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Jeff Ament Isn’t Big on Musicians ‘David Lee Roth-ing It’ to the Crowd

Jeff Ament keeps to himself when he’s on stage. It’s very unlikely to see him showboating in any way during a Pearl Jam show. In fact, that’s the performance style…

Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam speaks onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City; David Lee Roth attends the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on September 12, 2021.
Mike Coppola, Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Jeff Ament keeps to himself when he's on stage. It's very unlikely to see him showboating in any way during a Pearl Jam show. In fact, that's the performance style he enjoys watching, too.

Ament said on the "Talkhouse Podcast," "Some of my favorite musicians have their head down and their eyes closed. And it's like, I get the most out of some of those people than I do somebody who's David Lee Roth-ing it or really connecting aggressively."

(Side note: No one tell DLR he's been used as a verb! You just know he'd love that a little too much.)

Ament noted he loves watching people close their eyes while performing, because he can they're really "inside the songs." In pseudo-Liz Lemon fashion, he says he wants to "go there" with the musician, too.

It's funny that Ament feels this way about musicians. A handful of them featured on the t-shirt he infamously wore during his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction could be accused of often David Lee Roth-ing it on stage. If you want proof, keep scrolling for a deep dive into those artists he subtly shouted out during his Rock Hall induction.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights