In honor of today's Kentucky Derby (I must say this is pretty sweet website, if like horse racing as I do or not, it's def. worth a look), which was won by 50:1 long long longshot "Mine That Bird" and is why we are going to be sharing with you the audio (downloadable track "Jockey Full of Bourbon") and video from the Jim Jarmusch film Down by Law, which happens to star none other than Tom Waits! He is actually in this video, which I also must say is pretty cool. I hope you enjoy the music and if want more info on the race click on the New York Times link. Please enjoy it all and have a mint julep on me (figuratively of course, because we really don't want to mess with the mojo working scent that I got going on), as I am heading to see Ben Harper in like 30 minutes...w00t!
Tom Waits "Jockey Full of Bourbon" - Rain Dogs (c) 1985
(The Cover Art is from http://www.funpic.hu/ and from what I saw, "Mickey You're Next!")
Tom Waits "Jockey Full of Bourbon" ~ Down by Law (1986) - Jim Jarmusch
(I know I already went out on a limb and agreed Ginger looks like Nico as seen there, but she also has some pictures that kinda make her look A LOT LIKE this babe in the bed, you tell me? Either way Ginger is looking hotter and hotter these days and it pains me to say that, but it's so true, if you don't who or what I'm talking about and you like pretty girls or are just curious at to what a Nicoesqe looking Georgia Peach (that's an Allman Brother's reference you pervs so get your head out of the gutter numskulls)
Tom Waits is in the film Down by Law, in which this music video above is from. Here is a little backgroud about the film from AllMovie.com:
"Down by Lawby Jim Jarmusch follows his groundbreaking Stranger Than Paradise with another rambling, character-driven film with a twisted sense of humor. Set in a seedy New Orleans summer, Down By Law details the meeting of three unlikely convicts and their just as unlikely escape. Zack (Tom Waits) is an out-of-work DJ who is accused of murder when a body is found in the trunk of a stolen car he was hired to drive across town. Jack (John Lurie) is a pimp set up for a fall by a competitor. These two sullen souls are locked in a cell with Roberto (Roberto Benigni), a cheerful Italian immigrant who happens to have killed a man. The chemistry between the members of this loosely bound "team" is fascinating: Zack and Jack are forever laughing at Roberto, yet they rely on his energy and good will to escape their dire situation. The three mismatched miscreants eventually bust out of jail and head into the Louisiana bayous. Tired and hungry, they separate to search for food: Waits goes one way, Lurie another, and the frightened Benigni decides to risk stepping into a ramshackle diner. Somehow or other, he winds up in the arms of gorgeous Italian girl Nicoletta Braschi -- and is even able to provide new clothes and escape routes for his astonished comrades! "
Today is Friday and it's been long, tiresome week in these here parts. So as a treat to my loyal fans, you Phoenix loving folks, 'qui parles Français.' Like Bugs said, you got to turn left at Alberquerque to hit Phoenix...or is it right? Ugh, I'm so useless without GPS.
Anyhow as if Bonaroo wasn't going to be reason enough for me to attend with our friends Brett Dennen, Outernational, Ben Harper, Wilco, Neko Case...Phoenix is going to be at Bonnaroo! Bonnaroo for those of you aren't familiar with it, is like a very expensive, but also very good variant on what began with Woodstock that 1969, panomime of a year, sexually charged numerials as the Mets win the World Series and craziness is bascially everywhere in the state of New York, which sounds like an oxymoronic statement. FYI, those things are giving me the déjà vu(s).
This year's Bonnaroo list as it stands as of May 1st, 2009 is seen below, taken directly off their official website. Buy tickets now or they go up, just like everything else in this world; if we can't sell you on quality, we will sell you onfear.I am feeling a bit old, all of 34 and a month, but this is one year I shall not miss. I guess I will figure out the lodging, camping, and all that jazz stuff between now and then. Also, for those of you worried about the high sticker pricer of the 4 day festival they had been running a payment plan, which sadly it turns out, had its last day to enroll being April 4th. What about us procratinators?!!? We are always getting it good, though not that good (isn't that Becks bending over Posh in that linked photo? Right on mate!)
