MISSOULA – Washington Grizzly Stadium will be filled with Pearl Jam fans on Monday evening.
Some of those fans packed the Wilma Theater for a Q and A with the band’s bass player and U.S. Senator Jon Tester on Sunday.
Sen. Tester brought out the big guns from his hometown to help him out on the campaign trail in Missoula with Pearl Jam bassist and fellow Big Sandy native Jeff Ament stopping by at the Wilma Theater.
"I think what Big Sandy gave us both was a grounding. It was home, it’s where we are from. It’s where Jeff goes back to [and] where I still live," Sen. Tester said.
"I love Big Sandy. I mean I go back every summer with my dad and we work on his cabin. It’s way more beautiful than I remember," Ament added.
The two can even remember some of the initial interactions between them.
My earliest recollection of Jon is when he was still in high school he reffed at least two or three of our fifth grade basketball games — volunteered," Ament said. " And I’m sure I deserved a technical at least one of those games."
The two share humble beginnings and on Monday Ament will play at Washington Grizzly stadium in front of a packed house. Meanwhile, Sen. Tester said Sunday that he’ll continue to work at creating more opportunities for Montanans.
"We need to develop and make opportunities for the next generation and the generation after that. And that’s why I serve," Sen. Tester said.
Sen. Tester said he thinks Montanans deserve those opportunities and continues to try to bring them to a state population that he deems the best in the US.
:"My favorite part about Montana is the people," Sen. Tester said. "The people are the best. I mean they are just the best. Whether they agree with you or disagree with you it doesn’t matter — they’re the best and that’s what I like about Montana because there is no other place like it on Earth.
The atmosphere on Sunday felt more like a party then a campaign stop and Missoula Mayor John Engen helped with the festivities.
