Coming down off a night with Chris Cornell

I was bloody impatient for Chris Cornell to come on stage. We had already taken our time and arrived 30 minutes after Carling Academy’s doors opened; we had another hour to go before the former Soundgarden frontman appeared.

First impressions — wow, he’s a tall lad, ain’t he? I saw Soundgarden perform twice in 1997: at Perth’s Big Day Out, then less than a week later in a concert (it must have been right before the band split). Jebediah opened for them that time (and went on to being commercially successful in Australia). I remember the days when I was deluding myself, that someone of such slight build could hold her own among the moshing masses.

(I remember Temple of the Dog, too. I liked them, knew of the Pearl Jam connection but not of Chris Cornell.)

So. Back to 27 June 2007 and a much older Chris Cornell touring solo. I’m not ashamed to admit I much prefer his Soundgarden work, as that was when I still thought I could mosh. As you can see from my tweets, I was really hoping to hear Spoonman. He also played Jesus Christ Pose (which, I think, required his long, curly hair for maximum effect), Black Hole Sun, and My Wave. The band came back and played three encores (I’ve never experienced that before).

By the way, I have a theory that if Chris Cornell had been classically-trained as a singer, he’d have ended up as that sort of recording artist — his voice is so distinctive and powerful. You could just lose yourself in it.

All in all, it was an EXCELLENT night out and £25 well-spent. I was definitely buzzing after the concert finally ended, and am still so glad I got tickets all those months ago.

(The photos were taken on my Dopod phone, and didn’t come out too badly, considering how small the lens is and how far away we were from the stage.)

• 3 Jul 2007

• Thinking