The Glade 4.0

On Monday night, as reported by The Seattle Times, comedian Will Ferrell joined a number of high-profile musicians including Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, and Brandi Carlile at a fundraiser for Cancer for College—a nonprofit that gives young survivors of cancer tuition funds for college. Dubbed “One Classy Night In Seattle,” the house band also included Brandi Carlile’s bandmates, Tim and Phil Hanseroth; Chad Smith’s RHCP bandmate, Josh Klinghoffer; and Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band.

One Classy Night In Seattle’s lineup with Will Ferrell and Chad Smith is unsurprising, given the two have a long history together as friends, doppelgängers, musical “collaborators,” and philanthropists for Cancer for College. In 2014, the two notable look-a-likes agreed to stage a drum battle, with Ferrell accepting only under the condition that the two of them raise $300,000 for Cancer for College. However, despite their friendship, as recently as fall of 2017, Smith stormed off the stage during a gig at Musicians Institute after a heckler yelled “Will Ferrell!” during a performance. He seemed to be kidding (mostly), but regardless it appears as though the two are still friends.

During Monday night’s show, the band—which Ferrell named after the classic pre-teen Judy Blume novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret—played a number of covers, including songs by Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, R.E.M., and Led Zeppelin. During the show, Ferrell introduced a “local, homegrown kid” and invited out Eddie Vedder, McCready’s Pearl Jam bandmate, to join the motley crew of musicians for a rendition of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”, marking one of the major highlights and biggest surprises of the evening. With Carlile taking over vocals, Vedder stayed mostly in the background playing the tambourine, while Ferrell reemerged mid-song with his iconic cowbell.

You can watch Eddie Vedder join the musical and comedic supergroup for a cover of “Personal Jesus” as well as a take on Led Zeppelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” (sans Vedder), below, courtesy of MrBubbrub.