24 Years Ago Today: Pearl Jam Plays Their First Show

I dig Pearl Jam as much as the next guy, but I have a few friends who worship them like some fans do with KISS, Rush, Zeppelin, the Beatles and Tool.  For them, today is PJ Day.

It was 24 years ago, on October 22nd, 1990, Pearl Jam performed for the first time under the name "Mookie Blaylock".  Just seven months earlier, the band formerly known as "Mother Love Bone" was mourning the loss of their singer Andy Wood, who died of a drug overdose in March of 1990.

After Wood's untimely death, the remaining members of Mother Love Bone began looking for a new singer.  Through mutual friends, they were introduced to a musician from San Diego named Eddie Vedder.  And the rest, as they say, is rock history.

The name Mookie Blaylock was the brainchild of bassist and Montana native Jeff Ament.  Jeff grew up playing basketball in Big Sandy and later played briefly at the University of Montana in Missoula.  Although he dropped out of college and moved to Seattle, his love of basketball inspired him to name the band after former Atlanta Hawks guard Mookie Blaylock.

The band's first show took place at a rock club in Seattle called the "Off Ramp", named for it's location underneath the Interstate 5 off ramp.  The club, now called "El Corazon", is still around today and continues to host a variety of local and regional touring acts.

Mookie Blaylock's set list that night included several songs from what would later become huge hits, including "Alive", "Even Flow" and "Black".