(This article is a revised and updated version with new copy, info and more badass things for you to DOWNLOAD free...see the 04.01.2009 full set available courtesy of 96.1 aka 96 Rock and The Brass Hat Group who is always looking and dedicated to bringing you the best and hottest music, fashion, art, film and entertainment available. Please Enjoy!!!)
Chris Cornell, was at Center Stage in Atlanta, GA on 04.01.2009. This is a particularly small venue for someone of Cornell's stature, holding 1,100 people at maximum capacity. On this night it was maximum capacity. To think of someone who just released a Timbaland produced album, on the Interscope label whose artists include 2Pac, 50 Cent, U2 and The Police, such a small and intimate venue was at least to me very surprising. The last time I saw Chris Cornell was with Audioslave and 19,000 other people at a huge amphitheater, so be so close that as Ginger put it, "He sweated on me," is no joke. We got that close.
Throughout the lead up to the show, which was something of a cluster f$@#, the crowd was made to stand outside for at least an hour beforehand, most of them arriving early told doors by every ticket seller, news paper, radio station, everyone and everywhere that the doors opened at 8pm. The rain started coming down and people, waited, patiently as the Center Stage staff sadly carried a sort of arrogance you might expect from a rock star, the likes of which I just described above, but not from a pack of guys who resembled jail guards more so than the minimum wage workers who had nothing more than a free Cornell tour black hoodie to show for their 'power'. I stood with Ginger by the doors as we too waited for our tickets as the crowd security were intent on showing their very police like demeanor and I don't mean that in an excited friendly, part of the good cop/bad cop scenario you often see in movies. These jokers acted like this was Training Day and we were their verbal "punching bags" when in fact it was barely over 1,000 people all too happy, too excited, to let anything like these asshat noble warriors get them down.
The irony of the limits of their "pull" with regard to Chris and the bands, hit home when a young woman who apparently was quite close to Chris, asked about the location of her backstage tickets and the 'security detail worker' knew nothing other than, "[he] would go check on it," which was what we learned quickly was code for getting his ass back out in the rain to hand out wrist bracelets to those people over 21 before his boss yelled at him. The worm always turn and the farce of human nature got its chance to rears its ugly head even before a concert featuring one of the greatest rock and roll stars of my lifetime.
So as Ginger and I waited for the press passes so kindly granted to us by the great folks over at Red Light Management, us and the mass of others who also had similar type passes were given a laissez faire attitude about where our tickets might or might not be. It got to the point after over an hour of waiting and hearing "The tour manager still has the list," by a plump boned woman totally big rig riding her temporary power role that evening that tensions had risen. Ginger and I stayed calm, laughing, as she discussed fashion tips and I looked on like a kid wanting an ice cream, as Ginger and the other gorgeous women chatted about this and that. There was a certain comfort in knowing that this was something that would sort itself out, eventually, but clearly was not half as smoothly by the Center Stage door workers as I have seen it done by so many others, at so many other places. It was a shame watching as this nice young who woman inquired about her passes was told to, "stand up against the wall or you will be outside with them!" the 'guard' pointing as I felt like I was in 3rd grade and we were doing a tornado drill. At least they didn't ask me to cop a squat and stick my between my legs, because I really am no longer capable of kissing my own ass, though I have been asked to do so a few times since those 3rd grade year. The good news was that the Center Stage staff, with all their might and all their "don't you eye ball me son," demeanor, could not take away the enthusiasm and overall good nature of the people coming to see this show, which simply amazed me. I know that Ginger and I personally were happy just at the idea of seeing a live concert and honestly the overall vibe of 1100 people as far as we could tell was that we were going to eventually see this "legend" perform at some point on this first night of April. Hell, given the fact it was April Fools day a part of my psyche almost expected the worst and that NEVER happened.
In mingling on the periphery of the throngs of people I heard great tales, big fish stories, about the old days of Chris Cornell. I heard one man recant how he saw him at the "Joint" in Las Vegas, Nevada with Audioslave at one of the first Audioslave shows ever. The memory even made me excited and I have never been to the "Joint" in Vegas. Another guy jumped into the conversation telling of unfounded rumors about the drummer being high on that night in Vegas and off beat, but Cornell, "totally carrying the set bro."
