thanks to Kim for the photo

Like many of the Canadian shows, this one seems to have been under-promoted locally, although it sold out anyway through word of mouth. No big surprises in the setlist altthough the acoustic set did include chris's cover of The Eagles' Hotel California. Just one minus - the vocals were particulary inaudible close to the stage, a fact which you can hear from many of the fan videos filmed from the pit.

Silence the Voices - Original Fire - No Such Thing - Outshined - Show Me How to Live - Be Yourself - Hunger Strike - Spoonman - Billie Jean - Fell on Black Days - I Am the Highway - Preaching the End of the World - Hotel California - Like a Stone - Doesn't Remind Me - Cochise - Ty Cobb - Arms Around Your Love - You Know My Name - Black Hole Sun - What You Are - Rusty Cage - Burden in my Hand - Sunshower - Say Hello to Heaven - Slaves and Bulldozers

by Kim

This venue is located within the absolute heart of the University of Calgary. I have never been to the MacEwan Hall before and have never set foot on the grounds of this University. So I decide not to drive there and take the local transit system from my hotel. I'm wearing a concert shirt that I have made hoping that I'll be lucky enough to get it signed by Chris and the guys. I also have a really cool Canadian childrens book in tote that I want to give Chris for his kids (I don't think this is odd, I like to give back!).

I make my way to the campus grounds and start to meander through the campus pathways in search of the events location. The weather is unseasonably warm for this time of year. I've lived here before and know of it's unpredictable weather. Despite my brand spanking new cold, I'm feelin' goooooood. As I stroll down the path watching all the people rush about, I can't help but suddenly feel washed over with a wave of regret. Ahem...I'm a high school drop-out. So riding on this same wave is a level of inferiority. But I quickly vanquish these thoughts and maintain my confident gait in knowing that I have something that the majority of the folks I'm bypassing don't yet have. That being life experience. Man, everyone looks so damn young! Yikes!

It's 4:00 and I'm thinking that the line up won't be too long yet as the doors are scheduled to open at 6:00. I finally find my way to the correct complex and gain access with a few logical observations but assume that I have entered the wrong buidling as there is NO lineup at all! What? I start to play the second guessing game. Is this the right place? Yes, I'm looking right at the letters on the wall. Is this the right day? Yes, my ticket tells me so. So where is everyone???

I take a peek inside one of the huge doors to the auditorium. Yep, there's a sound check going on but I don't recognise anyone. There's a fancy bus outside with Tennesee plates on it and I don't see any familiar faces around it either. There is nothing about Chris Cornell advertised ANYWHERE but Sum 41 is plastered everywhere. WTF? I know the show has sold out. I see three people walk up that look like possible concert go-ers so I ask them. Yep. So it turns out I was the first person to show up! I find that very odd. I showed up 3.5 hours early for the Phoenix show in Toronto and was about 30th in line! Anyway, two more guys arrive and it was only the 6 of us for a least another half hour! It's getting close to 5:30 and I'm beginning to worry that my friend is going to be late and I'll have to go to the back of the line as I have her freakin' ticket!!! One of the guys offers up the use of his cell to call her (thanks bro! you know who you are!) so I call, leave a message and hope for the best.

Not minutes later I see Jason and Peter at the doors. So I shuffle over trying to catch them behind a bulletin board and ask if the would be so kind as to sign my shirt. Jason more than happily obliges my request by telling me how awesome my shirt is...twice! He signs it and then nudges Peter who is on his cell phone and he signs it as well. Thanks guys! ~2 down, 3 to go!~ (Jason, thanks for your nice comments, it really meant a lot to me!)

Kim's specially-designed shirt

I walk back to the lineup and see that my friend has arrived. What a relief! A few minutes go by and a thought occurs to me, "Duh, why didn't you ask the guys if they'd give Chris the book? Way to go, TARD". But hey, I'd rather hand it to him myself.

It's 6:00 and the cattle drive begins. They take my water and not my camera. Sweet! Usually they're overly strict about cameras and I wasn't going to bring mine for this reason. But a friend of mine suggested that I bring it anyway, as it's usually up to the artist in regards to cameras. Glad I listened to her. Thanks T! We're on the rail.....right on! Everything has it's sacrifice so now we have to wait another 45 mintues for the show to start. It's all good though. No complaints.

