thanks to James for the photo

Chris and the band played a blinder of a two-and-a-half hour show at the same Glasgow venue Audioslave had played almost exactly two years previously. No support act, no guest stars, no runways, no rain - just a five-way display of peerless musicianship and cameraderie.

Let Me Drown - Outshined - Show me How to Live - Original Fire - Hunger Strike - You Know My Name - No such thing - Seasons - Cochise - Be Yourself - Rusty Cage - Can't Change Me - Like a Stone - Doesn't Remind Me - Spoonman - My Wave - Billie Jean - She'll Never Be Your Man - What You Are - Jesus Christ Pose - Mission - Black Hole Sun - Sunshower - Slaves and Bulldozers

thanks to Hannah for the photo - see more here

by grungegirl

That is the first time I have had the chance to see him live and I was completely astounded....! I am still recovering 2 days on and I see no reason that situation will improve any time soon.

I took a friend who was not particularly familiar with his music, (although I knew that it was his kind of stuff) and even he was struggling to pick his jaw up off the floor afterwards.

Highlights for me were the opener of Let Me Drown which is one of my favourite SG tracks, Show Me How To Live, Cochise (because it was the one that started me on this journey), Seasons, Sunshower (beautifully done!), Jesus Christ Pose and Slaves & Bulldozers to finish was INCREDIBLE - I was completely blown away by it!

His voice was perfect and the band he is currently playing with are completely out of this world. I really hope he continues to play with them for a long time to come.

Best damn gig I have ever been to - I know this because I have never taken this long yet to get over one! I certainly can't wait for the next time Chris plays Scotland and I hope that won't be too far away.

by Joel Stinton

"....Soundgarden have been one of the most underated bands that have existed, but last night, Chris proved that their songs are perhaps some of the most important, and best in rock history. This Chris solo gig was Soundgarden heaven, and it was brilliant.

First things first, we got to congratulate Chris's touring band, they were fantastic, and really helped pull the gig together. I worked through Chris's back catalogue backwards, from 'Slave to Soundgarden and Temple Of The Dog, and I've always placed 'Slave as the better band, from last night I won't. The Soundgarden songs hold together on their own a lot better than what we were given 'Slave wise. I'm not saying Audioslave were poor, because they're not, but the soundgarden songs last night...my Christ.

The setlist was a mix of Audioslave and Soundgarden with a couple solo songs and Temple of the Dog songs to gawp at as well. But for me the Soundgarden songs really stood out, Chris was reaching notes, and just generally happy with everything. He had a massive grin all the time, Ifeel he is genuinly happy with what he is doing now, free to play these songs that the fans adore without the restriction of the 'Slave members.

We all know Chris has lungs like bagpipes...he does have the off day, but his voice last night was at another level, I was frankly astonished during Say Hello To Heaven, how can a 40 year old do that? Following the videos on the net I was expecting a mellow nite, but it was far from that, it was practically 2 and a half hours of balls to the wall head banging, with Jesus Christ Pose being the standout track of the night.

I was lucky enough to be front row, and i travelled far enought to earn that (from Southampton). Being close to god, over sound? I had to, but the sound was still solid, the band was overally tight, and the bass player.. well he made my day during Slaves and Bulldozers.

With a band willing to play what Chris wants, Chris was able to relax I feel, and concentrate more throughly on himself. His voice was better than at Brixton a couple of years a go with 'Slave. The chemistry between the band was great, there was laughter and messing around with his band, the chemistry on stage between them was funny, and pleasing.

There were a couple of downers, mainly one of the security guards laughing during Billie Jean, but song wise, i felt what you are and you know my name felt a bit lacklusstre, there are better 'Slave song than What You Are, and Iwas hoping for Man or Animal or Shadow On The Sun. Overall the gig was fantastic...9/10."

