Pearl Jam Dedicates Song To 24-Year-Old Stabbed To Death In Philly
By Chelsea Lacey-Mabe
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's been more than two months since Matthew and Terrence McGovern lost their brother Colin. The 24-year-old McGovern from Bucks County was stabbed to death in Rittenhouse Square after a night out with friends back in March.
The senseless violence grabbed the attention of Pearl Jam when they played at the Wells Fargo Center just a few weeks ago. A video posted to YouTube shows lead singer, Eddie Vedder dedicating the song "Release" to the McGovern brothers.
"You cannot avoid the grave and we can prolong it the best we can but you never know if it's going to be something sudden…something senseless," said Vedder, introducing the song. "Some of us out there-- we've lost brothers, we've lost fathers, we've lost sisters, and we've lost kids. This song was about losing a pop and this song is one of those healing songs…"
Vedder paused, bending down with one hand still on the mic.
"And it's not going to lessen the blow of any kind of tragedy but in loud volumes or alone or with a lot of other people sometimes it just helps to get through, because you can't get around it, you don't get under it, you can't get over it…you got to get through it," Vedder said, met with cheering from the crowd.
"There's two brothers in the audience and they lost their brother Colin McGovern and we just want to send this out to them."
Steven E. Simminger, the man charged with McGovern's death, has a pre-trial conference set for June 2.