To the other side we heard another pack of folks, an older set, i.e., early 40's telling about seeing Cornell and Soundgarden to a group of teenagers - dressed in black, kids who were Johnny Cash styling fan clubbers of Chris Cornell on some level. This was no contest. The music carried the day and in this case the night. How can you not appreciate diversity like this, that was one of the great things about this show, ages and dressware ran the gamut, but everyone had the love of the music binding them together. These guys said that they saw Soundgarden in Toronto, Ontario way back in November of '96, as if '96 was soooo long ago, and how that was the best concert and still is the best concert these guys have ever seen. Moments like this went on and kept the crowd invigorated as the rain came down and the delays were if this were any other concert, I think we would have seen a lot of outward acts of frustrations, but most of the crowd they had their tickets and their drink bracelets and time was merely a matter, and for some I assume the memories were enough to enable them to wait one hour or two if needed, but we were going to see Chris Cornell. People were in a trance. We were going to see Chris Cornell.
I cannot say for sure what the actual reason was, but going on what my gut is telling me is that in part due to the intimate setting of Center Stage, the friendly and excited crowd, but there was a certain esoteric energy going on that night, April 1st 2009, that the concert goers and performers (Outernational and Chris Cornell) alike were able to venture off the beaten path of easeful iteration. Once inside, even before opening act Outernational (see my review to come on them in the next few days) had a chance to go on stage that we heard chants of 'Chris, Chris, Chris' and every little movement or stage hand with long hair, who might have only been restocking the band's water or putting picks on the mics, raised a frenetic hollar from the audience. All of this I believe attributed to the show that we did wind up seeing. The opening act Outernational was quite good and quite charged up, doing their own thing, solid, blasting powerful chord managed rock with tastes of ska and punk. They definitely had a stage presence and I am sure we will hear more from them in the future. As for Chris Cornell I believe that he felt this crowd vibe, he felt that Atlanta and these people cared for him and his art - the music. It was because of all of this I believe, a comprehensive slant towards interacting with the crowd on a deeper level. Chris Cornell on April 1st, 2009 at the Center Stage in Atlanta was not just the front man for mega bands Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog, but on this night, he too was able to morph into a person with his own palpable sense of want. There was no need for ridiculous hype, over the top non-stop radio promotions, street signs and billboards, there was the ability to let go and for him simply be - Chris - part-time rock star and as we soon found out during the story telling moments of the show a full-time Husband and Father as well. That to me made all of the pre-concert fussing, all of the waiting in the rain and dark skies, the build up akin to some kind of frenzied orgazmic wait worth it with the result being - phantasmic.
Before I go on describing the show and the album, I think a very special thanks should go out to not only to record label behemoth Interscope Records for putting this tour together, but specifically, Red Light Management. Red Light is no slouch themselves, less known to masses as management companies tend to be, but with their own well known, super-sized, talent section that includes stars such as the Dave Matthews Band, Alanis Morissette and Phish to name a few. What is interesting about Red Light is that besides the mega stars they have on their roster, they also seem just as willing to take on diverse, more niche associated musicians, such as the North Mississippi Allstars, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Herbie Hancock's Imagine Project and Ben Harper (all personal favorites of mine) and many more. Big props to Red Light Management and Interscope Record and whomever else had a part in having 'cojones' to schedule the Center Stage in Atlanta, GA . The Scream tour also has similar stops at places like Washington, DC's, famous dive venue known for getting big-time acts the 930 Club and two nights in NYC's East Village at Webster Hall, which is small enough that you can seriously rent it out for your Bar-Mitzvah or Sweet Sixteen parties if so desired. If only my parents had known.
