Photo by Kursat Unsal - see more here or here

The three-day festival at Istanbul's Hezarfen Airfield is one of the premier events in the counry's music calendar. Sponsored by Coca-Cola, it takes place on a peninsula surrounded by the lake of Büyükçekmece, 50km away from the city centre.

Let me Drown - Outshined - Show me how to live - Be yourself - No Such Thing - Silence The Voices - Billie Jean - Finally Forever - Cochise - You Know My Name - Hunger Strike - Arms Around Your Love - Black Hole Sun - Spoonman

by Gizem

This was my second time seeing Chris live and it was just as amazing as the first! He took the stage before The Smashing Pumpkins but based on the reactions of the crowd, I think it would be safe to say that he was the real headliner (no offense).

His voice was incredible. He was exceptionally energetic throughout the show - he played with the cameras, signed posters held up by fans and ran back and forth on the stage, getting everyone to sing along. There was a great chemistry between him and the crowd... It was Chris Cornell's first appearance in Turkey and for the thousands of people who had waited for a Soundgarden/ Audioslave/Chris Cornell concert all their lives, that night was a dream come true.

The setlist was very similar to those of the previous festival dates. The "Outshined" performance was so powerful it made us all tremble, everyone went wild during "Show Me How To Live" and "Be Yourself" was sung as if it were a national anthem.

The acoustic set was also great - especially "Billie Jean" was an out-of-this-world experience. Listening to the intensely sung "Hunger Strike" and "Black Hole Sun" took us all back to the 90s. And then Chris screamed at the crowd: "What's my name?" - The band roared into "You Know My Name" and suddenly we were back in 2007. The show ended with an ecstatic rendition of Spoonman and left us all wanting for more.

I would have loved to hear "Jesus Christ Pose" or "Slaves & Bulldozers" live but I guess I'll just have to wait for the next concert - he promised that he would be back very soon!

thanks to Gizem for the photo

by Outshined Jimmy

Chris hit the stage looking a little tired but he quickly got into the show and he was very talkative with the crowd. On the other hand the audience , I found them a little cold for my standards, but everyone seemed to be amused in his or her own way. Oh, and there was a small part of Whole Lotta Love during the Spoonman solo!!

Photo by Kursat Unsal - see more here or here

by Ned

I had never seen Chris Cornell before, unless you count the time my dad pointed him out in a restaurant in Seattle. That is, I had never seen him play music before. He was fantastic. He doesn’t have the long hair any more, but he still has that creepy moustache. His band played some old Soundgarden songs: Outshined, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman. He did a solo, acoustic cover of Billie Jean, and claimed that though he hadn’t written it, he had lived it. They lapsed into Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love at one point. Best of all, they played Hunger Strike from the Temple of the Dog album. I was probably the only person in the audience who knew it, though. I find it odd that with all my years of Seattle concert-going, I never saw him until I came here.

Read the rest of Ned's blog about the festival here

Not reviews as such - but here's a fairly frank interview for Turkish TV from the following day which includes some footage from the show. Chris talks about his performance, his solo career, his unhappy past and how he escaped it.

Here's another Istanbul TV interview in which Chris talks about the joys of travel, looking after his voice and why he loves music by the Beatles and the Who.

From the same trip, here's an interview done for a Turkish magazine and some beautiful pictures by Fatih Yalçin of Chris with his wife Vicky - including the pair of them having a pillowfight with the journalist!

all photos by Fatih Yalçin - see more here

No Such Thing - thanks backstagebug

Billie Jean - thanks backstagebug

Arms Around Your Love (extract) - thanks mercedescolomar

Outshined - thanks mercedescolomar

Doesn't Remind Me - thanks mercedescolomar

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007