the word
on gigs
Chris Cornell, Dave Le’aupepe Llewellyn Hall Thursday December 3 It was fitting that Chris Cornell successfully tackled The Beatles’ classic ‘A Day in the Life’ towards the end of an audience-pleasing set at Llewellyn Hall. This was also a brave move, as the song is an intricate studio composition that was not intended to be performed live. But as was the case at many points throughout the show, this charismatic singer/songwriter confidently rose to the challenge and made it work with an acoustic guitar and cello played by touring companion Bryan Gibson. The powerful orchestral crescendo in the original composition was substituted here with some frantic string play that reached a suitable degree of intensity and made for a show highlight. The Beatles remain a touchstone for Cornell and his main band Soundgarden despite all those Zeppelin and Sabbath comparisons. This influence flowed through the emotive melodic phrases on ‘Can’t Change Me’ from his 2009 solo album Euphoria Morning, played with an understated charm on a sparkling-sounding guitar chosen from a selection lining the stage. The Beatles’ influence was also present on Cornell’s take on the classic Soundgarden song ‘Blow Up the Outside World’ from the underrated 1996 album Down On The Upside. With the electricity and production effects stripped away from the album version, a fragile minor key melody came across in the verses that would have found a home on the Beatles’ White Album. The reconfigured version here was quite amazing. As he was to do on a few songs, Cornell played around with simple loops and backing tracks provided by
80
records on a turntable set up on the stage, which fleshed out the sound with appropriately vintage technology. On this song, an emphatic tap on the guitar was looped to replicate a percussive thump filled out with a repeating strummed pattern. This conjured a sonic swell that matched the intensity of the original recording. All this was cleverly done and revealed a creative agility from a performer who confidently owned the stage yet at times exuded a somewhat guarded and cynical persona, a hallmark of the grunge generation. The set list was an even mix of covers, solo material and Soundgarden classics such as ‘Rusty Cage’ from Badmotorfinger and ‘Black Hole Sun’ from the band’s finest moment, the 1994 album Superunknown. Earlier in the evening, the growing audience was treated to an acoustic set from Dave Le’aupepe taking some time out from his main band Gang of Youths, and at times sounding like Bruce Springsteen circa his Nebraska album, although with somewhat less intensity. But it was Cornell who stole the show. He bantered with the audience between songs about such things as spirit mediums and repeatedly voiced scepticism that they actually can communicate with the dead. At one point he invited an audience member up on stage to help him tune his guitar. Early in the set he strapped on a harmonica and performed a rousing version of Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’, which confirmed the timelessness of protest songs. Later on, Cornell performed an early solo tune ‘Seasons’ from the Singles soundtrack, and as I lapped it up a whole bunch of pleasant grunge memories came flooding back. DAN BIGNA
@bmamag