It's 7:00 and the opening act Earl Greyhound (from New York) comes to stage. They consist of 3. The guitarist looks very much like Kenny Wayne Shepherd in his long haired years. The bassist is a black woman with a giant afro (wig maybe?) who's wearing a short cotton dress. If there was a bandana aroung her head, she would be totally reminicent of Jimi Hendrix. If I didn't know better, I might have guessed the drummer to be "mole free" Aaron Neville. WHAM! These guys can belt it out! I'm not very good at categorizing music blends but I would have to say that there stuff is Southern Fried Metal. Their gear is set up really close to the front of the stage and the guitar speaker is dead ahead of us. All I can hear is the guitar. I know he's singing and so is she but it sounds more like reverb to me. I get the just of it though, so from what I can form together as a whole, they're pretty damn good! The woman is crazy-funky-wild on stage. A top shelf performer, in my opinion. There's no doubting that she's diggin' what she's doin'. So much so that at one point she is bent so far backwards that we're sure little miss kitty is going to make an appearance. My friend and I look at each other with raised eyebrows and....whew! That was a close call! I'll bet some of the guys are slightly disappointed though! They finish their set and give their thanks and start packing up. Uh-oh, I can't hear anything! My own voice sounds like it's coming from across the room.

It's approximately 7:45 and now we have to wait for the set change. There's not all that much to do really that I can see but we are made to wait until 8:30! I'm already tired from my 3.5 hr drive to this city and most likely am looking like I've been on a three day bender. They guy that let me use his cell had driven 6.5 and he looks bright eyed and bushy tailed. That's the difference between 21 and 38! Anyway, I'm beginning to wonder who has chosen the nerve twisting background music. They need to be punished for torturing us all with this shit. I'm not sure who or what exactly is playing but I'm pretty sure that the crowd would be alot happier if it were to be buried to a minimum depth of 10 feet. One of the roadies (I'm guessing that's who he was) is fiddling around with guitars and everytime he picks one up a few guys scream for him "Yeeeaaaahhhhhh!" Haha, oh man...I wish I could still let em' fly like that! It's 8:25 and some people are starting to get quite impatient. "If he (Chris Cornell) thinks that this is helping to build excitement, then he's wrong" says a guy behind me. They're supposed to be on at 8:30 but it's now 8:35.

thanks to Kim for the photo

Finally, the lights are turned off and Chris and the guys make it to the stage. Everyone's happy now! Woohoo! All the guys look remarkably relaxed to me considering all that's involved with the whirlwind of a tour they've embarked upon. I honestly don't know how they do it! Some definite pounds have been lost but they all look really healthy and ready and able to give it up in a big way. They open with Silence the Voices. Not one of my favourites but I love almost anything when it's live! Everything explodes after this with no sign of stopping.

*Note: I didn't see Let Me Drown on the setlist but I thought for sure it was played. It's one of my fav's. Or I could be wrong and totally going insane. That's not beyond the realm of possibility!

Despite my cold, I'm singing at the top of my lungs and juggling the task of taking the best possible pictures I can (without the flash) with my bouncing, head shaking and fist waving. The person behind me is completely on my backside and keeping up with everything I'm doing for an entire song. It's not bothering me in the least because he/she is absolutely in sync with me. The room is vibrating and swirling with intense energy.

thanks to Kim for the photo

The chemistry and cameraderie between Chris and the guys is undeniable. It's admirable, mesmerizing and intoxicating. Just like Cornell's music. They somehow manage (with what seems to be no effort), to goof around, be great animated performers and play instruments without noticable error and sing, all this at once. These guys have spun a magnificent web for us. I know I'm stuck in it! They're playing so many of my favourites and I'm now acting like the 17 yr old that's still lives in my heart.