So anyway lest it be all doom and gloom like I was saying Phoenix is going on tour for their new album Wolfgang Amadeaus Phoenix and here are the dates as they currently stand (these things are ALWAYS subject to change so don't despair too much if you aren't on the list):
6/12 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
6/13 Chicago, IL - Park West
6/15 Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theater
6/16 Montreal, QC - Les Saints
6/17 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
6/19 New York, NY - Terminal 5
6/21 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
6/23 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity
6/25 Denver, CO - Bluebird
6/27 San Francisco, CA - Regency Center, Grand Ballroom
6/28 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
And like I mentioned above there is always Bonnaroo with the following list of bands and surly a few extra last minutes 'major league surprises' like when the Police,the band, not the Reno 911 kids showed up.
Here is what is on tap for the Bonnaroo 2009 so far:
WOW...WOW! That is a lot of music and maybe the $240 price tag or whatever it is these days might not be such a bad deal after all...did I say WOW!?!!?
And to close the night out I wanted to leave you all with a few songs that I will make available personally out of my own record (well mp3/CD/etc...) collection:
Enjoy! Bon Nuit Mon Petites Chous-Chous!
"Rally" - It's Never Been Like That 2006 (Cover Art - "cuore" 7" x 13" mixed media 2004 by sanithna phansavanh)
"(You Can't Blame It On) Anybody" - Alphabetical (2004) (Cover Art - Ginger Lindsey (c) 2009 - contact Brass Hat Group for add. info)
"School Rules" - United (2000) (Cover Art - "homeward" Marvin The Paranoid Android unknown looking figurine by sanithna phansavanh)
This is the poster for Chris Cornell's Wiltern Theater Show on May 3rd, 2009 So what you all think...is that art or just an advert? I think it's pretty f'ing hot whatever you label it. F@#$ labels, they just seem to get in the way of what can be really cool and honest and sincere creative outputs. As my boy Miles Solay of Outernational said and this is how I feel about "genres":
I Don't Want To Hear The Same Ole Sound I'm Ready For The
According to Chris Cornell's promotion/publicity agency (who is a combo of Sacks & Co. and Red Light Management, this from Sacks & Co. who I have to say really are awesome in keeping us at the Brass Hat Group in the loop and whom without, we would not be providing you nearly the level or attention to detail that we love and hope that you all do as well):
Wanted to send along a Chris Cornell update.
Last night Chris Cornell played a sold out show at Seattle’s Showbox. Good friend and former Soundgarden bandmate Kim Thayil was at the show with Chris (see Chris’s tweet: http://twitter.com/chriscornell) as was Queensryche’s Chris DeGarmo.
See photo Kim, Chris, and Chris. (click on this image to download)
Chris’s Scream Tour Live Tour 4/28 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC 4/29 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR 5/1 Grand Ballroom San Francisco, CA 5/2 House of Blues Anaheim, CA 5/3 Wiltern Theatre Los Angeles, CA
I also wanted to share with you all what was so freely given to me. This is a clean download and directly from the record label. This is a live version of "Scream" acoustic off of the Scream album (2009) - available for purchase at that link.
(cover art - "cherie" 9x12 mixed media 2004 sanithna phansavanh - available at http://tinyurl.com/c69ax2 thanks to The Brass Hat Group)
In addition, I wanted to give a little shout-out to Kim Thayil who is for all practical purposes a rock guitarist G-d for those of you not familiar with his work. Rolling Stone Magazine listed him in the top 100 best guitarists of all-time. And much of that 'Seattle - Grunge Sound' you so often hear referenced comes from the styling of people like Kim and few others. Kim was not just an awesome Soundgarden guitarist, but her wrote the co-wrote lyrics, music and plenty for many tons of their songs:
"Superunknown" (Superunknown) ... music (co-written)
"Limo Wreck" (Superunknown) ... music (co-written)
"Kickstand" (Superunknown) ... music
"Never the Machine Forever" (Down on the Upside) ... music and lyrics
According to much of what you find about the etymology of Soundgarden is as follows:
Although he was born in Seattle in 1960, Thayil grew up in the Chicago. Kim Thayil met Hiro Yamamoto at Rich East High School in Park Forest in Chicago. After graduation, they moved to Washington together where they went to the University of Washington (located in Seattle), where he studied philosopy. Hiro and Kim met Chris Cornell while at school at UW and in 1984 the three formed Soundgarden in 1984.
Kim is in my opinon, without the famous quotes or lists or awards, one of the best rock guitarists of all-time and a big reason I was such a huge fan of Soundgarden. His guitar and Chris's vocals and I was sold.
