Songbook

Songbook II err... III
It is my dream and hope that Chris Cornell will grace us with a Songbook Part II (there has been).  If not a live performance, then a complitation of things that have been recorded and didn't make the cut.  Like the stories, both tours were peppered with brief back-stories of songs and periods of time. Witty banter and attempted Scottish accents.  Like the story he told at the Moore of 2 Seattle boy breaking into the historic theater. The story behind Ground Zero and the Red Phone.

And I'd love to hear more of the Fan Duets.
Vic Theater 4/22/2011 with @StaceyCornell12
Doesn't Remind Me
Newcastle City Hall 6/20/12 with Ben
Outshined

Songbook II
October 20, 2013 -- Benaroya Hall, Seattle
Dreams do come true.  Though not billed as such, Chris Cornell brought his Songbook Tour back to Seattle for a second round.  Songbook II.

 In the not so intimate atmosphere of Benaroya Hall, Chris opened with a handful of “FUCKS”.  The grand room, quite out of the ordinary for him, probably hadn’t heard that word very much and that needed to change.  Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. 

 After his first vinyl accompaniment, he spoke of how people didn’t like him much when he was a kid.  He always felt like he got on people’s nerves and he hoped to not get on our nerves tonight, not too much anyway.

 He told us he felt a little weird, it’s hard to get out of your head in a place like this.  A place like The Moore, a venue he’s played a number of times, where there’s a history, where he has stories, it’s easier to leave the “performer” behind and just play.  The home of the Seattle Symphony is a little more daunting, but you wouldn’t have guessed it as the music unfolded before us.

 Chris Cornell’s voice can bend light.  Maybe it was because I was sitting so far away, maybe it had to do with the lighting or the simple fact that I was so captivated I forgot to blink.  There were times during his set where he hovered above the stage.  Floating and shifting ever so slightly on a cloud of sound.  There were moments where he was the 20 year old Chris Cornell, belting lyrics into the microphone.  His faded image writhing on the floor, in the shadows, he was still at the Central Saloon, at the Off Ramp.

 Though he’s played guitar since the early days of Soundgarden his presence as a lead guitarist has clearly evolved, especially since his 1st Songbook tour in 2011. Kim, mentor, friend and co-worker poked out and waved hello.  He played a couple songs from King Animal with Ben.  

 And the music rolled on….

 To say his voice fills the room is a trite understatement.  It seeps into the very fabric, fills every crack and rolls off the crown molding.  More than wrapping around you, it fills and consumes.  The notes tickle down the back of your neck, crawl under the hair on your arms, spirals down your legs and the deep notes fill your shoes.

 With his subtle dark humor, he claimed to have “invented” One.  Playing U2’s One and searching the lyrics, he didn’t realize he ended up with the lyrics to Metallica’s One until it was too late.  It works. 

 He played his tribute to Andy and Bhi Bhiman filled in quite nicely on Hunger Strike.

 He poked fun at some loud guy he couldn’t understand and worried he’d get in trouble for accusing the guy of having Tourette’s. 

 He played beautiful renditions of Dear Prudence and A Day in the Life, and dedicated Like a Stone to his lovely Vickie.

 He told us where he got the term Cleaning My Gun, working at Ray’s Boat House, it was just a term the guys used to express their woe.  “This sucks, guess I’ll go clean my gun…” I don’t think there are any more songs missing off that set list.

 We were treated to well over two hours of mind-blowing, earth-shattering, auditory goodness.  I don’t understand reviews that are any less than stellar, but unbelievably, they do exist.  A guy who thought singing to vinyl was too much like karaoke, another who couldn’t accept Chris Cornell delivering anything less than his tell-tale, face melting howls.  Don’t expect Soundgarden or Audioslave; he’s just a guy with a guitar, doing what he does.
  


 Songbook I
The Moore Theater ~ Seattle, WA
5.1.2011

“The Loudest of the last 25 Shows"     ~Chris Cornell

My opinion of Chris Cornell’s performance is in line of that of every other review out there. It was a fantastic show put on by a magnanimous performer.

The excitement of just being there was enough to keep me anxious. Waiting in line on the sidewalk was worth the view we had of the stage. A phone camera has no place on the 1stbalcony other than to take pictures of the architecture; it was quickly stowed and I made myself at home for the next couple hours. The opening act was good, another solo performer with a guitar and banjo.

With the excitement and anxiety finally starting to wane, I settled in. Propped on my husband’s shoulder and legs pulled beneath, almost curled in the chair. At times I found my eyes closed and noticed I was breathing deeply; distracted and no longer just at a simple concert; the music pulled me into another world; thoughts, musings and possible hallucinations filled my consciousness.