After Spoonman, Chris straps on his acoustic and let's us catch our breath. He strokes us all softly and soothingly with songs like, I am the Highway and Preaching the End of the World. I'm almost crying with my love for this music as I hold so much of it at the core of my soul. But I take a deep breath, close my eyes and let myself gently sway with the beautiful sound that's around me. I'm a bit shocked to hear Hotel California and quite enjoy singing along. I like his version better than the original!

thanks to Kim for the photo

In typical Chris fashion, when he finishes the song, he comments that "I wrote that when I was young". I crack up. He makes a few jokes throughout the show and Yogi is the the target of one. Picks are being thrown throughout the night. At the crowd, at each other. It's a riot! I hate to say it but this show is far superior to the one I saw at the Phoenix. I'm ecstatic!

thanks to Kim for the photo

Ty Cobb comes on and I am jumping like a fool now. Then all of a sudden in one fell swoop, we're pushed hard into the rail. There's no fecking way we're gonna get crushed so my friend and I push back and that seems to help. I get hit on the top of my head a few times after that but it's not hard and doesn't hurt. Ty Cobb is the only song that brings this crowd to such a violent eruption. Then again, I'm rockin' pretty damn hard myself but I know I wasn't hurting anyone!

The guys are pumping it out with both barrels now but I'm keeping up with them and keep smiling wider with each new explosion! Chris has been jumping, climbing, crouching and baring his teeth like a wild animal. I think he has broken a mic stand. Its all pure, raw sexiness emanating from the stage now. Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love, Slaves & Bulldozers, oh man, this can't get any better! 4TH OF JULY! It's played really slow and is blowing my mind with it's psychedelic waves. It's like Pink Floyd backing Jim Morrison in The Lizard King. Wooooooooooooo! Peter rips off all of his guitar strings. Rargh! I don't know if I can take much more. These guys are killing me! HA!

thanks to Kim for the photo

The song ends and they all begin to just throw picks into the crowd. Chris tries to bat a few out with his mic stand but with no success so he switches to an actual bat for a few. HA! All of a sudden there is a woman beside me who has miraculously made her way to the front (she's shorter than me and I'm 5'2"! ) and she tells me that her son, who is 3, is a huge Audioslave fan. She wants to get a Chris guitar pick for him. The picks keep falling on the wrong side of the rail for this woman. Chris has thrown one our way, I think, 4 times now. I really want this woman to get her souvenier. He flicks another and I get it in my hand but I don't close my hand fast enough and it bounces out. He says "one more time" but I start pointing to the top of this woman's head and she reaches as far out as she can. He bends down and extends the pick to her. I was so happy for her! She kisses the pick, blows him a kiss and says, "Thanks Chris! " I'm smiling like a mental patient at this point and by the time I remember that I have this book at my feet, it's too late for me to hand it over. Chris has gone to the side of the stage. That's twice now that I had an opportunity and fucked it up! What's wrong with me? I don't know why I just didn't ask the security dude to hand it to him? I certainly didn't want to start screaming Chris' name to get his attention. I guess it just wasn't written in my Karma. I think there was someone close to the front who thought the guys might jump down and sign stuff. But they didn't so I saw a Carry On cd insert get thrown over the fence to the floor. Hmmm....maybe they should have popped on down. Even for the purpose of shaking a few hands. Ah well.

So..... ***CHRIS OR VICKY CORNELL....if you happen to read this then here is a link for you to purchase one or two of these books for your children. Maybe they already have a copy? The proceeds go towards planet preservation. It's a great book that loaded with colour and mystical Haida (like) legend stories. My son loves his!

I'm sad to say that I didn't get the other 3 sigs either. But I got a whack of pictures, had the best damn seat in the house and saw a mind blowing performance from five exceptionally talented people! Ya know, I could have waited around the tour bus but my friend had to leave and she wanted to give me a ride back to my hotel. I thought the campus grounds were going to be all lit up but it was very dark. So I didn't want to take a chance of walking through all the trees back to the C-train and was therefore happy to accept her offer.

To Chris, Yogi, Jason, Corey and Peter...Thanks for coming to Calgary and giving us such a brilliant show. Please don't take a long time to come back! We love you guys!

Not a review ... but here's an interview with Chris, filmed before the Calgary show.

edited highlights - thanks darybarclay

Outshined - thanks warpeace

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007