Here is a photo of Kim during his Soundgarden days:
(Truth be known they were all big Beatles fans, much like fellow Seattle grunger Kurt Cobain-see MSN.com Bio for this factoid)
There is Thurston Moore(see his MySpace page linked here for details of the now) of Sonic Youth:
There is Stone Gossard(see his MySpace page for details of the now) of Pearl Jam:
Obviously there was also Kurt Cobain(see this link for his Official posthumous page) of Nirvana. They still more than anyone get the credit and the hate for the grunge sound, scene and aftermath of all that arose from those years. Kurt also, who for a variety of reasons gets most of the press regarding the guitar sound, especially by the main stream media masses. While I know this might appear blasphemous, Kurt was not nearly the technical guitarist the others listed above are. Though I have to admit I was/am as big a Nirvana fan as the rest of them - them being the people who either totally became grunge or hated it with such a passion that George Bush - the first one- made mention of it in one of his speeches.
Starting in 1993, about 2 months before 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' hit the market and Nirvana played the good ole Masquerade with its 'Heaven' - 'Hell' and 'Purgatory' levels (live music on the top floor, dance club with all kinds of debauchery on the bottom floor and a bar and billard's room as well, a real eye opener for a 16 year old suburban white kid who's idea of wild and crazy at the time consisted of shaving my head for a sign of sol idarity for the High School soccer team.
Post Script: Had it not been for my friend Gray who used to give me rides home from school from good old Dunwoody High School and had a tape cassette player, I would never had been exposed to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Dinosaur (before they became Jr. and still had Lou Barlow in the band), Soundgarden, Shonen Knife, Sebadoh (after Dinosaur broke and became Dinosaur Jr.), Eric's Trip, Superchunk, a lot of stuff from the Raleigh music scene and lot of other bands that never seemed to catch on like Nihilist, still the angriest band I have ever seen live. as well as getting to see the the film "1991: The Year Punk Rock Broke", which opened my eyes into what I believed being real, and a true grunge slacker was about (in keeping with that it seems Amazon only sells this movie in VHS lol) .
GIVE me women, wine, and snuff Untill I cry out "hold, enough!" You may do so sans objection Till the day of resurrection: For, bless my beard, they aye shall be My beloved Trinity.
by John Keats (Posthumous and fugitive Poems - Circa 1820)
In listening to the music of Ed Harcourt one easily comes to the conclusion that if he and Keats were in a room together, during those final years, this type of poem/work that might have been discussed and drank over. John Keats is one of my favorite poets/writers and I would more quickly associate him with Janis Joplin, Elliot Smith or Jeff Buckley, than the living, breathing, soul searching music of Ed Harcourt. I have put a song below, that I find is ALWAYS on my IPOD playlist, in some form or another. It's the kind of music that 'riddles my phantasms'.
I first stumbled across Ed Harcourt's music like 4 years ago and you know when you are a kid and find something that you think is like the most important find since Lewis and Clark found the Pacific coast and lived to make it back east side to tell about it. Like when I used to find 4 leaf clovers I would rush inside and tell my mom, my sister, I would begin the preserving process because it meant I was now 'lucky' and now close to finding that pot of 'gold' (still waiting on those two swags to hit), but as least I found Ed Harcourt's music. I remember having to tell almost all of my friends, even my MySpace friends who were like'what is that song?'
(Steph that is a shout-out to you for your always impatient, fired up music tastes - you know that is why we all love you ;p).
I hope you all enjoy the Sunday song of the day and a list of Ed Harcourt's music, which shows a May 5th EP (hopefully a tour will follow right?). Ed is like Tom Waits in many ways not to box him in, but just the opposite, because he usually is caught playing the piano, but he also plays numerous keyboard instruments as well as the guitar and percussion. This is someone that if you have heard of already, you're pretty cool and if you are hearing him for the first time you're pretty lucky (like finding several of those quad leafed clovers in a single search)!
For those of you unaware with Brett's music it is unique. I am sure that you hear that about many artists, but Brett's vocals if nothing else are silky smooth, calming in a way that few others have or can do. He reminds me in many ways of Tracy Chapman meets Bob Dylan if music were a blender and sound came out. It does not and personally I hate making comparisons of one artist to another especially after I just called him unique, a sentiment that I strongly believe. Is that hypocrisy or what?!? Anyhow, I think it is best for Brett to talk/sing/write and for you, me, your dog and/or cat (if you own one) and whomever else is around to just listen, as the music really speaks for itself.
