Thanks to JoAnne for the photo

In an intimate and highly individual Philly venue, Chris wore a "Peace" T-shirt and held an impromptu memorabilia-signing session from the stage. No "Billie Jean" or "JCP" tonight, but an acoustic version of "Blow Up The Outside World" enchanted Soundgarden fans.

Cochise - Original Fire - Outshined - Say Hello 2 Heaven - No Such Thing -You Know My Name - Like a Stone - Fell on Black Days - Seasons - Spoonman - Safe and Sound - What You Are - Rusty Cage - - Burden in My Hand - Can't Change Me (acoustic) - Blow up the Outside World (acoustic) - Doesn't Remind Me - Black Hole Sun - Ghosts - Hunger Strike - Slaves and Bulldozers

Chris with fans at the meet and greet (thanks soundgrunger)

Poster art © Jim Mazza used by permission

Reaching into the vault, Cornell finds old voice

By ED CONDRAN, phillyBurbs.com, April 24, 2007

During the last Audioslave tour, Chris Cornell's monstrous rock-God voice started showing signs of wear and tear. But that was then.

Cornell's sold-out solo show Sunday night at the Theatre of Living Arts proved that the iconic rocker's pipes can still hit ridiculously high notes. Cornell was as casual as his apparel — T-shirt and jeans. He delivered a set that covered three bands, two solo albums and more than a decade and a half of his career. His howl was in full effect, especially during Soundgarden tracks such as “Outshined” and “Fell on Black Days.”

Such Temple of the Dog tracks as “Say Hello 2 To Heaven” and “Hungerstrike” stoked the primarily 30-something crowd into a frenzy. Cornell, who has had a remarkably consistent career, had much to choose from during his two-hour set. Fans called for “Jesus Christ Pose,” “Pretty Noose” and his bluesy cover of Michael Jackson's “Billie Jean,” but weren't rewarded.

Cornell has been changing his set from town to town. Cornell obviously can't play all of the hits. But the familiar tracks he played — “Black Hole Sun,” “Spoonman” and “Blow Up The Outside World” —impressed.

The rocker turned restaurateur (Cornell has a bistro in Paris), proves he doesn't need more than hired guns. A few new tracks from Cornell's second solo album, an eponymous effort that drops in June, has some bite. “You Know My Name,” which was featured in the film “Casino Royale,” proves that Cornell, 42, has plenty left in the tank.

Give Cornell credit for going solo in the year of the reunion. It would be tempting to regroup Soundgarden and play big venues and make even bigger dollars. Cornell, who crafted the Soundgarden tracks and co-wrote the Audioslave tunes, is fine by his lonesome.

Those who missed Cornell can catch him when he returns later in the year to support his solo album.

Reprinted from phillyBurbs.com, April 24, 2007

springtime...and chris cornell...come to philly (thanks soundgrunger for the photo)

Diane Richter photography - local snapper's shots of the show

(links may not be permanent)

Say Hello 2 Heaven (thanks yrome1125)

By JoAnne

"An outstanding vocal performance by Chris. Slaves and Bulldozers and Rusty Cage stood out. Vocally he is unstoppable. Again, he was dynamic and engaging with the audience. He slapped hands and signed cd's and record sleeves. He smiled a lot and looked amazing, as usual. I brought along a good friend who was a casual fan and she is now completely hooked. I describe it as someone who wanders into a church and leaves born again... I am still reeling from this show 24 hours later. I've been listening to him all day and can't stop talking about it. Maybe it was the closeness for me - I was a foot away - it was surreal. The audience was great - no moshers. The venue was a bit divey but the sound was quite good. It was truly a night to remember for me. It was well worth the trip to Philly. I can't wait until he comes back this way. I'm almost tempted to fly to LA to see him at The Avalon."

"...Ghost –Sounded beautiful! And some of the notes on that song? DAMN! They had Lydia, myself, and two guys beside us looking at each other with our jaws hanging down going “is he actually singing those notes, and hitting every one of them? And those screams?!! OMG, it totally sounded like he does on the Temple of the Dog record, or on early Soundgarden songs! The man is not of this world! Unbelievable!... [At the meet & greet] I asked him since there were dates where his schedule and Pearl Jam’s were around the same days, if there was any possibility of him and Eddie doing Hunger Strike together either at his show, or at theirs....he said that “that is something I have really wanted to do” !!!”

