Pearl Jam helping old friend Jon Tester in Montana

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is getting some big-name help from Pearl Jam, whose bassist is an old family friend of the first-term senator.

The Tester campaign is raffling off two on-stage tickets to see the band in Missoula this summer. Good seats for the show can be had for $250 through the campaign, and for $500 Tester — or Pearl Jam — fans get to eat dinner with the senator and bassist Jeff Ament, who grew up in Big Sandy, Mont., Tester's hometown, and has been friends with the Tester family for years.

"Jon is the real deal. He's a hardworking Montana farmer who has never forgotten who he works for or where he comes from. He's one of us, a rare gem who truly represents Montanans in D.C.," Ament said in a statement. "I look forward to joining folks from across Montana in support of Jon to reelect him in November."

While Tester's trademark flat-top buzz cut contrasts with singer Eddie Vedder's flowing locks, and his missing fingers (from a long-ago farming accident) might make it hard for him to play along with the band, the two share overlapping political views: Pearl Jam has played a number of benefit shows for liberal causes and Democratic candidates over the years.

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