photos by: Danielle Millea - see more at eGigs.co.uk
Thhere were some raised eyebrows at the fact that Chris played two shows in the Midlands on this leg of the tour, effectively splitting the local audience between the two. However, both shows were rapturously received, with one Nottingham reviewer making a very favourable comparison between Chris's show and Prince at the 02 in London ("I know which one I will be shelling out next time around").
Silence The Voices - Original Fire - Let Me Drown - Outshined - Show Me How to Live- Say Hello 2 Heaven - You Know My Name - No Such Thing - Be Yourself - What You Are - Rusty Cage - Billie Jean - Like A Stone - Preaching the End of the World - Call Me a Dog - Doesn't Remind Me - Cochise - Spoonman - Arms Around Your Love - Black Hole Sun - Jesus Christ Pose - Seasons - Burden In My Hand - Wave Goodbye - Slaves and Bulldozers - Whole Lotta Love
by John
My better half and myself have been to numerous gigs over the years, many of which were fantastic. However this one had something a little bit special. The audience and artist seemed to spark off each other. We were all fortunate to see an incredible musican and a great guy who was at ease with himself and was at the top of his craft. This was a gig that neither of us will ever forget. Thank you Chris and his fantastic band.
photos by: Danielle Millea - see more at eGigs.co.uk
Nottingham Evening Post
MASTER OF HIS CRAFT WITH A VOICE THAT STILL WOWS
photos by: Danielle Millea - see more at eGigs.co.uk
What's better than seeing a live act? Seeing three acts at the same time.
Chris Cornell, as well as being a notable solo artist, was also frontman with two major rock acts, namely Soundgarden and Audioslave.
Rock City pulled out all the stops to ensure that he played in Nottingham and the whispers were, at £30 a ticket, that they'd struggle to fill the place. They needn't have worried. Rock City was packed and the assembled masses witnessed a treat.
There was no support act, with Cornell and his band appearing to huge applause and launching into Silence from album Carry On. The backing band were more than able, but there was only one man that the crowd were here to see and he certainly delivered.
With a set containing Soundgarden's Jesus Christ Pose, Spoonman and Black Hole Sun, Audioslave's Cochise, Show Me How To Live and Be Yourself as well as a number of solo tracks, Cornell went through a formidable set of songs that would have any grunge fan salivating.
Cornell is the best rock vocalist of his, and arguably any, generation and he did not disappoint. Despite the numerous polls that listed him as one of the greatest vocalists ever, Cornell was without ego and ensured that all of the band had time in the spotlight.
It was great to see a master of his craft loving every second of being on stage and making the music he loves.
After an encore containing Seasons and Burden in my Hand, the set culminated with a cover of Whole Lotta Love and the audience responded with rapturous applause that lasted long after the band had left the stage.
I may be biased having been a fan for several years, but this may well have been the best show I have ever seen at Rock City.
- original review available here
photos by: Danielle Millea - see more at eGigs.co.uk
Fuzznut
Chris Cornell @ Rock City
I entered Rock City with a degree of trepidation; as a lifelong fan of Chris Cornell’s various artistic ventures I was a bit let down by his latest album, Carry On. Not that it isn’t good; you can generally rely on his output to be technically brilliant, well put together and sung beautifully, but it seems to lack the same overly haunting, often epic, qualities which made 1999’s Euphoria Morning so good.
After a quick panic that tonight would focus on his new material as the set opened with Carry On’s Silence the Voices, my fears were quickly allayed. A chipper, clearly enjoying himself Cornell announced that tonight there would be a lot of songs performed ‘from history’, and he didn’t certainly didn’t go back on his word.
