Pearl Jam and Stephen Colbert rock an amazing cover of Neil Young's 'Rockin' In the Free World'

Stephen Colbert rocked the free world with Pearl Jam — (Image credit: Late SHow)

Chinese President Xi Jinxing and Pope Francis are both in Washington on Thursday, and that may have influenced Pearl Jam's choice of an encore on Stephen Colbert's Late Show Wednesday night. Or not — you don't need an excuse to perform the Neil Young classic "Rockin' In the Free World." In any case, they did, including Colbert, who joined Eddie Vedder and the band mid-song.

Colbert didn't join Vedder in crowd-surfing through the Ed Sullivan Theater, but he's clearly pumped at the end. "You don't get to do that every day," he repeated, high-fiving the band. He's right. And it's a really good performance. You can watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.