I was first taken aback with an odd, distant sense of pride. This is a hometown boy. Struck with the Midas Touch, more than bargained for with no take-backs; this is one of our boys. We grew up in the same neighborhood back when the Pacific Northwestwas still a sleepy little beach community. The “neighborhood” stretched from Olympia to Everett, from the islands of Puget Sound to the foothills of the Cascades. I thought about the boys I went to elementary and junior high school with, and how this was simply one of those boys. With dream and drive, all grown up. Good for you, kid.

He then shared a story of his youth, a premonition of sorts. At 18 or so, he and a buddy, prowling the streets of downtown Seattle late at night, came across a door left slightly ajar in an alley between 2nd and 3rd off Virginia. Intended to be locked, they jiggled and shook the door until the tired lock broke free. “We weren’t trying to break in and steal, we weren’t about that. We did it just for the sake of adventure”. Making their way in, he lit a twisted paper bag so they could make their way. Wandering thru halls and storage rooms under some building downtown, the bag soon burnt down. In effort to not get burnt, he dropped the bag. The efforts to not get burnt quickly turned to stomping out ambers in the carpet that was beginning to catch fire. With arson averted, the two were now in pitch black, pawing their way thru winding hallways. Eventually they made their way to a set of stairs, blinded and clumsy they felt their way up., “We ended up coming out that door, right there.” He pointed stage right, just a few feet from where he sat. The two young men, still boys, clad in what is to become the quintessential cliché grunge attire I’m sure, stood in awe of the historical (then) 85 year old theater, “the stage lit up all bright, like it was just for us….”

He played homage to the early days by playing into an amplifier. Those sounds so synonymous with youth and a garage. Seemed like a difficult feat, with his years of practice and expertise.

He talked about how the first Iraqi war just broke out when they started recording Bad Motorfinger and how it “totally sucked” because they were all so happy and there was so much unhappy crap going on in the world. He played Ground Zero and I don’t think he had yet heard that Osama bin Laden was just assassinated by U.S. elite forces. The news went public moments before he took the stage.

He played beautiful melodies that rang familiar but sounded new. He sang with honesty and vulnerability. His confidence was clear in that he didn’t care if he missed a chord or cracked a note. Of course, he didn’t. He spoke of thinking, of making tough decisions, of doing the right thing. Through the years, Cornell’s lyrics and tone have always constructed a mood of irony and sadness with varying tones of ‘fuck it’, ‘fuck you’, and ‘aw fuck it, enjoy!!’ He did not fail to deliver tonight.

With the popular songs, he brought with him what seemed a crowd of tens of thousands. I don’t know if it was the acoustics of the 105 year old theater, I don’t know if he had an additional track playing as he did with a couple of other numbers. I tried to give credit to the thousands that I was sitting among, but it was more. It was bigger than the theater, it was louder than us. The distant, yet distinct sound of a sea of people singing along; singing with passion, with perfect timing, in perfect tune, perfect harmony.

He played tribute to Andy and I regret not forcing a standing ovation. Not for the talent that sat before us, but for the friend he lost so many years ago.

He confessed that he didn’t know how to play guitar until after Soundgarden formed and he thanked Kim for his mentorship. I secretly hoped Chris would say “fuck it” and the guitar-god that is Kim Thayil would have come on stage for Mind Riot.

He covered the Beatles, A Day in the Life, a song I had heard a few hours before on Breakfast with The Beatles on the radio.

I don’t know much about the technical or theoretical aspects of music, all I know is what sounds good and what feels good. That being said, Chris Cornell doesn’t strike me as a terribly gifted guitarist. Good, great even, but not spectacular. The guitar served to accompany Cornell’s true instrument, his voice. To save him from two hours of a cappella, which I’m certain he could have pulled off.

I hope there will be a Songbook Volume II, he’s on to something with this format. There are endless possibilities with the talent Chris Cornell possesses. I’d like to see him elaborate more on singing with vinyl and switching between acoustic and electric. Maybe add some other, unconventional musicians; a string quartet or steel drums and xylophone, hell, go with a kazoo, I’m still buyin’ a ticket.

 Of mention...
One of the best songs ever written, ever performed, ever listened to...
Seasons

 This deserved a standing ovation but I just couldn't move...
Man of Golden Words

1. Dark Globe
2. Be Yourself
3. Ground Zero
4. Can't Change Me
5. Two Drink Minimum
6. Call Me A Dog
7. Sunshower
8. Fell On Black Days
9. Burden In My Hand
10. I Am The Highway
11. State Trooper
12. When Im Down
13. Seasons
14. Thank You
15. All Night Thing
16. Man of Golden Words/Comfortably Numb
17. Say Hell to Heaven
18. Mind Riot
19. Like Suicide
20. Like a Stone
21. Doesn't Remind Me
22. A Day in the Life
23. Scream
24. Black Hole Sun
25. Imagine

Since the writing of this story, Chris Cornell’s Songbook has been released on CD; none of the songs are taken from the night described here. Though a fine album, it begs for more, it makes me beg for more. B-sides I hope, more songs, more stories and maybe some duets with fans.

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