearl Jam concert in Canberra on this day in 1995 changed lead singer Eddie Vedder's view of the capital city. He admitted to the audience of nearly 18,000 rowdy fans he thought Canberra looked "like a pretty boring place - until you guys turned up".
The comment came after he smashed a microphone stand and drank out of a shoe that landed on stage. Dressed in a sloppy joe, long-sleeved T-shirt and lime tracksuit pants, Vedder appeared before he was due on stage, much to the delight of the crowd, to sing back-up vocals for the support band The Meanies.
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When it was time for Pearl Jam to play their set, the band marched on stage to the chant: "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie." As soon as they started to play, the ecstatic crowd went wild, the keenest of the fans crowd surfing while some others had their clothes ripped from their bodies and were thrown over the barricade lined with waiting security guards.
The fans were then either chased or carried to the end of the fencing to receive first aid treatment or a stern talking to, which would result in them heading straight back into the welcoming pit.
While the crowd may have had a fantastic time, the residents of Hackett, Downer, North Lyneham and Kaleen did not. The sounds from the show resulted in multiple noise complaints to police.
