From CNN:
Pearl Jam war criticism prompts walkout
DENVER, Colorado (AP) — Dozens of fans walked out of a Pearl Jam concert after lead singer Eddie Vedder took a mask of President Bush and impaled it on a microphone stand.Several concertgoers booed and shouted Tuesday night for Vedder to shut up as he told the crowd he was against the war and Bush. He impaled the mask during the encore of the band’s opening show of a U.S. tour.
The article doesn’t specify, and I’ll certainly post a correction if I’m mistaken, but it’s safe to assume Pearl Jam was performing an arena show in front of, what, 25,000 people, give or take? And “dozens” walked out. Well, doesn’t that mean that tens of thousands stayed?
Update: numerous emails on this one, but here’s an eyewitness account which pretty much sums it up.
I happened to be outside the arena for an hour before the show ended.
setting up a promotional event. It was at Pepsi Center – roughly 18,000
capacity. Maybe 100 to 150 people left early, some were audibly upset
about the anti-Bush tirade, but most were audibly supporting our troops
through puking and/or stumbling.Also keep in mind that this happened during the encore.
That last point is important. Every big concert I’ve ever gone to, there are hundreds of people streaming out during the encore, in order to beat the crowd.