See Joel's blog and comments here

thanks to James for the photo

by drscottypavarotti

thanks to Hannah for the photo - see more here

I guess that's around the fifth or sixth time I've seen Cornell with one band or another, and I couldn't believe how strong his voice sounded. Two hours on stage and he could still bang out Slaves and Bulldozers, and hit it pitch perfect. I really hope he enjoyed the show, because that's the best I've ever seen him play.

by niz1983

The gig last night was the first time I have seen Chris live, and I have to say I was truly stunned. I have seen him on tv and online live, but nothing as good as this! I almost couldn't believe that he was reaching all those high notes. I sang 3 songs and my throat was sore (still is). But he was awesome from the very first song, to the very last some 2 hour 15 minutes later. There are only really 2 singers in rock who I believe to be god like, one is my hero Freddie Mercury, and the other is Cornell. Sadly I never seen Queen live but seeing Cornell last night helps make up for that. Best show I've ever been to!!!

by allison

As I stood outside of Glasgow's Carling Academy on the night of the 27th June, I was unaware of the evening ahead of me. Chris and his band came onstage at 8.30pm. Up until that point the tension was building and the venue was filling up quickly. They were onstage for 2 hours 15 minutes and had two encores.

Chris walked on stage with a huge grin on his face, and seemed genuinely happy to be onstage. He wore mid blue jeans, a grey/blue t-shirt and beige ankle boots. He looked every inch the rock star! My friend and I were in the front row, opposite where Peter Thorn stood.

The first song of the evening was Let Me Drown. I hadn't heard this Soundgarden song before, but instantly loved it. Chris belted his way through more Soundgarden and Audioslave songs, with such ease. His voice was incredible that night, reaching every note and re-inventing old songs. He showed off his powerful voice at the end of Doesn't remind me, which was outstanding. The song that stood out for me the most was Jesus Christ Pose. One of my favourites, the crowd went wild for it!

Other personal highlights included Audioslave's Show me how to live, Cochise, Like a stone, (acoustic), Soundgarden's Rusty Cage, Black Hole Sun, and solo Chris's Can't Change Me (acoustic), No Such Thing, and She'll never be your man.

Chris's band deserves special mention. Yogi Lonich and Peter Thorn on guitar were fantastic. I find it incredible that they've been able to learn Chris's entire back catalogue in such a short space of time. Corey McCormick (bass) may be small, but he had no problem making himself seen. He spent most of the evening getting the audience to clap along. At the end of Slaves and bulldozers, Jason Sutter did an incredible drum solo. Chris was sitting to the side of the stage with a huge smile on his face, clearly enjoying what he was hearing.

Slaves and bulldozers was the final song of the evening, and Jason's drum solo finished it off perfectly. A great night, one which I would love to re-live. Words can't describe what it was like to be that close to Chris. Incredible!

thanks to Allison for the photo - see more here

Heavy And Melodious As Always

by Andrew Reilly, RoomThirteen.com

thanks to Hannah for the photo - see more here

It took as long as the intro of the second song of the evening to bring home all the memories of Soundgarden and the early 1990s. Yes, around the same time when Britpop was kicking off and Oasis were making an early play to steal this impressionable writer's heart, there was another band whose ear for melodies was combining with some heavy guitars and drums. Soundgarden may have lacked in comparison to Nirvana but they had an edge over many of their grunge rivals and the fact that they seemed to have taken a lot from The Beatles, with regards to the melodies and choruses, was a key part of their charm, even if their heaviness at times won them more plaudits. As 'Outshined' kicked in, it was obvious there was going to be a fair bit of nostalgia on show tonight.

From looking around the venue, the variances of age and people indicated the variety and differences in Cornell's history with as many people cheering and hollering at the Bond theme as the cries for Temple of The Dog.

With no support act, a set time of over 2 hours allocated Cornell plenty of time to trawl his catalogue and its unlikely the choice of songs left any fan too troubled at a large omission.

At times the band seemed muted, perhaps due to the sound set-up or perhaps done deliberately to emphasise the vocals of Cornell. Theres no mistaking that Chris Cornell holds one of the most distinctive and characteristic voices in rock, and it shined again in Glasgow - but his backing band also showed their mettle throughout.

Throughout the night, each member got their own moment in the spotlight and Cornell was quick to point the praise at them, even if bass player Corey McCormick did spend most of the evening involving the crowd with handclaps. The dual guitar leads of Yogi Lonich and Peter Thorn were of a high standard all night and when you consider the quality guitarists that Cornell has worked with in the past, it must be a hard task to live up to.

