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Thunder and lightning, a fierce wind, and cold rain did not deter those who wanted to see talk-show veteran Phil Donahue’s anti-war documentary “Body of War” about Tomas Young, a U.S. soldier who was shot and paralyzed within his first week of duty in Iraq.

It probably helped that Eddie Vedder, front man for rock band Pearl Jam, was on hand to perform two original songs he wrote for the film.

More than 50 people waited in the rush line at last night’s world premiere of “Body of War”. The first person in that line waited five hours for the 9 p.m. screening. A few wore Pearl Jam t-shirts, and the first four rows were filled with camera-toting fans buzzing about Vedder and chanting “Eddie, Eddie” before the screening. One paid C$55 for a scalper’s ticket, nearly three times the regular box office price.

As Vedder sat down to strum the first chords of his songs, the theater erupted in flashes. He stopped, mugged a bit for the cameras, and then launched into “Long Nights”, a tribute to Young, and “No More”.

Young counts Vedder as a personal hero and said he used to listen to Pearl Jam songs to help quiet what was going on inside his head when he was sad. “I idolized him as a kid, and he helped me through a lot of depressing moments…whenever I watch this movie about myself, it is extremely cathartic to hear him because it helps me feel better,” Young said.

The Pearl Jam frontman does not seem to have the same impact on Donahue. A day later, asked how Vedder got involved in “Body of War,” Donahue said simply that he met him on a Ralph Nader campaign bus in 2000.