SEATTLE -- At the crack of midnight on Friday, the Afghan Whigs took

the balloon-festooned stage of the Showbox to headline a party celebrating the

10th anniversary of the quintessential independent record label, Sub Pop.

But their big moment was preceded by what most would agree was an even

bigger one.

Before the feisty alt-rock band launched into a powerful performance paying

tribute to the label that helped launch them, Whigs leader Greg Dulli held up his

beer to the wall-to-wall crowd and asked everyone to "remember our good

friend who couldn't be here tonight. We miss you Kurt."

The mini-eulogy to the late Nirvana leader and grunge pioneer Kurt Cobain

triggered a collective roar from the 400 or so revelers packed into the theater. It

was a heartfelt moment, and it was totally appropriate. Before Cobain and

Nirvana became grunge-rock icons selling millions of albums for major label

Geffen Records, they got their start on tiny Sub Pop.

A large, white sign hanging at the entrance to the Showbox read "Welcome

Alumni. Sub Pop 1988-1998." The party was just that -- a reunion of past and

present musicians, bands, publicists, producers, photographers and fans who

helped make up the Seattle indie rock scene that has given birth to sounds and

styles over the past decade. The evening also served as a de facto memorial for

Cobain, the talented but troubled singer/songwriter who took his life almost four

years ago to the day and whose spirit seemed to hover over the party.

After Tad kicked off the show, Sub Pop co-founder and chief of operations

Jonathan Poneman talked about the artists who have come through the label's

door since Nirvana. "It continues to humble me and be a surprise every year,"

Poneman said. "I don't think in terms of business success. I think about the

quality of the artists I've been able to work with over the years."

Sub Pop, having launched important bands such as Soundgarden, Nirvana,

Mudhoney and Tad during the rise of the grunge-rock sound, has become a

Seattle institution. "You can say what you will about [recording in] L.A. and New

York," said struggling musician Shawn Hopkins, who moved to Seattle six years

ago from Southern California. "But Seattle is really the place where it's

happening, and Sub Pop is largely responsible for that."

The roster of bands playing Friday's party featured label stalwarts Tad, Ten

Minute Warning, Murder City Devils, Rebecca Gates and the Whigs. But the

revelry began with a pre-cocktail party in the red velvet lounge of the Showbox.

Television screens throughout the club showed videos and live-footage clips of

Sub Pop artists -- the Fastbacks, the Supersuckers, Nirvana and Sunny Day

Real Estate. Rubbing elbows, slurping down martinis and reflecting on the

years were Poneman and local musicians, including the Fastbacks' Kurt Bloch

and Kim Warnick, Satchel/Brad/Pigeonhed lead singer Shawn Smith and ex-

Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic.

The tall, lanky Novoselic, barely recognizable in a suit and short-cropped hair,

said he was there to "pay my respects" to the label that released Nirvana's first

album, Bleach, in 1989. That album brought the band and Sub Pop to

respectability and sent talent scouts from the major labels scrambling to the

Pacific Northwest in search of more Nirvanas.

Portly singer/guitarist Tad Doyle of the hard-rocking Tad seemed unfazed by the

evening's emotional subtext. "It's just another show," he said with a huge smile

on his rotund, unshaven face. "Just another day of shameless self-promotion."

Poneman and partner Bruce Pavitt, who no longer plays an active role in the

label, started Sub Pop with a vision and little experience. Though Sub Pop

hasn't always been financially secure, Poneman and his associates say they

have done it their way. "The company hasn't always worked," Poneman said.

"And that's important. We haven't always been successful, but we are always

pushing the envelope. We are always putting out new records that people don't

expect."

Cobain's death is something that Poneman said will haunt him for the rest of his

life. Poneman modestly admitted his luck at breaking the band and added, "I

was close to Kurt for a time that was very pivotal in my life. I miss his music. I

miss the influence he had on our culture. He was a beautiful soul and I think he

has left a sadness on our generation that will never fade."

The Whigs' performance was stunning, wedging two new songs into a set that

included old favorites "Debonair" and "Step Into The Light." And it was not

without its share of humor. As the crowd cheered, the Whigs broke into a

perfect rendition of the tired Lynyrd Skynyrd cliché "That Smell." Fans happily

chimed in on the chorus.

But for all the good humor, this night was also a moment to reflect and perhaps

offer a final goodbye to one of music's lost pioneers. "I've still been dealing with

Kurt's death," said distraught Nirvana fan Tracy Perry, 22. "For me, tonight was

a final release of emotion."