To me the night was summed up by several specific incidents that occurred during the show. To give you an idea, there is one that I want to explain that took place a little more than half way through the 28 song set. And yes it was 28 songs deep! A solid hour past the midnight curfew that was supposed to be imposed by the Center Stage, I do give them credit for that solid memento. This story Chris shared with us summed a lot of what we had been talking about in regard to Cornell's sense of authenticity, a debate that has been waged across the media waves, because Scream and its new style, at least for Chris, with more synth/pop sounding traits. Despite it being April Fools' this album I believe is no joke as the new musical sound off of Scream and the sense I took away from hearing it live was that Chris Cornell truthfully believes in these new songs and this new approach. I think if he did not believe in Scream with an absolute devotion, he would have ripped through a short, terse set the way that so many bands on long national and international road tours often do, especially on rainy Wednesday nights in the center of Little Five Points, Atlanta, GA by guys who have been around for as many years as he has. Chris spent time diverging from the music at various moments throughout the set, explaining how the album was nourished from his soul, wanting us all to see and understand that again, this was no April Fool's joke despite the date and that to him this new album was something his heart and mind told him was where his musical guile needed to go. I can't say with 100% accuracy what the overriding factor that sold me on this performance was that night. Maybe it was being so close and free to move or sit wherever, maybe it was Ginger's smiling face and astute comments, maybe it was hearing Spoonman or Burden in My Hand live after so many years, no matter the reason or my feeble attempts to be all Freudian (something along with the rambling is appearently a personal flaw), but in my estimation the show, as a fan not a person looking to do a review, took away was a genuine connection to Chris Cornell's performance, the clandestine musical value of Scream and the possible future direction of Chris Cornell the musician. For me, those things were the gifts from the 'rock gods' as Jack Black likes to call them and were a heck of a lot to get from a single concert, a few hours out of my otherwise chronically squirrel caged (which is a real saying meaning 'boring' and totally not gerbil cage) life.
As mentioned above there was a specific moment in the show that I wanted mentioned, because of its unique quality (and coolness I think) that both in what is written above and in the rest of review below, completely humanized, for me a man and his music who that I have been listening to for over 15 years. It was the 16th track of the night that this rarefied, truly authentic "Rock Star" showed all of us at all the Center Stage, in Atlanta, GA and those lucky enough to hear the replay on 96.1 FM (check that link out for a listen of the ENTIRE show and more) where he is at in his life and who he is as a person. As if the replay wasn't enough 96.1 FM (aka 96 Rock) changed their name to Chris FM for 2 days in homage, where they allowed him to play his favorite tunes, talk about his music and that of those he admired or whatever else caught his eye (again available on here, because I REALLY don't want you to miss this).
After a very short break, more like a rearrangement where people rushed around on and eventually off the stage, Chris was able to put aside the rest of the band, snag a swig of faintly green hued bottled water, probably some kind of tea energy concoction, grab an onyx colored, Johnny Cash looking guitar, a fairly tame moment to much of what we had been listening to that night (go to that link now if you want to be able to DOWNLOAD the actual live set from that night, courtesy of us benevolent Brass Hat Group folks and those good people at 96 Rock). As he worked his way into this 3 song solo set, he started in on a personal story about his wife. Having seen Chris over the years I had never heard him tell personal stories like this regarding family or ever mention the fact he even had a wife. That playa image I had of him just went flying out the window and it was nice to see. Chris went into this story about his wife, speaking of her as if he was still deeply in love. This was something that I think everyone at the show understood on some level, even the young teenage kid standing next to us much of the evening, goth'd to the max, hair to boots booing every time songs from Scream were played, even he seemed to "get" it.
Chris had also during the show as to how and why he has loved Atlanta. It was not some happenstance, but rather since the late 80's, after pulling some shenanigans and getting into a show through methods less than kosher and Chris spoke of how he loved being able to play this small venue and re-live his own memories, the way most of us were able to do seeing him perform here on this night. Chris continued on, heartfelt, telling us about the song he was about to sing for us called, "Finally Forever" that he said he wrote for his wife for their wedding night. He made light of guys who write songs to get chicks, the self-deprecating way that guys, such as myself, often do when we are not wanting to sound too uncool to our fellow man. It wasn't until he sang this song, acoustic and alone - bared soul with shards of humanity, away from all the BS about selling out this way or fitting into a category that way; unconcerned about the genres and the constant attempt of so many "hip" media outlets who find the need to classify everything. Hell, even this site has a section for labeling posts at the bottom of each write up so that you can eventually search for the keywords or genres, if you want to really call it like it is, that appeal to you. In truth the only classification for this rendition of "Finally Forever", as Ginger, the kind of mind rattling gal, out my league woman Chris was talking about, so aptly remarked about what was just said on stage, "Wow, that is so real."
