Concert Review – Chris Cornell

Anticipation in the long line outside, was building hours before the show actually started. The huddled masses gathered near the doors and waited for the hero past to take the stage. Many spoke of being unsure to how his performance might go down, but they did not care. He was there hero at one time and that is all that mattered. Heading Soundgarden, Audioslave and the super group Temple of the Dog, is an impressive resume. Although his new experimental record with Timbaland was a complete bomb on his usual fans, he still had the courage to attempt it, and for that you have to credit him. If you listen to his new album with a completely blank mind and not placing up for comparison to his past work, it is quite a good album. All musical background aside, I tried to come to this show with little to no expectation as I know some of these big timers can come out and really disappoint. This on the other hand was not one of those occasions, and I was simply blown away at the level of dedication and heart he had for this show.

The opening act was Crash Kings, a Northern Californian up and comer. The sound of this band is close to the that of the Raconteurs or Cage the Elephant. They bring a great comradery on stage, and there style although not original is still the perfect ground work for a great show. The lead signer plays a series of keyboard, one of which has a whammy bar on it. This allows them to emulate a great lead guitar sound, and bring out the old zeppelin’esque style. Their set list was quick and energetic and brought the audience to its toes right off the bat. They rocked the house for a solid 45 minutes and long many others I had them on my mind after their show. Finishing up the set they ended with War Pigs, and this rocked the final straw out of the crowd, they lost it. Bodies were jumping in every direction, sweat was flowing, hearts a beating and people were zoned in. The vocals performed on this song were intense and really tied my new found love for this band with a nice neat bow.

The wait for Chris Cornell was long, he didn’t take the stage until 11pm, which is by no means strange for a great rocker. After the lights went down, and the Commodore shutters plugged up that outside light, we knew it was on. Chris took the stage to a unbelievable welcome, the intensity of the crowd was second to none. Like many big men of the nineties, his solo act on stage is a no frills step into the mind of a master musician. There were the basic house lights, but one thing was for sure, they has brought there own system, as the usually average house sound for this venue, was blowing my ears wide open. Never at that unbearable level, just at the perfect point where the beat and notes filter into your head and radiate intense rock life blood.

Cornell’s set would prove to be an active mixture of new and old, and covers. When he played his new stuff it was great, live it sounds way better, he should have found someone else to mix that album for the public. The sound live was way more heart felt and rock at its base roots. You would never had guessed that those songs were the same ones from the album, they were complete polar opposites. Cornell’s band was spirited and full of piss and vinegar. The lead guitarist had a real basic style but it made for a great mix with the huge voice of Cornell. When you see Chris open his mouth and let out that power, its almost magical. He is such a small guy, and he sings like a 400 pound opera singer.

The crowd was over the top, losing there minds at anything he did. Every song he sang from the old catalogue was dragged over an extra few minutes to bring the mass into the mix. He played everything you would expect to make it worth your while, if you were there to hear your favorites. The one song that blew me away was his cover of Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean. He took this song and completely reworked it, but it fit perfectly. Everyone new the words, but the tones and style were drastically altered to fit his early 90s style. The song itself was probably a 12 minute song, but it seemed like it couldn’t last long enough. Cornell performed 2 encores each one containing 4 songs. His set pushed about 2.5 hours, which seemed to fly by quicker than almost any other concert I had been to.

This show really brought the level of Cornell’s game to the fore front for me. Being the first time I have seen him live, I didn’t know what to expect, but he brought it. He didnt regurgitate every song to fit to what people would want, he took each song and made it unique for the show, mini vocal solos as it were. The covers and reworking of the new stuff for the live stage was amazing and really tied every song together as if it were off consecutive record releases from the same band. I will definitely make an effort to see this man again and really enjoy his lice vocal stylings. Future shows I would definitely sit right up front again as this was the best place to experience this style of show. Bring yourself out to see him next time, if you even like any of his work I guarantee he will blow you away live. Happy Concerting.

Chris Cornell photos by Jamie Taylor(click to enlarge images)

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Tagged as: Chris Cornell, soundgarden

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Jamie Taylor – who has contributed 3308 posts for Concert Addicts.

"With a love for live music, way too much to say and inability to put down his camera , photojournalism was a logical step in his journey. Concert Addicts was born from a desire to express his opinion, share his photography, and share knowledge. Now the community is no longer his, it is ours."

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