Read soundgrunger's blog about the show...

"As he had in previous shows, Chris dedicated 'Safe and Sound' to everyone involved with VA Tech. I always find it interesting when artists dedicate songs to people at concerts, especially when it's likely they aren't in attendance. But in this case it was more heartfelt than just giving a shout out to someone and hoping they hear about it through the grapevine.

I wish my ears weren't ringing so much by the time we got to this song. It took me a little bit to muddle through the internal feedback to hear Chris singing. It is a beautiful song and I can't wait to hear it better. And he showcases his voice's ability with it. That's one of my favourite things about Chris: he screams and he sings and both sound just as natural coming from him.

...The band overall is good. The drummer kinda reminds me of Dave Grohl. He doesn't seem to hit as hard, but has that vibrancy at times. And according to Chris, he was wearing Phillies underwear (though how Chris knew, we won't discuss). The guitarist we were closest to was great. I can't say much for the bassist (he wore a Phillies hat!) nor the other guitarist because I couldn't see them. But overall I think they complemented Chris well.

Was it the best concert I've ever been to? No. The venue didn't impress me, the crowd wasn't as rowdy as I was hoping (but as the crowd was older than I expected, that's not a big surprise. This is the first concert I've been to in a while where I didn't feel so much older than most in attendance.), the sound was good but not great.

Will I see Chris in concert again? Hell yeah. Some artists sound better on CD, in studio. Some sound better live. Chris doesn't really fall into either category because I think he sounds great in both formats. It was a good night for Chris and I most certainly will be in attendance at a future show....it gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars from me."

Check out the rest of tigerfaerie's review and pictures here

"The man sounded POSSESSED! It was a freaking unbelievable show - the best I've ever seen. And he nailed, and I mean nailed the higher parts in Say Hello to Heaven and he was wailing like a banshee for Slaves and Bulldozers, which was the last song of the night. He was so into it he was ad-libbing high-pitched screams in there; it was fantastic. Such a focused performance and better than the bootlegs I've seen from the early 90s. There was absolutely no "going through the motions" vibe in his performance, I mean Like a Stone was the only song he rested on a bit, so to speak, and the rest was almost inhumanly kickass. .."Wow" doesn't begin to state how impressed I am with Chris Cornell right now. I don't think he could have sounded any better and I'm dead serious."

"This had to have been one of the best shows I have ever seen in my life. The energy was immense and Cornell nailed everything, not to mention his band was fucking amazing. The setlist was awesome and i was really surprised to hear all of the Soundgarden, but so pleased with it...the show was phenomenal and I'm so glad I got tickets. I hope he comes back around. I never got to see Soundgarden because I'm only 17, but this made up for it. Fucking unreal show."

"I don't care what anyone else thinks of this show but I have to say it had to have been the best concert I have ever been to! I have been to many many awesome shows (Pantera,Ozzy,Incubus, various Ozzfests,and Lollapalooza,s) but this one stomped them all.

Chris was so close that when he was singing in front of us I couldn't put my hands in the air or I would have slapped him in the face!!! He was freaking sweating on us!! It was insane! I honestly didn't know what to expect as far his...voice quality..or whatever you wanna call it, but he surpassed all my expectations. I suddenly felt like I was transported back to the TOTD days. I almost passed the hell out during Say Hello To Heaven, and I know I had tears in my eyes. When he hit those notes, I freaked! (I know I might sound a little gay or whatever, but this is the show I've been waiting ten years for.)

I seen Soundgarden back in '96 and I know for a fact he sounded better last night. And had a ton more energy and interaction with the crowd. He actually slapped my hand and when I started screaming that I've been a fan for 15 years - he signed my copy of Euphoria Morning!!!!!! From the stage!!! ... I have Sergio to thank for that one. He was holding up a very rare copy of Louder Than Live and Chris seen it and signed it. That kinda started the whole memorabilia signing thing. This show was like some kind of religious experience for me....I walked out of the show in a state of bliss. It was everything I ever could have wanted it to be. Worth every second in the car and every penny spent."

Thanks to jimrock for the photo

Check out Nicole's review on her Live Journal here

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007