thanks to Steph for the photo

Las Vegas's Pearl Theater saw the last night of the North American leg of the tour and the last date prior to Chris and the band heading off to South America in December. Chris seemed demob happy, the audience had a great time and it was a fitting end to a marathon series of shows.

Intro - Let Me Drown - Outshined - Show Me How To Live - Be Yourself - You Know My Name - No Such Thing - Hunger Strike - Spoonman - Billie Jean - Fell On Black Days - Preaching The End Of The World - - I Am The Highway - Doesn't Remind Me - Cochise - Superunknown - Loud Love - Arms Around Your Love - Can't Change Me - Pushin' Forward Back - Black Hole Sun - What You Are - Rusty Cage - Burden In My Hand - Safe and Sound - Seasons - Slaves & Bulldozers/Overfloater/4th of July/The End/Whole Lotta Love

by lois

There were some really beautiful fan moments...During Seasons I looked at the couple next to me. Both of them had their eyes closed, arms around each other, swaying to the music looking completely blissed out. Some random girl near me was just belting out the lyrics to 4th of July (as was I). We caught each other's eye and she cracked this huge smile and threw up her hand to me for a high 5. It doesn't matter that you wouldn't know each other if you tripped over each other at another time...that moment in the music brings you together. That whole Slaves and Bulldozers jam is simply amazing...I was grinning madly with chills running up and down my spine.

photos by Meg Enos of Sonic Rampage - used by permission

by zoso72

Fucken great show. Took my 17 yr old for his 1st concert. We both had whiplash the next day. Got some good pics on my phone and some guiter picks too! CC just did a great show for the fans. He could have played his solo but man, he went back to Loud Love right from the crowd and threw in everything in between without missing a note. Closing with Zep was just a extra fucken bonus.

thanks to Steph for the photo

by heidi

So, Chris Cornell in Vegas. They had two camera guys who were right on top of everything. During Black Whole Sun, one of the camera guys was right on Cornell. Chris was getting right up in the camera until his eye filled the lens. I was watching from my vantage point and then looking at the big screen too. It was spooky looking.

thanks to Steph for the photo

He mugged it up for the camera while seated and looking very sad and far away for the entire song. After the line 'No one sings like you anymore." Chris made an exaggerated pout face with his lower lip sticking out and a shoulder shrug, a little kid pout. Then he popped up for a bit. It was freaky looking when combined with the special effects the venue added in. Had I been thinking straight I would have just video taped the big screen the whole time. That would have been awesome. I wonder if the venue sells those shows after the fact? That would be very nice. I would buy the DVD.

Being up close to the front and in the middle is really pretty nice. I feel kind of spoiled. Chris reached out and touched Laurie, it was a very sweet stretch on his part to say ‘Hi’ to one of his biggest fans ever in the whole universe. She loves Chris and it shows on her face as she watches the shows.

There were some rocker guys behind me singing really loud in some form of old fashioned heavy metal wail. They were very good or it would have been very bad. It was so unbelievable that they could be that loud. I think Chris could hear them too. It was funny!

So, as mentioned already. Loud Love and Superunknown. Wooo effing Hooooooo!!!! I finally caught a Yogi pick in the air. He was right in front of us. Steph bent over to find the one she dropped and he threw another. I caught it with my hand. I suck at that, but I did it, finally. I have a Dunlop, mother of pearl, medium weight pick of Yogi's. The only keepsake I was missing aside from a set list or drum head.

What a blast this has been meeting all these great friends and watching the best concerts ever put on by a band, without any need for explosions or lighting effects on the stage. They just rock the house organically. What a blast. I had a blast and will miss my medicine for a while until they get back on the road with a new record that Chris is probably already writing. I can't wait to hear this band on the next record and then see them tour. It is going to be just perfect. I can't wait for next year. Next Summer????

photo by Meg Enos of Sonic Rampage - used by permission

by plastic fang

I'm from Edmonton, Alberta Canada, and was stoked to see CC when he came there in Sept. As luck would have it, I was going to LV (for the first time) on a bit of a vacation over the weekend. So a couple days before I left I checked Pollstar to see if anyone cool was in town and just about lost it when I saw Chris was playing in Vegas when I was going to be there.

So yeah, that was a pretty great surprise and he delivered another great and epic show. I got to see him play Loud Love, Superunknown, Pushin' Forward Back, Billie Jean, Can't Change Me (I was especially hoping for that one), Safe and Sound, Seasons, Overfloater, and 4th of July - all songs he didn't play in Edmonton. Overfloater and 4th of July were especially cool - I had read here that he sometimes tags these onto the end of Slaves (In edmonton we got more of the Doors song) but I didn't realize he sings practically the whole songs, and for 4th of July we even got some of the riff. Too cool.