What followed was more like a career retrospective; from the Soundgarden era we were treated to the likes of Let me Drown, Burden in My Hand, Rusty Cage, and Outshined. From his time with Audioslave, we were given a stomping Cochise, Show Me How to Live, Who You Are and Original Fire. From Temple of the Dog, a wonderful rendition of Say Hello To Heaven, preceded by the announcement that the song was written for Andy Wood, late of Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. Us fans probably all knew that anyway, but it was nice of him to acknowledge it. There were a handful of new songs, a nice surprise being Bond theme You Know My Name which, without the orchestral accompaniment, is as solid a rock song as they come.
After a few more songs ‘from history’ (such as an obligatory Black Hole Sun) Chris and the band left, but not before returning for a surprise-ridden encore. It began with Seasons, a solo effort written exclusively for the Cameron Crowe’s movie Singles, which lost none of its beauty live. Soundgarden’s Slaves & Bulldozers followed, Cornell easily scaling the vocal highs that established him early on in his career.
Finally, as the song ended and the feedback blared, something familiar seemed to be taking shape amidst the cacophony; suddenly we were listening to a kick-ass cover of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, which went down a storm with vocals Robert Plant himself would have surely envied.
We might not smell like teen spirit anymore, but the rapturous applause made it feel like those heady days of grunge had never passed, and this gig served as a powerful reminder that no matter how many three-chord wonders there are out there filling up today’s ‘rock’ scene, the old pros can still bring the house down when they want to.
10 out of 10
- Gary Hames, Fuzznut
Peace and Love
from Battle Of The Solo Artists: Prince v Chris Cornell
...meanwhile over in Nottingham, Chris Cornell's entrance couldn't be more different. He does enjoy the honour of having his band take to the stage first and then make a grandish entrance after they start playing though. This gives a bit of comedy value because as he has no support act some of the audience think this is indeed the warm up band and when Cornell suddenly bounds onto the stage looking thin, tanned and way to healthy they get a double shock. The first song is from new album 'Carry on' and his voice is faultless, one of the best in the business. Then he announces there will be a lot of songs tonight from history and we get Soundgarden classic 'Outshined', the best song Black Sabbath never wrote. For the uninitiated, Soundgarden emerged from Seattle around the time of the Nirvana fronted Grunge scene, though their stuff was much more heavy then others of that ilk. They were very underrated yet produced two classic albums, Badmotorfinger and Superunknown. Buy them. The theme from Casino Royale 'You know my name' follows and it is interesting that judging by reactions the vast majority of the audience is as keen on the old stuff as the new. Then we get an Audioslave tune, 'Be Yourself', followed by 'Say hello to Heaven' a song by the late great Temple of the Dog who I had completely forgotten about and it was a brilliant surprise. Throughout the show he is chatty and relaxed and speaks with genuine enthusiasm about his past days in Nottingham. Simple stuff but the audience warm to him straight away and it adds to the night. The set carries on going right through Cornell's career with a shit load of great tunes.
Like Prince, Cornell also plays a long set. I clocked the whole shebang at 2 hours 20 minutes. This is nearly all songs, the only fooling around bits are a couple of drum solos, a guitar solo from each six stringer, (The band are all excellent), and an acoustic spot from Cornell alone, the highlight being a dirge version of Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean'. His show climaxes with 3 great songs Audioslave's 'Cochise' and the 'Garden's best tune, 'Black hole Sun', finishing off the main set with the full on menace of 'Jesus Christ Pose'. Of course we get a long encore, the highlight of which is 'Seasons' a forgotten classic from the Singles soundtrack and a tune which reveals Cornells leanings towards Led Zep (which was at odds with the rest of Soundgarden apparently). The show ends with a 10 minute version of Badmotorfinger track 'Slaves and Bulldozers' which metamorphoses into 'Whole lotta love'. Then is over, no fanfare, no trapdoor but an elated and lengthy ovation from the audience, a shoe in for gig of the year by a mile.
- Rob, Peace and Love: read how Chris's show compared to Prince's arena extravaganza here
Silence The Voices/Original Fire - thanks so02see
Be Yourself - thanks so02see
Slaves and Bulldozers/Whole Lotta Love - thanks so02see
Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007
