I never got to see Soundgarden. Or Nirvana, Pearl Jam, STP, or the Smashing Pumpkins (thank God that last one will be fixed in due time). My musical consciousness took place at a time when Y-107 (remember that?) was getting off the airwaves, alien stickers were the shit, and so were tangerines for that matter, thanks to Tragic Kingdom. Let me not forget to breathlessly utter the name Gavin Rossdale.
There were times though, way past my MTV-viewing days, when I was lucky enough to see some of these alternative demi-gods in real life. I had seen Chris Cornell at Audioslave’s KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show sometime in high school, and Billy Corgan that same night heading up Zwan. James Iha I had seen play with APC several times. I think I saw Dave Grohl at Amoeba once.
But it’s a whole other thing hearing a live performance from days of ‘90s yore, seeing a set list paying homage to the true roots of the respective band. Cornell’s set started with an insane Badmotorfinger-sounding series of guitar riffs which segued into Soundgarden’s “Let Me Drown,” sending the sold-out show's crowd into infuriated spasms of a nostalgia recalled, and ultimately fulfilled.
Cornell and his techni-rock-n-roll support band (they looked like they had been trained by the devil himself) played “Outshined” next before settling into a groove with old Audioslave songs and material from his solo records Euphoria Morning (which came out after Soundgarden broke up) and Carry On, which hit stores this June. His fans seemed receptive to his new solo effort, even singing along to choruses of the album’s singles. Other crowd favorites were the famous riffs of “Spoonman” and “Rusty Cage.”
In the middle of the set, Cornell emerged with an acoustic guitar and a stool, proceeding to play a special song he wrote for he and his wife’s wedding reception, “Finally Forever” (which appears on Carry On) as well as a not-to-miss version of “Fell on Black Days.”
It’s unclear whether or not Cornell is back for good or not (Corgan may be hogging the comeback spot this year). Nobody had expected him to play anything but his solo material, which itself made for a sold-out Wiltern show. Drawing from music dating back to the ancient ‘80s (and making this concert reviewer tempted to come up with a key to annotate which band/album each song he played was from), it was evident by the end of the night that Cornell’s repertoire is a culmination, a live history pointing to his current state. Cornell has been places, and that he has made it so far (and late) in the game with something new to show for is extraordinary.
Soundgarden will never get back together, and today’s music will continue to inadvertently curse the ‘90s. The most important thing, personally, was that by the end of the night was that I got to see my first live helicopter head roll by an eager fan at the front of the pit (like the one in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective during the Cannibal Corpse performance cameo). Cornell, wailing through “My Wave” during the encore, made sure of it.
Chris Cornell on MySpace.
