Temple Of The Dog

The first time I ever heard 'Hunger Strike' was when I was driving to a birthday dinner with my older brother (by 10 years). He had grown up listening to the pure brilliance of Chris Cornell's voice as part of Soundgarden, Eddie Vedder's rhythmic shredding in Pearl Jam, and now I was also falling in love with the sounds of Temple of the Dog. We went to our first concert together, and it was Pearl Jam's 20th anniversary performance (PJ20) in Wisconsin.
Seeing Chris Cornell walk out on stage, wearing his baggy grey shirt and ripped jeans, sent a bolt through the crowd almost immediately. The noise was phenomenal, with people cheering and singing along to the greatest hits Temple of the Dog ever wrote. Although the concert itself was short, by playing 'Reach Down' and 'Hunger Strike', the band endeared themselves instantly to the crowd. They pulled off a beautiful performance, with particular note being given to Eddie Vedder's immense guitar stylings. His trembling power chords, coupled with Matt Cameron's near-chaotic rumbling in the background, went perfectly with Cornell's soothing voice. I don't think I've ever felt such a blow to the gut when I realised that I would never have the opportunity to grow up listening to these iconic characters. Although the childhood filled with alternative rock and the free-spirited and pure pursuit of music might be lost to me, I feel like I got a glimpse of it at that concert.

Incredible concert, best one I've ever seen. They did the whole album plus covers of Mother Love Bone plus Bowie and Sabbath among some others. They did 2 songs they didn't do on the first night which was great. They did River Of Deceit from Mad Season and a song called Missing that was never released anywhere. Great concert and Great venue!!

The show was absolutely amazing! The Bill Graham Civic Auditoreum was a wonderful, smaller venue to see some of my all time favorite musicians up close and personal! The ONLY way the show could have been any better was if Eddie made an appearance. The best show I've ever saw...hands down. A+ 5 stars!!!

Well it was a show I waited 25 years to see. The sound was great it was a great venue. For those of us who grew up in Seattle and went to all the shows early on and saw Andrew Wood Mother Love Bone. This was a treat to be able to see history made.