thanks to Monique for the photo

Philly was the first time audiences heard The Roads We Choose live. One of two bonus tracks on the European edition of Carry On, its composition dates from Audioslave's Out Of Exile sessions but it was never included on an album until now. Tonight Chris opened the set with the sombre Silence The Voices, and according to those lucky street teamers who were at the soundcheck - he sang Can't Change Me in French. Chris had fun launching a pinata blast at the crowd and showering the front rows with sweeties, but the set was cut slightly short -- probably due to the extreme heat inside the venue.

Silence The Voices - Original Fire - Let Me Drown - Outshined - Show Me How To Live - No Such Thing - Arms Around Your Love - Like A Stone - Seasons - What You Are - Rusty Cage - [acoustic set] - Doesn't Remind Me - Cochise - Ty Cobb - Say Hello 2 Heaven - Spoonman - You Know My Name - Out of Exile - Black Hole Sun

If you know details of exactly what Chris played during his acoustic set, get in touch!

thanks to sweetu4ria for the setlist photo

by kalidurga

'I can't recall where I saw it, but I read an interview not too long ago in which Chris mentioned that one of his regrets is that he and the guys in SG didn't get more joy out of what they were doing at the time. That's definitely not the case now. From the moment he hit the stage, the show in Philly was a joyous event. Whether Chris was performing old tunes like "Let Me Drown" and "Spoonman" or new stuff from Carry On, he put his soul into it. He was so obviously enjoying every moment of what he was doing, and carried the audience along with him. Whenever he began that signature move of swinging his head and upper body from side to side like an autistic in self-stim mode, you could tell he was totally absorbed in the music. Being right up front made it a bit hard to hear things clearly, but the man could have been gargling hot razor blades and he still would have been mesmerizing. But he definitely wasn't having any problems with his voice-- even with a less than clear mix and what seemed to me to be sometimes off-key backing vocals, it was apparent that he was hitting every note with that slightly road-wearied, husky voice.

Instead of starting out with a rocking number, as he did in Baltimore with "Cochise", Chris shifted gears and began this show with the dramatic anthem "Silence the Voices". Now, this is one of the songs that I normally skip when listening to Carry On. The lyrics are actually very meaningful and moving, but the music and vocals are so dirge-like and there's some bizarre keyboards (apparently played by Chris himself) that I just can't listen to. Live, though, the song lives up to its lyrics. Without the keyboards and with a slightly quicker tempo, the new band brings more energy to the song, giving it more of an edge to go along with Chris' emotional delivery. From there, he launched into a head-banging performance of "Original Fire", followed by a tune I was ecstatic to hear, the SG classic "Let Me Drown".

One of the highlights of the evening for me was during his short acoustic set. He began to introduce one song by saying that he'd never performed it anywhere for anyone, except for his wife. My first thought was that he was referring to "Finally Forever", but I was delighted when instead he launched into "Roads We Choose", a quirky tune that seems like a love song but that has some slightly strange lyrics. There's been debate on the fan forum as to whether he sings the word "bed" or "debt" at the end of the second verse, so I was intent on watching him sing the song so I could tell once and for all what the word is. As he got to that particular line, I was staring at his lips and... he flubbed it, singing the first line of the second verse as a lead-in to the last line that ends with "...all you ever do is treat me with respect." Chris, dude, yer killin' me. In spite of that, though, I loved hearing the acoustic version of the song.

thanks to Monique for the photo

Another touching moment was when he sang "Out of Exile", after explaining that it was about his wife and the baby girl they had together. At one point during the song, he walked to the side of the stage and held out his hand towards someone apparently sitting in the wings. I have to assume that he was trying to lure baby Toni out onto the stage with him, as he's recently done at other shows. He gave up after a few attempts, but it was funny and cute to watch him keep reaching out to someone who clearly was feeling stage-shy.

The rest of the set held few surprises, but every song was performed with energy and dead-on vocals from Chris. The crowd ate it up, even surprising him by launching into an a capella rendition of "Be Yourself" when he faked us out by holding out the mic instead of beginning to sing himself. At the very end, after a three-song encore, many of us refused to disperse even as roadies came out to break down the equipment. We wanted more, and Chris had better come back soon to give it to us.'

thanks to Nicole for the photo

by christian

I was at the show on Sunday night with my 8 year old son. I was supposed to go with my wife, but a babysitting snafu led me to bring him, instead. It was incredible. The people around us tried to keep his line of sight clear since we were about 10 feet from the stage, but even then I wound up holding him throughout the show.

Towards the end of the show, a security guard tapped me on the back and handed us 2 backstage passes. It turns out Chris' wife was in a box off the side of the stage, saw me holding my boy throughout the show and told him to bring the passes out to us.

