Chris Cornell concert, 11/18/07, Tulsa

At Cain's Ballroom. [Guest review - Dentist]

To say that Chris Cornell was part of the collective voice that helped usher in a new era in rock-n-roll in the wake of excess and gluttony that had defined the musical landscape of the 80’s is an understatement. Like many other of my Gen-X peers, I can still distinctly remember hearing the opening sounds of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Pearl Jam’s “Alive” and Soundgarden’s “Outshined” and the subsequent jaw-dropping state that ensued upon first listen. As the lead singer of Soundgarden, and probably the least popular and well-known of that trifecta, Cornell’s voice is perhaps the least recognizable, but no less distinctive. In fact, he was recently ranked 12th in MTV’s “22 Greatest Voices in Music” survey, edging the likes of Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie. Click the link below for the rest of the review.

The performance at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa gave Cornell, who has fronted two of the most popular rock bands of the last 30 years in Soundgarden and Audioslave, opportunity to showcase the amazing voice that he possesses. Cain’s is an older, very storied venue in downtown Tulsa with a very unassuming exterior and an old school dancehall style design, complete with wooden floor, inside (it was an interesting juxtaposition between portraits of the likes of Bob Wills and Tex Ritter on the walls and the modern day rock acts who have more recently graced the stage--see the list here if you don’t believe me).

I was able to position myself stage center about three people deep with an unobstructed view of the entire stage (which is rare considering I usually have some six foot plus drunken frat guy right in front of me) and was thus ready for the festivities to commence. Cornell’s band mates manned their posts and began what amounted to an Also Sprach Zarathustra grunge-style for the new millennium before he entered the stage at about 9:00 with very little fanfare. Dressed in tight grey jeans, black boots and a black t-shirt Cornell looked every bit the part of a rock god incarnate, complete with subtle grin and an arms-spread-wide messianic pose. The crowd erupted and the band launched into a blistering handful of songs from “Badmotorfinger”, “Superunknown” and “Down on the Upside”. Cornell’s band was particularly tight and played with an intensity that really lent a freshness to the songs, while retaining their musical originality all at the same time. Cornell had ultimate command of the crowd, posing for photos, swinging around the microphone stand and even doing a pull-up on the rafter above the drum kit, all of which whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Fairly early into the show, someone in the crowd held up a shirt that Cornell immediately grabbed and laughed at. It had a picture of a dog with Cornell’s head superimposed on it with the words “Call Me a Dog” below. Chris immediately made a wardrobe change and never looked back. Easily a favorite of the first part of the show was when they played “Hungerstrike” sans Eddie. Always wanted to hear this one live and it did not disappoint.

My favorite part of the show was when Chris went into extended acoustic segment. It was here that one could really get a true appreciation for the absolute greatness of his voice. I dare say that I have not heard better—ever. Songs like “I Am the Highway”, “Like a Stone” and “Call Me a Dog” all sounded amazing and right at the end of an acoustic “Doesn’t Remind Me”, the full band came back on stage and finished the song as a full-on electric number and finished with Chris ripping out the strings of his acoustic guitar with one hand on the “…breakin’ guitars” line. Amazing.

In all, the show lasted well over two and a half hours, easily the longest setlist of any show I’ve ever attended. It struck me that in an era of over-produced, cookie-cutter rock/pop songs where the dime-a-dozen singers all sound alike, a guy like Chris Cornell, with all that he’s contributed in the past and all that he represents in the present, might, if only for a few hours, be a savior of sorts of the future of rock-n-roll. Jesus Christ Pose indeed. A