Temple of the Dog Kick Off First-Ever Tour in Philly [RECAP]
Temple of the Dog was born out of tragedy. After the passing of Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone in 1990, his bandmates Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament expressed their grief through music with help from Wood’s friend Chris Cornell. Mike McCready and Matt Cameron rounded out the lineup, and the group released only one album before moving on to form Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
Now, the grunge giants have reunited for a Temple of the Dog tour, 25 years in the making. They kicked things off with a double-header here in the City of Brotherly Love at the legendary Tower Theater (11/4 & 11/5). The band may have formed in a time of sadness, but these shows were a triumphant celebration of a venerable rock n’ roll album.
.@templeofthedog kick off their first-ever tour (25 years in the making!) right here in #Philly #TOTDTour #MMRRocks pic.twitter.com/7Dar6rUxLc
— 93.3 WMMR (@933WMMR) November 5, 2016
The setlist included the familiar classics “Hunger Strike” and “Say Hello 2 Heaven” off of their self-titled LP. Eddie Vedder was *not* in the house – but a larger-than-life Andrew Wood graced the stage during the Mother Love Bone songs.
There were plenty of cool covers on both Friday and Saturday night!
Chris Cornell covers, well, Chris Cornell. 'Seasons' with @templeofthedog. Amazing night #1 in Philly! #TOTDTour @933WMMR @SGossard pic.twitter.com/gbGslkKop3
— Nick McIlwain (@NickMcIlwain1) November 5, 2016
.@templeofthedog does @BlackSabbath 🤘 pic.twitter.com/JyOZOoJQ8p
— Radio Sara 🎧 (@radio_sara) November 6, 2016
Here’s the full setlist from Night #1 – over 2 hours of music! Click here for the setlist from Night #2.
Pretty impressive set list #TOTDTour #Firstnight @TowerTheater pic.twitter.com/JmIG0yNYMc
— matt cord (@MattyCord) November 5, 2016
Fans were treated to rarities as well. We heard a song from Mad Season (another Seattle ‘supergroup’ of sorts that featured Alice In Chains vocalist Layne Staley), and the lost Soundgarden track “Missing”, which had never been performed live before.
It was an unforgettable weekend for the city of Philadelphia!