(I have linked his MySpace page where you can listen to a few songs, as well as his personal website where you can buy copies of all of his albums, including the latest "Hope For The Hopeless".)
Here is a recording of one of my personal favorite songs (directed by Claire Carre) "Ain't No Reason". As Brett says in his own words about this song, and about this video are the following text seen below:
"It is our routines and our comforts that allow us to ignore social issues. For some of us, it is our privilege to be ignorant. This video tells the story of social issues challenging our privileges and entering our routines making them impossible to ignore. Social injustice cannot be ignored when you are forced to deal with them. That is the idea behind this video.
What would happen if you were forced to deal with something that you may think has nothing to do with you? If suddenly the world's problems came into your own home? You would have to realize that you are connected to everything and everyone one earth."
Brett who also was just on Ellen and performed "Make You Crazy" off of his latest album "Hope For The Hopeless"off his latest album
I definitely will review "Hope for the Hopeless", along with a more in depth look at the CD and etymology of music in the very near future so be on the look out for that, if you are a Brett fan or are now just becoming one. Personally, I find his music to be that infectious (in a non-strep throat sort of way, but in the good sense), that one listen to a track or tune, he has so many that speak to so many different topics, that instant karma is gonna get you and you, like me are going to be a Brett Dennen fan for life. Sometimes life can be just that easy. Sometimes life can be just that simple. For me, hearing "Ain't No Reason" for the first time, I that sense of 'wow me likey,' was a case of something being just that simple and easy. I hope for all of you new to hearing Brett feel this and I promise that if you look around and check out the links posted and the show tonight (if you can) that you will get that unified feeling of the 'me likey(s)' too.
As for the coming months I personally hope to see Brett at either at Bonaroo or when he comes through Atlanta on 8/21/2009 to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater @ Encore Park. Having never seen Brett live in concert before I expect this be a real treat, definately a summer highlight. Additionally, tonight on NBC at 1:35 EST and 12:35 CST following Brett will be on the Carson Daly show following Jimmy Kimmel
Below is a copy of Brett's upcoming tour schedule, including an international tour, music Festival and venues throughout the United States that runs from 4/27 (where he initially will be supporting The Fray in Europe, before heading back home to the US for the aforementioned festivals and concerts with O.A.R. Those shows should all be awesome! I hope to see you there!
European Tour: 04/27/09 Brett Dennen in Belfast, Ireland Mandela Hall supporting the Fray 04/28/09 Brett Dennen in Dublin, Ireland Olympia supporting the Fray 04/30/09 Brett Dennen in Glasgow supporting the Fray 05/01/09 Birmingham, UK Academy supporting the Fray 05/02/09 Manchester, UK Academy supporting the Fray 05/03/09 Leeds, UK - US Leeds Academy supporting the Fray 05/05/09 London, UK Roundhouse supporting the Fray
Tour dates with O.A.R: 06/05/09 Morrison, CO - US Red Rocks Amphitheatre 06/06/09 Bonner Springs, KS Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone 06/07/09 Council Bluffs, IA WestFair Amphitheatre 08/13/09 Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion 08/14/09 Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion 08/15/09 New York, NY Madison Square Garden 08/18/09 Philadelphia, PA Penn’s Landing 08/20/09 Memphis, TN Mud Island Amphitheatre 08/21/09 Atlanta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Encore Park 08/23/09 Cary, NC Koka Booth Amphitheatre @ Regency Park 08/26/09 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center 08/27/09 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live 08/28/09 St Augustine, FL St Augustine Amphitheatre 08/29/09 Pompano Beach, FL Pompano Beach Amphitheatre 09/03/09 Madison, WI The Coliseum at The Alliant Energy Center 09/04/09 Rochester Hills, MI MeadowBrook Music Festival 09/05/09 Toronto, ON The Kool Haus
Also here is one more recording of The Official Video of:"Make You Crazy!"...
Enjoy! Be sure to check out a post about this post (that seems a bit oxymornic, doesn't it? Sadly for me that somehow seems to fit bill today, ha! Either way the music is AMAZING) on DIGG too...and don't just look, but hit us up!
Also we at the Brass Hat Group have a special treat for you later today and no they are not 'smores', sorry kids ;p...BUT definately tune in and be sure to check back later to find out what it is! This is something I personally am very excited about and would not want anyone to miss!
(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 setbro."
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 beenlistening 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
16 Finally Forever (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-
26 Immigrant Song 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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