A drum solo is the last thing this writer wishes to hear but Jason Sutter's climactic effort was rapturously received by the crowd and it wasn't the worst of its genre; if you're a fan of this type of thing, there's plenty of footage of it on Youtube.

For all that, it was still about the front man and it was no surprise when the band trooped offstage to allow Cornell a mini-solo acoustic slot, which was well received but perhaps fractured the momentum a little bit. In trying to cover every area of his career, and by having a set-list which changed every night what Cornell may have been adding in spontaneity he may have lost in building stage dynamics.

The cover of Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' was surprising, and in all honesty, slightly underwhelming. A slowed down version of the song may have allowed Cornell to once again show off his pipes, and who knows, there may have been a special reason for Chris to cover that track but it just never clicked. Whacko Jacko does have an formidable back catalogue but there's certainly something off about the man that can leave a bad feeling and it just felt like a wasted track, particularly when Cornell had so many of his own songs left unplayed.

And it's more annoying when it was probably the weakest song of the night but that aside, the evening was a shining advertisement for the career of Chris Cornell.

Chris Cornell at Glasgow Academy

by Graeme Johnstone, Skiddle.com

CHRIS CORNELL strolls into Glasgow on this midsummer's night for a rare UK solo performance, fresh on the heels of his band Audioslave's dismantling. While the newly reformed and touring Rage Against The Machine may be setting the music world alight, a night with Cornell's proving pretty popular too despite the £25 ticket cost. Squeezing the American rock crooner's fans into the Carling Academy is like fitting Daphne Broon into a Borat swimsuit - it's not quite bursting at the seams, but it's warm and sweaty and none too comfortable.

In the upstairs balcony, far above the rabid throng of Soundgarden t-shirts, pint-in-hand punters are all set for a great view and the sound of a voice once described as "one of alt-rock's most elastic instruments." Buoyed by fervent applause, Cornell emerges and eases into "Let Me Drown" from grunge-pioneers Soundgarden, before ripping into the pulse-charging Audioslave number "Show Me How To Live". The grunge God's voice is in fine form, but there's good reason this is billed as "Chris Cornell" with no mention of his 4-piece band...while not as disposable as a Guns N Roses cast, we're certainly not screaming for a guitarist of former Buckcherry anonymity and a bassist that we couldn't later pick out of a police lineup. "Show Me How To Live" is supposed to have a fluttering overload of wah-wah soloing that drops your jaw...tonight the guitarist's attempt can only be filed under 'mince'. It's a big ask to fill Tom Morello's scruffy shoes, but Mr A. N. Other attacks the strings with exactly fuck all conviction.

However, we are treated to better value for money and variety than you'd ever find in a bag of Pick N' Mix...from Audioslave numbers into treasured cuts from 1991's Temple of the Dog, the 'Casino Royale' theme song "You Know My Name" to solo stuff old and new, including the Sabbath-esque "No Such Thing". At his best, Cornell takes anger, fear, love or any theme he turns his hand to and boils down the raw emotion to the sounds of a guitar and one man's voice. There's almost nothing he can't do, and he sets out to bloody well prove that.

Soundgarden classics "Rusty Cage" and "Jesus Christ Pose" hit us like a Pulp Fiction adrenaline shot...we can't help but sit up and take notice of songs so instantly singable, headbangable, moshable, and it sends us into raptures. Then Cornell sits down and crosses his legs while the guitarist grabs a stool, they change tack entirely, and do the beautiful, pensive "Seasons" to keep us on our toes and send us reaching for the lighters. Brilliant. "Spoonman" is a highlight of the night, "Billie Jean" is a Michael Jackson cover given the wistful Leonard Cohen treatment, before "Black Hole Sun" is the chorus-echoed anthem that wraps up the first encore.

We finish on "Slaves and Bulldozers", the place goes mental one last time, and after 2 and a half hours of 20 years' worth of heart-racing Cornell classics, it feels like a cuddle under the duvets and a cigarette would be more appropriate than fighting for a taxi in the cold.

thanks to James for the photo

Can't Change Me - thanks dgted

Black Hole Sun - thanks cheesecakeDaz

Mission - thanks scummyweasel1

You Know My Name - thanks jointotem

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007