Chris Cornell – ASB Theatre November 26, 2015

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4Chris Cornell opened a three-day, sold-out stand at Auckland’s ASB Theatre with a stunning 27-song set that found him picking out gems from not only his solo catalogue, but from his days with Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple Of The Dog, plus a handful of well-chosen covers.

This was my first time seeing Chris Cornell as a solo performer and I admit I had a few reservations. As vocalist for Soundgarden, he’s proven himself to be one of rock’s most powerful vocalists, but this was billed as “An Evening With Chris Cornell”, and I wondered if he was the kind of guy I’d want to spend an entire evening with.

The show was supposed to start at precisely 8pm, but the audience had other ideas, taking their time in the foyer, buying drinks and generally milling about until about 8:20. During this time there was a bit of theatre going down on stage. A crew member emerged, thumbed through a number of vinyl records that were stored in a small shelve to the left of the stage, and then played a couple of sides before Cornell abled out on stage himself. For the record, he played some Hank Williams and a relatively obscure British blues band from the 70s, Streetwalkers.

When Cornell final appeared, he immediately established a rapport with the crowd, commenting on their drinks and greeting them with an amiable, “How ya doin?” When one enthusiastic (male) fan yelled out, “I love you, Chris!”, he responded with a friendly, “I love you too!”

He then got down to business, taking up an acoustic guitar and digging right in to Before We Disappear, a tune from his new (ish) solo album, Higher Truth. The room fell immediately under his spell. It became clear that that voice, capable of powering its way over Soundgarden and Audioslave, was also capable of intense passion and nuance.

At age 51, Cornell is at the height of his power and it was an honour and a pleasure to hear him as he immersed himself into songs like Can’t Change Me and Fell On Black Days.

After As Hope & Promise Fade, he spoke to the crowd again, noting that they seemed quiet and polite. Then armed with his harmonica and guitar, he sat on the edge of the stage to play his version of Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’.

“This would be better if it was on a hay bale…with puppets,” he quipped, before getting into a very serious version of the old tune.

Cornell has Taken Dylan’s tune and pretty much re-written the lyrics, turning it from a song of hope and optimism to something much darker and troublesome. He rails against the media, politicians, while closing his version of the song with the line, “I can’t help but see the writing on the wall, the times they are a-changin’, back”. This is not a wish to go back to the good old days, but a warning that we are slipping back into old, bad habits.

Cornell’s other covers were just as inspired, if left relatively intact…Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U, Led Zeppelin’s Thank You, another Dylan tune and the Beatles’ A Day In The Life.

Thank You was a revelation in that it exposed Jimmy Page as a major influence on Cornell’s own writing. One could hear Page’s chords in Cornell’s own songs throughout the night.

This wasn’t an entirely solo show. Cornell invited Brian Gibson to join him on Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart to play mandolin. Gibson would leave and return throughout the evening much to the amusement of the crowd who began calling out to him between songs.

“Don’t appeal to Brian”, Chris advised, “he has no actual power up here”.

Chris and Brian closed the set with a breath-taking version of The Beatles’ A Day In The Life. Back in 1967, when it was released, the song was considered unable to be replicated live, yet here were two musicians, with an acoustic guitar and cello, totally making the song their own. Cornell’s voice was in top form, not even needing to go into falsetto for the higher notes. Incredible.

At well past the two hour mark he wasn’t done yet.

The encore included a beautiful version of Dylan’s I Threw It All Away, then Like A Stone and Higher Truth.

By the end of the night there was no question that Chris Cornell makes for great company all by himself. And with another spin of the turntable…this time it was Tim Buckley…he was off.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a gallery of photos by David Watson:

Chris Cornell set list:

  1. Before We Disappear
  2. Can’t Change Me
  3. As Hope & Promise Fade
  4. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Back)
  5. Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart
  6. Fell On Black Days
  7. Thank You
  8. Dandelion
  9. Call Me A Dog
  10. Doesn’t Remind Me
  11. Blow Up The Outside World
  12. Let Your Eyes Wander
  13. Nothing Compares 2 U
  14. Rusty Cage
  15. You Know My Name
  16. Seasons
  17. When I’m Down
  18. I Am The Highway
  19. Worried Moon
  20. Sunshower
  21. Black Hole Sun
  22. Hunger Strike
  23. Wooden Jesus
  24. A Day In The Life
  25. I Threw It All Away
  26. Like A Stone
  27. Higher Truth

 

 

Marty Duda
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