We were first in line at the meet and greet. Chris and the band were incredible with him. I told Chris that his wife had sent the passes to us, and to please thank her. He said that he knew, she told him when he got off stage and that he would. It was the most incredible concert experience I've ever had, a day later the both of us are still on cloud 9. Amazing, words can barely describe it . Thank you again, Vicky!!!

by nicole

Chris came on around 9:30 PM, they played mostly Soundgarden and AudioSlave songs, he only played three songs from "Carry On" "No Such Thing", "Arms Around Your Love" and "You Know My Name", he also played one song that he says he never plays live that is supposed to be from another version of the "Carry On" album titled "Roads We Choose", that was a beautiful song. At one point Chris throw a pinata in the air and hit it and candy flew out at the crowd.

lawrence and nicole at the meet & greet

I was close to the rail on the right side of the stage, and looking about 20-30 ft. ahead, I saw people looking like they were about to keel over due to the heat. That notwithstanding, this was my first time seeing Cornell perform live, and it definitely won't be the last. I had an amazing time. I was looking forward to hearing "Hunger Strike" and possibly even "Call Me A Dog" or "Say Hello To Heaven", but oh well, that's nitpicky stuff. Great show all-around, luckily I was out of firing range of that pinata blast, haha.

Thanks to Luke for the photo

by mindriot132

I'd also like to point out how fucking awesome it was for CC and the boys to START the show with Silence the Voices. It really caught me off guard. I was expecting a rocker, like usual, to kick off the show; something like Cochise or Let Me Drown.

For anyone who hasn't heard the song live, let me tell you, it is simply amazing to hear, the band pulls it off flawlessly. One song where I think they've struggled (and this is only from watching videos) is Poison Eye. It doesn't seem as tight as the studio version. Silence the Voices on the other hand was killer, truly anthemic and extremely tight. The drums and chorus are the best part; CC's vocals SOARED during the chorus and the heavy drum parts POUND into your chest. It's really something to hear live. I've noticed that a few people on the board have been a tad critical over the songs studio arrangement. I thought it was one of the best songs on the album, arrangement and all. But my god, to hear it live is a whole different experience, and a better one at that.

I think the entire audience was caught off guard by this opening song choice; some had no idea what it was, but watched intently, and those who knew the song simply watched in awe as I did. It was so cool to see them all walk out and start to such a serious song.

thanks to Nicole for the photo

by monique

The band came on just at 9:30 pm...Jason (party animal), Peter, Corey, Yogi, and then Chris Cornell slowly walks onstage singing Silence the Voices. The song was great live (better than on the record)....Yogi then tried to throw me a pick about 6 or 7 times but they kept landing askew...... What a sweet guy.......Chris' acoustic set was to die for in the Electric Factory. I sent him a comment that during the acoustic set, hearing him play his wonderful new guitar and singing, I could hear his voice echoing throughout the EF. It was simply indescribeable... I don't think I know of any other singer who has such powerful vocal cords or emanates such a grand stage presence as Cornell does. He is the shit......

thanks to Monique for the photo - read more at her blog

The Inquirer

Thanks to Luke for the photo

Chris Cornell, past to present, at Factory

When grunge-god-turned-metal-howler Chris Cornell announced that he was touring solo and doing hits from all his bands, it conjured up the notion of something akin to lounge music, smooth Muzak versions of Soundgarden and Audioslave songs.

Perhaps even something you'd call "The Chris Cornell Experience" in which a 43-year-old once in possession of a fine pencil mustache would croon Temple of the Dog tunes from upon a stool rather than bark at the moon.

Cornell just pulled off the theme song to James Bond's Casino Royale. How far off could that impression be?

That Cornell and his taut young band sold out Electric Factory on Sunday, tearing through that past-to-present catalog with mangy aplomb, was a relief. Even when Cornell brought out that stool to noodle nostalgically through his tender coming-of-ager "Seasons" (from the '92 Singles soundtrack, the very height of grunge) and during a few acoustic Audioslave moments.

"Let's just sit by the fire," he joked, moments before turning a yearning acoustic "Doesn't Remind Me" into a mad rocker, much as he did with the following tune, the crunching "Cochise."

That Cornell found just the right Audioslave tunes from the band's occasionally lame catalog was amazing. That he didn't do more Soundgarden songs was sad. But he proved he was still a rightful heir to Robert Plant's sensuality, ragged rage and merciful romanticism by pulling off a sweet-and-sour salaciousness throughout Soundgarden's best.

The vicious "Let Me Drown," a frenetic "Rusty Cage" with its groove-centric coda, even a funereal "Black Hole Sun" - all beat sexily.

And Cornell & Co. kicked out the jams on his solo-era tracks like "No Such Thing," and made the halting James Bond number, "You Know My Name," funky and dramatic. As he did with what he called a "chick song," "Arms Around Your Love."

"It's really a guy song," he said, before making the mellow song musky.

At a time when Billy Corgan doesn't have the guts to give up the name of Smashing Pumpkins - though he's touring with only one other original band member - Cornell gets kudos for owning the moment, even in solo form.

- A.D. Amorosi, the Inquirer

The Roads We Choose (extract) - thanks cclover

Can't Change Me - thanks JohnPhillyRock

Like A Stone - thanks JohnPhillyRock

Spoonman - thanks JohnPhillyRock

Show Me How To Live - thanks JohnPhillyRock

Doesn't Remind Me - thanks JohnPhillyRock

Black Hole Sun - thanks JohnPhillyRock

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007