Eric and I went to the historic Lincoln Theater on U Street last night to see Chris Cornell of Soundgarden in an acoustic show.
We were blown away.
If you had asked me to name a single Soundgarden song before the show, I wouldn't have been able to do it, so I wouldn't call myself a fan. You know me: I am anti-nostalgia, always looking for the new music, not trying to relive my college years insisting that grunge was the pinnacle of rock. I should not be raving about that show, but I am. Chris Cornell was incredible live. Even if you don't recognize the name, if you lived through the 90s, you recognize the voice. It's distinctive and powerful. Listen to 5 seconds of a tune and you'll say "oh yeah, that guy." Thing was, Mr. Cornell is also fantastic with a crowd. His banter left everyone in that 1,225 seat venue thinking they felt a personal connection to the man.
As a said, his voice was fantastic. Wikipedia cites his 4-octave vocal range as what he's known for. Eric told me that at some point in Cornell's career, he shredded his vocal chords and had to have surgery, but I didn't see that mentioned in the article, so I think Eric might be confusing him with another singer. If you know, set us straight. Cornell does not sound like someone who's had vocal problems, so much so that Eric suggested he could have had a bionic voice installed in the surgery. I sincerely doubt that is possible :-)
Anyway, the other part of the show that was fantastic was the covers. He did Billy Jean, Hotel California, and Metallica's One set to the tune for U2's One. Eric and I both felt they were extraordinary-like they brought new meaning to the songs. They where all new arrangements, and I honestly liked each of them much better than the original. Cornell could make money releasing them - I would buy them - me - anti-nostalgia, new indie music girl would buy them and listen to them on repeat. That good.
Only bad part of the show was our location in the theater. We were in row N on the upper balcony. We couldn't see Cornell's face at all from that distance. My fault for forgetting to buy tix on presale day, but a big mistake. Take my advice and try hard for floor seats at Lincoln. I have no photos because of the distance and a photo ban by the artists. If you look at Chris Cornell's website, that was the stage set up: seven guitars, a turntable, some amps, a stool, a coat rack, and a mysterious red phone on a little table. He put down the guitar and used a vinyl LP to back him up for two songs.
The opener Bhi Bhiman was a great guitarist, and a horrible lyricist. I closed my eyes during his performance and almost fell asleep. I did like his guitar playing during the Hotel California cover, though he should not have tried to sing backup. Not a great singer.
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