It would be really easy for CC to do 90 minute, 15 song greatest hits sets, but these massive 2.5 hour, 25 song setlists full of songs that longtime fans want to hear are a testament to how great he is. Plus, he seems like he's having fun doing it too, which makes it all the better.

Chris gets his hands on the drums..thanks to Steph for the photo

photo by Meg Enos of Sonic Rampage - used by permission

Vegas Rex

thanks to Steph for the photo

Chris and the band really set the place off tonight.

Arguably the hardest and filthnastiest gig I have seen Chris do since the 90’s. It was that damn good.

Because of the holiday weekend, the Pearl Theater was only about half full … if that, and this was Cornell’s last stop on the North American Tour (before heading to South America). Despite the lower-than-usual turnout, and probable burnout from 6 straight months of touring, Cornell and the band did a 2 1/2 hour set, and totally massacred the place.

I actually thought this show was much better than the show he did at The HOB last May, and that show was incredible. This time there was much more crowd interaction, more enthusiasm, more jam sessions, just more of everything. He was a little more tentative with the crowd at the May show, but this time he showed appreciation throughout.

thanks to Steph for the photo

At one point a crowd member passed Chris a sheet of paper with the name of a song written on it, and the band took a couple of minutes to switch out gear and play it (the song was “Loud Love”). There was significantly more interaction with the crowd, and instead of running off stage like he did after the HOB show, toward the end of this gig, Cornell hung around the stage for some hand slaps at the rail, lots of “thank you’s”, and just some good vibe-ing with the crowd. Chris actually seemed to be having a lot more fun himself during this show than at the May gig. Much more loose, relaxed, and just in a better mood in general. The overall “feel” of this show was just much better, as there was a real connection going on between the music and everyone in the theater.

Also, instead of sitting in the back and providing the soundtrack for Chris, the band was a larger part of the show and they really pushed the limits … jumping around, tearing strings off of guitars, breaking microphone stands … this was as close as I have ever gotten to 1994 since the turn of the century, and probably is as close as I will ever get again.

While the lead singer was the name on the ticket, this was a real band going off on stage. For one night “Grunge” (if that is what the media insists on calling it) was awakened like a rabid elephant from a deep sleep, and tore up everything in sight.

photos by Meg Enos of Sonic Rampage - used by permission

Chris also went deep on his new material (the solo album has some great songs), and while those tunes were typically more “mellow” than the 90’s stuff, they complimented the “heavier” stuff, and the mix of old and new was almost perfect.

The crowd was great. It was small, but everyone there was rabid. Almost like a club gig 15 years ago. Everyone knew every song, and was jumping around and shouting as loud as they could. Thankfully, the crowd was extremely hardcore. I think I am still hoarse from shouting the opening chorus to “Hungerstrike” at the top of my lungs as Chris panned the mic out into the audience. My calves are starting to feel the burn from leaping into the air during the transitions on “Doesn’t Remind Me”. My arms are starting to feel the fatigue of 2+ hours of fist-pumping. I don’t want to even think of the damage that was done to my hearing.

There was no crowd surfing or stage diving like there was back in the day (I’m pretty sure we are all too old now), but the decibel level from the crowd was as loud as I have heard from a fully packed arena. As soon as the encore ended, I got the set list from the bottom of Chris’ mic stand. Of course, I also got a pick.

They ended up playing past “Slaves” and did a 5 minute jam transition into a cover of Led Zep's “Whole Lotta Love” to end the show. 12 hours later, and I am currently completely deaf in my left ear, and my right ear is ringing. I am awestruck at how they pulled this one off in 2007, but I seriously doubt they can do it again. No offense to the band whatsoever, but they left it all on the stage last night. Every last ounce. Chris looked like he was about to drop at the end. I simply cannot conceive of a scenario in which they could top this show. I know that everyone says this about “their” show, but sitting back and thinking about it objectively, I really mean it.

I have no idea how they could even come close to a gig like this again. If you were in town, and missed this show … then all I can do is offer my condolences.

I don’t think there is any chance that we are ever going to see one like this again in our lifetimes.

- from Vegas Rex

Chris & the band in a pre-show backstage huddle - from Chris's official Youtube channel

Seasons/In My Time of Dying- from Chris's official Youtube channel

Cochise (with intro jam) - thanks Steph

Safe and Sound - thanks Steph

Burden In My Hand - thanks Steph

Let Me Drown - thanks Steph

Fell On Black Days - thanks Steph

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007