Eddie Vedder popped up tonight outside the Paramount theater for a modest crowd, performing songs from the "Into the Wild" soundtrack after a screening of the film.  And he killed.

Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch introduced Vedder to the crowd, which included a who's who of the entertainment industry: Cameron Crowe, Ringo Starr, Mark Ruffalo, Emilio Estevez and Wynona Rider among them.  Vedder cranked out "Guaranteed," "Rise Up," "No Ceiling" and "Society" before steering into Pearl Jam B-side "Drifting" as well as "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" from the "I Am Sam" soundtrack.

Watching the performance from maybe five or six feet away and studying Vedder's face, I suddenly felt the sensation that this fixture of the grunge era had hit a new stride in his musical and lyrical career.  Something more textured, fuller, perhaps more mature.  There's no arguing that his is one of the great voices in rock history and that he can turn a lyric with the best of them, but what Vedder has accomplished on the "Wild" soundtrack is possibly the crowning jewel of the film.  Tonight was a testament to that.

The singer is showing aging, but not necessarily showing his age.  The lines are there, the years of celebrity and activism taking their toll, perhaps.  In any case, it was with a strange combination of sadness and pride that I watched a rock star fully embody this new, more cultivated phase of his career this evening.

I chatted briefly with the film's editor, Jay Cassidy, about his journey with Penn on each of the actor/director's works.  I also caught up with Penn himself, who said he was certainly feeling the toll of the awards campaign, but nonetheless, he seemed like he could take any given event by the horns then and there, regardless of fatigue.

A good event all around for Paramount Vantage, who is in high gear on a campaign that could lead all the way to a Best Picture nomination for the film.  We shall see.

(Photo courtesy of Hollywood Elsewhere)