Concert Review: Chris Cornell at Reading, PA, November 22, 2013

Chris Cornell has one of the most uniquely distinguishing and amazing voices in rock! I knew that already, but knowing that from the albums and the two prior concerts that I had seen him in was one thing.

Seeing him perform an acoustic show in a small, intimate venue, when he had to rely on his voice that much more, was something else!

First came Bhi Bhiman, the one-man opening acoustic act, who had an interesting style. His lyrics reflected a certain intelligence, as did the small banter that he offered in between songs. I am admittedly not familiar with his work, so cannot speak to what his setlist consisted of, except for the last song, which was a cover of "Walk of Life" by Dire Straits. He actually managed to get considerable audience participation, having them whistle parts of it, while he played it on the guitar and sang the rest. His voice sounded somewhat familiar, and for a good part of his set, I was trying to identify exactly why that was. Then, I remembered. His voice sounded a little like Adam Sandler at times. Not identical, or anything. But close enough to bear a passing resemblance.

Then, there was a surprisingly long time between the end of Bhiman's set, and the beginning of Cornell. It allowed me to look around and have a chance to admire the surroundings. The theater itself (which is called the Sovereign Performing Arts Center), is actually a very attractive theater, relatively ornately decorated in a style that would not seem totally out of place in the Sahara region of North Africa. I wish that I had had the presence of mind to take some pictures, but I was saving them up for Cornell. Plus, it would have seemed weird for me to come to a concert and then take pictures of the building. But it was nice.

Finally, Cornell came on just after 9pm, and opened with Cleaning My Gun, then Two Drink Minimum, before really seeing the expected strong audience reaction with Can't Change Me, the beautiful piece from his first ever solo album. He spoke about how nervous he had been before it's release, coming from a band like Soundgarden, and knowing people had certain expectations of him. But once he released it, he felt better, and never felt nervous again.

Good thing, too, because he has a definite talent for his solo, acoustic material. He has a great feel for translating raw emotion into song, with a perfect mix of music, lyrics, and vocal delivery. Again, his range is just incredible, and you really get to appreciate this when you see the man in a small theater like this (it seats about 1,700, in case you were wondering).

His set included a very good mix of material from Soundgarden, Audioslave, and his solo work, as well as some other stuff, too. He surprised me (in a pleasant way) by performing a surprising amount of Temple of the Dog tunes, including Hunger Strike. Now, that song, I had wanted to see performed live for many, many years. Having seen Pearl Jam two dozen times, you might think I would have seen it by now. But, nope. Not until last evening, that was, and boy, was I elated! He brought out his opening act, Bhi Bhiman, to help him out with that one (I heard one woman disparagingly say that Bhiman was not Eddie Vedder, but he was not terrible on the song, or anything), and Bhiman stayed on the stage for the next couple of songs after that, as well - Like a Stone, and Hotel California, an Eagles cover.

In fact, Cornell covered a surprising amount of other artists, as well. The Eagles,  Led Zeppelin, even Michael Jackson's Billie Jean! He closed the night out with a cover of Imagine by John Lennon, a song that seemed particularly appropriate given the significance of this date, the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination.

There was one song that was a cover, but it was one of the strangest covers that I had ever seen in concert before. He took the music from U2's "One", and mixed in the lyrics from the song of the same name by Metallica. It was a weird mixture, but somehow or other, he made it work. It took a bit of getting used to, admittedly, but by the end, quite a few people (myself included) were applauding loudly. Yes, it was experimental, but isn't that the point. He even joked before playing it that it might not work, and when that happens, you can just throw it out. But again, he made it work!

He talked quite a bit in between songs, as well, which added to the entertainment value. After performing Sunshower, he talked about how particularly nervous he had been releasing that one, again since he was coming from a band with a much rougher reputation, like Soundgarden. But now, he has adult men calling out loud for it, a song named Sunshower, which makes him feel much more reassured.

Cornell also mentioned that he had just recently moved from Seattle to New York, and asked if it really gets cold here. He joked, "It's going to happen tonight, isn't it." But he need not worry just yet, because even though it's been a bit cooler as of late, the really raw days do not usually come until at least well into December, and usually, more like January and February, and perhaps a bit into March, as well.

I had wanted to see him perform solo for quite a long time, ever since hearing Euphoria Morning, really. I had seen him once with Soundgarden at Lollapalooza, and once with Audioslave, when the band was really just coming out. But again, seeing him perform solo just shows a very different dimension to his work, which itself is quite diverse. Chances are, you will not be disappointed! I, for one, certainly wasn't!

My girlfriend hates pictures, and did not think she would come out nicely in them. But I think she looks beautiful, doesn't she?

Bhi Bhiman

Chris Cornell takes the stage.

Chris Cornell performing Hunger Strike with Bhi Bhiman.

Chris Cornell's Setlist from Reading, PA, November 22, 2013:

Cleaning My Gun
Two Drink Minimum
Can't Change Me
Original Fire  (Audioslave song)
Wide Awake  (Audioslave song)
I Am the Highway  (Audioslave song)
Footsteps  (Pearl Jam cover)
All Night Thing  (Temple of the Dog song)
Silence the Voices
Outshined  (Soundgarden song)
Sunshower
Doesn't Remind Me  (Audioslave song)
Burden in My Hand  (Soundgarden song)
Halfway There  (Soundgarden song)
Fell on Black Days  (Soundgarden song)
Seasons
The Day I Tried to Live  (Soundgarden song)
One  (U2 cover) (Metallica lyrics)
When I'm Down
Wooden Jesus  (Temple of the Dog song)
Call Me a Dog  (Temple of the Dog song)
Hunger Strike  (Temple of the Dog song) (w/ Bhi Bhiman on guitar and vocals)
Like a Stone  (Audioslave song) (w/ Bhi Bhiman on guitar and vocals)
Hotel California  (Eagles cover) (w/ Bhi Bhiman on guitar and vocals)
Blow Up the Outside World  (Soundgarden song)

Encore:
Thank You  (Led Zeppelin cover)
Billie Jean  (Michael Jackson cover)
Head Lamp  (improv song; made up on the spot)
Black Hole Sun  (Soundgarden song)
Imagine  (John Lennon cover)
Note: (9:01pm-11:33pm)