A festival date at Tucson's Pima County Fairgrounds - The Used were the advertised headliners but had to pull out due to their singer's indisposition, so Chris and his band filled the gap. Although a lot of disappointed fans of Mr McCracken and co left before the end, they missed a great set. The band were at the top of their game as is plain from the side-of-stage video that made its way onto YouTube - see below.

Spoonman - Outshined - Original Fire - No Such Thing - Hunger Strike - Rusty Cage - Seasons - Show Me How to Live - I Am The Highway - Can't Change Me - Doesn't Remind Me - Black Hole Sun - Like A Stone - You Know My Name - Cochise - Billie Jean - Slaves and Bulldozers

Two galleries of photos by Mark Martinez and Roger Leon are available at kfma.com

by Tom Knauer

Much has been made of Chris Cornell’s apparent vocal resurgence since his de facto departure from Audioslave following the release of Revelations. Going into the first Tucson concert I’ve heard of him playing, I welcomed the notion. His titanic tenor seemed to be decaying like Michael Jackson’s face the more he soldiered on with the RATM vets. If a little time off from wide-scale touring allowed for Cornell to regain the range which endears him to many, the better for all those fans – myself included – who couldn’t care less who’s backing him. (Plus, I had just seen Rage reunite at Coachella to much fanfare the weekend before; I was ever so curious to compare their performances.)

The Used had cancelled at the last minute, which, much to my delight, made Cornell the sole headliner. While that meant I had to suffer through an extra hour and a half of aural molestation from the likes of Sum 41 and Chevelle, it gave me more time to muscle up to the front row. As Cornell hit the stage to begin his 17-song, 90-minute set, I clutched the metal railing like Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt holding on for dear life in “Twister.”

True to form on this tour, Cornell began with “Spoonman” and “Outshined,” probably the only two Soundgarden songs the mostly pubescent crowd recognized. I recall being terribly disappointed by his attempts of these songs when Audioslave played in Cuba almost exactly two years before; he sounded like he had just polished off a 5k run with a couple packs of Camels. Far from the case here. While all night his voice carried a scratchiness borne of, yes, innumerable smokes, Cornell’s stamina has clearly improved to near where was at the start of this decade. On these tunes and “Rusty Cage,” another Soundgarden classic, he made every effort to reclaim his banshee reputation of the ‘90s. The clear highlight was the final song of the night, an eight-minute rendition of “Slaves and Bulldozers”. Perhaps his voice was being boosted by digital effects, but Cornell hit notes he didn’t even touch on the 1991 original track. His growl of “Now I know why you’ve been shaken” was also spot on, a pleasant coincidence given how his vocal style has changed the past few years. From start to finish, Cornell just refused to quit exerting, and the results were loud and very thrilling, especially coming from a man now approaching a rock singer’s old age.

Other highlights: A haunting rendition of “Seasons,” apparently inspired by a radio interview the day before. “Show Me How to Live,” which I hadn’t heard Cornell play on this tour. Another slick version of “Billie Jean” to open the encore. It’s probably the only song from Carry On that sounds far better live than on the album.

A talkative and jovial frontman, a far cry from his Euphoria Morning tour. I suppose sobriety really staves off social anxiety. Disappointments: No “Safe and Sound,” maybe the best track from Carry On. Too much digging into the just-sealed Audioslave vault (six of 17 songs, including “Original Fire” … gag … but no “What You Are”). Only one song from Temple of the Dog.

Overall: 8.5/10 (slightly better than the Rage reunion, with overall quality besting some seductive nostalgia)

Photos by Mark Martinez

by duffman09

"First things first, it was a fantastic show. Chris sounded much better than the previous two times I saw him with Audioslave, and the band performed all of the songs very well and with great reverence for what they were playing.

Originally the show was planned to have Chris Cornell playing before The Used, which kind of bummed me out due to the much shorter show that would be played. However, when we arrived at the fairgrounds, we were told that The Used had canceled. This news immediately raised my spirits, and all that was left to do was to wait five or six hours to see Chris.

Once the opening bands finished, consisting of Authority Zero, Sum 41, Chevelle, The Bravery, and one or two others, Chris came on the stage at around 8:15. Chris and the band performed for about an hour and a half, with three songs from Carry On, about half a dozen from all three Audioslave albums, quite a few Soundgarden songs, and one from both Euphoria Morning and Temple of the Dog...

Overall it was a great show, and Chris was at the top of his game. My favorite part of the whole experience was seeing every member of the band singing along to most, if not all of the songs, along with the sound technicians on the side of the stage. Even some of the security guards sang along while keeping an eye on crowd surfers."

Slaves & Bulldozers (thanks sinasl1)

Original Fire (thanks sinasl1)

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007