Indeed.
The audience was now settled down, with the occasional scream (no pun intended) and, or cheer, quieter than before as if something special was going on, and it was, during this three song solo set. Chris Cornell, lead singer of all the aforementioned bands and solo projects and now most recently teamed with producer/rapper/media mogul extraordinaire Timbaland, Chris Cornell a man who will one day be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall, sat on a wooden stool, guitar in hand and delivered to us this three song acoustic mini-set where as just mentioned in detail he talked and sang, recanted this beautiful tale of surrender to his heart strings, much the way you might find in a Jeff Buckley 'Hallelujah' rendition, accomplishment, fame and all things that transcend music, such as true love, true honesty and the kismet heart fogs that only those of us who have ever been in such a rapture with another person at one time or another can truly understand. As far as I see it, this kind of heartfelt devotion, this kind of putting it out there the way Chris Cornell does on in a subtle way hiding behind the dance remixed timbre on his new album Scream and most succinctly in this performance on 04.01.09 is really the only thing other than maybe hyperspace that possibly transcends time (if you notice this song Finally Forever or many others played that night were not on the original set list seen below).
For me, it was these moments of the concert where the crowd and the musician had a syncopated connection, it happened for sure on this one and with several other great songs throughout the night, some old, some new, covers and the whole phenomenon of it all that made this show truly special in my imaginary book of greatest concerts ever seen by yours truly.
("Finally Forever" from this 04.01.2009 show, can be heard in the player below courtesy of 96.1FM (96 Rock) and available for download if you click on it:
See the official set list below, which as noted above he deviated from about half way through deciding to do his own thing as well as a photo from last night's show and the actual set list that was play.
4.1.09 Center Stage @ Chris Cornell Show (original set list)
4.1.09 Center Stage @ Chris Cornell Show (The Actual Set List Played):
01 Introduction
02 Part Of Me
03 Time
04 Light My Way
05 You Know My Name
06 Spoonman
07 Hunger Strike
08 Set It Off
09 Show Me How To Live
10 Be Yourself
11 Ground Zero
12 Never Far Away
13 Outshined
14 Rusty Cage
15 Preaching The End Of The World
02 Part Of Me
03 Time
04 Light My Way
05 You Know My Name
06 Spoonman
07 Hunger Strike
08 Set It Off
09 Show Me How To Live
10 Be Yourself
11 Ground Zero
12 Never Far Away
13 Outshined
14 Rusty Cage
15 Preaching The End Of The World
16 Finally Forever (Acoustic)
17 Can't Change Me (Acoustic)
18 Fell On Black Days (Acoustic)
19 Like A Stone (Acoustic)
17 Can't Change Me (Acoustic)
18 Fell On Black Days (Acoustic)
19 Like A Stone (Acoustic)
20 Cochise
21 Watch Out
22 Burden In My Hand
23 Scream
24 Enemy
25 Jesus Christ Pose
-Encore Break-
21 Watch Out
22 Burden In My Hand
23 Scream
24 Enemy
25 Jesus Christ Pose
-Encore Break-
26 Immigrant Song
27 Like Suicide
28 Black Hole Sun
27 Like Suicide
28 Black Hole Sun
(photo taken by - 04.01.2009 - Center Stage)
Also special thanks to Ginger for your keen insights about the music, you were really helpful and thanks to everyone else who helped with this show's review, passes, photos et al...and a shout out too Wayne John who is like the Yoda of how to do stuff with web blogs. He really helped a lot and saved me a lot of time as I tried to figure it out myself.
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