On Saturday night, all four surviving members Mother Love Bone, the highly influential but long-defunct Seattle rock band, reunited onstage for their first performance in eight years. The group, comprised of Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Bruce Fairweather, and Greg Gilmore, came together as part of a benefit event for Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare, a.k.a. SMASH, at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle, WA.
In addition to benefitting SMASH, the performance served as a tribute to Mother Love Bone’s late frontman, Andrew Wood. Wood’s overdose death in 1990 stopped Mother Love Bone in its tracks. Late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who was Wood’s roommate when he died, would wind up recruiting Gossard and Ament for Temple of the Dog.
Remembering The Tragic Death That Gave Life To Temple Of The Dog & Pearl Jam, This Day In 1990
Ament, Gossard, Gilmore, and Fairweather tapped local vocalists Shawn Smith (Pigeonhead) and Ohm Johari (Hell’s Belles) to handle Wood’s vocal duties for the performance. Their five-song set saw them work through Mother Love Bone originals “Man of Golden Words”, “Bone China”, “Stargazer”, and “Stardog Champion”, as well as a cover of Argent‘s “Hold Your Head Up”.
According to Consequence of Sound, the four surviving Mother Love Bone members last came together for a few songs onstage in 2010, which marked their first performance as a group since Andrew Wood’s death twenty years earlier. Of course, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard play together regularly in their capacity as members of Pearl Jam.
You can watch a full fan-shot video of the mini-set below via YouTube user Taper Jeff:
Mother Love Bone – 5/5/18
[H/T Consequence of Sound]