At Ohana Festival this past Sunday, Eddie Vedder and Red Hot Chili Peppers teamed up for an all-star tribute to late Cars leader Ric Ocasek.
The surprise performance came during the Peppers’ headlining set and featured a cover of The Cars classic “Just What I Needed”. Instead of a solemn, melancholy remembrance, their onstage collaboration was jubilant in nature and celebrated the life of the iconic songwriter.
(Read: 10 Cars Songs That Made Films Better)
RHCP rocked their own rendition of the 1978 single in Singapore just last week, but the added presence of the Pearl Jam rocker provided an extra electric bolt of energy this weekend. Replay fan-caught footage of the cover below, followed by some pics.
Ocasek died earlier this month at the age of 75. Heart disease was ruled as the cause of death.
Vedder, who organizes Ohana, treated the audience to his own cover-filled set on Saturday in Dana Point, California. Alongside plenty of Pearl Jam favorites, he took on The Beatles and Neil Young, as well as honored the late Daniel Johnston with a cover of “Walking the Cow”. And on Friday, he sat in with The Strokes for a two-song performance.
