Note: An earlier version of this article contained incorrect information about Love Battery’s summer reunion concert.
Rock is dead. Or so that’s how the cliche goes.
And actually, the cliche is wrong. Rock isn’t dead. In fact, in 2018 Seattle it felt like rock never really went away thanks to all of the action from the city’s numerous legacy rock acts.
So many of the bands who helped bring the Emerald City to national pop culture prominence during the grunge era were active this year. It was hard not to feel like new episodes of “Friends” were still being produced, OK Soda was still stocked at the local QFC and there was still a Clinton in the Oval Office. Yes indeed, the dream of the 90s is alive in Portland Seattle.
Nearly all of Seattle’s legacy rock acts did something this year and here’s a look at some of what those g-word survivors did in 2018:
New Mudhoney album
Mudhoney released possibly the best album of their career with “Digital Garbage.” Each song on the album has a feeling of immediacy with Mudhoney attacking the turbulent state of the world using the same punk rock ferocity they’ve maintained throughout their career, sounding just as good in their fifties as they did in their twenties. The times may have changed, but Mudhoney’s fire hasn’t aged one bit.
Nirvana reunites at Safeco Field
Okay, so a Nirvana “reunion” is something that’s never going to happen for obvious reasons. But Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear did get together during a Foo Fighters concert at Safeco Field to play “Molly’s Lips.” They had so much fun at Safeco that they got together again to play a set of Nirvana songs with Joan Jett and Deerhunter’s John McCauley at Foo Fighters’ Cal Jam festival later in the summer.
Pearl Jam has a huge year
Dave and Krist weren’t the only grunge survivors to perform at Safeco Field this year. Pearl Jam also graced the stadium’s stage with The Home Shows.
The concerts, which raised more than $10 million for homelessness causes in Seattle and King County, were the bands first local shows in half a decade. They also were the subject of a career-spanning museum exhibit at MoPOP, had a beer brewed in their honor, had a fireworks salute at a Mariners game and more.
Chris Cornell is memorialized
Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell was permanently memorialized this year in the form of a life-size bronze sculpture outside of the Museum of Popular Culture. All three of Cornell’s children, his wife and his former Soundgarden bandmates were at the public unveiling of the statue.
The statue isn’t the last tribute to Cornell. Early next year Metallica, Foo Fighters and members of Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden and Audioslave will perform a benefit concert in Los Angeles to honor Cornell.
This year also saw the release of a massive Chris Cornell box set which featured music from all of his bands and solo albums as wells as his various contributions to soundtracks and compilation records.
Sub Pop turns 30 w/ Muhdoney, Fastbacks
Seattle’s little big label that could, Sub Pop, celebrated 30 years of going out of business in 2018 and the celebrations were grand. For starters, KEXP counted up Sub Pop’s catalog and played a song from every Sub Pop release. Every. Single. Release.
The label also threw itself a free birthday bash in the form of a festival in West Seattle that featured Mudhoney and the Fastbacks.
There was even a book written about the label’s history that came out this year. And in other Sub Pop-related news, Love Battery reunited with its original lineup to play their classic record “Dayglo” in its entirety at the third annual Summer Stag Party too.
Alice in Chains plays at the Crocodile secret show, pop-up museum, new album
Alice in Chains released their sixth studio album this year, “Rainier Fog,” which is their third without late frontman Layne Staley. To celebrate the release the band played a not-so-secret show at the Crocodile and before the show the historic venue hosted a pop-up Alice in Chains museum featuring guitars, clothes, posters and other pieces of AIC memorabilia. And in December the group announced every track from “Rainer Fog,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album, will be soundtracking a 90-minute sci-fi film.
Candlebox turns 25
Candlebox celebrated the 25th anniversary of its breakthrough debut album at the Paramount by playing the album in its entirety to sold-out crowds two nights in a row.
The band’s original lineup of singer Kevin Martin, guitarist Peter Klett, bassist Bardi Martin, and drummer Scott Mercado, performed the album and they sounded as fresh as they must’ve when “Candlebox” was released in 1993.
Making the shows even more nostalgic was the choice of opening acts. Sweet Water and Green Apple Quickstep opened both shows, making for a bill that was as perfect for Seattle circa 1993 as it was Seattle 2018.
The Posies celebrate 30 years
Power-pop icons The Posies marked 30 years of making music with a sold-out show at the Neptune. As part of their celebrations the band bought the rights to its three DGC albums and reissued them with an abundance of b-sides and extras, making each album well worth repurchasing and reconnecting with a trio of great records.
Mother Love Bone reunites
Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard got their old band back together for a good cause for a one-off reunion gig in May.
The band — drummer Greg Gilmore, bassist Ament, guitarists Bruce Fairweather and Gossard — was joined by Shawn Smith of Brad, Om Johari of Hell’s Belle’s and Steve Mack of Stag on vocals in place of the late Andrew Wood. Their set included “Man of Golden Words,” “Bone China,” “Stargazer” and “Stardog Champion.” It was the first Mother Love Bone reunion in eight years.
The concert also included several other local scene stalwarts covering Wood’s vocals without the backing of the remaining members of Mother Love Bone. Guest vocalists included Carrie Akre, Adam Czeisler, Mack and others.
The concert was a benefit for SMASH, a non-profit organization that helps provide health care services to musicians. Organizers estimated the concert raised $32,000, surpassing their goal of $20,000.
Carrie Akre dusts off Hammerbox & Goodness tunes
The men weren’t the only 90s rockers who made noise in 2018. Earlier this month former Goodness singer Carrie Akre played a sold-out show at the Tractor Tavern. She was joined by former bandmates and friends for a set that covered material from throughout her career including songs from Goodness, Hammerbox, the Rockfords and her solo material.
TAD returns for Record Store Day
TAD, One of the heaviest bands to come out the Pacific Northwest this side of The Melvins, released a limited-edition album of unreleased songs and live material on Record Store Day this year. The record, “Quick and Dirty,” features six unreleased studio recordings from 1999 on the a side and five tracks from a 1999 show at the Crocodile on side b.
Record Store Day this year also saw another release from the TAD camp, sort of. TAD frontman Thomas Andrew Doyle released the record “Incineration Ceremony” on Sub Pop. The record is a dark and evil orchestral album that is beautifully haunting music and showcases a different side of Doyle’s musical talents.
Green River gets reissues
While there were no concerts performed, there was some activity in the Green River camp in 2018.
Last month Sub Pop announced that it will be reissuing deluxe remixed versions of the band’s two Sub Pop releases with additional bonus tracks, some of which are unreleased, early next year. The reissues were handled in the studio by Jack Endino and come on the heels of Sub Pop releasing a Green River holiday 7″ single on Black Friday.
