Chris Cornell @ Harrah's Stir Cove

The Stage Awaits Chris Cornell and Co.

Everyone experiences a handful of pivotal moments in life that they'll always recall in startling detail. There are two incidents that I vividly remember occurring while I was riding the bus home during my rebellious middle school career. The first (not chronologically) involved learning that the legendary Tom Osbourne, coach of the national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, was to retire following the 1997 season. Understandably, many of you don’t have the same respect for the original TO as I do, but let me tell you: it was as if my dog had been run over in front of my very eyes. The second on-the-bus incident that I'll never forget occurred while I was drowning out my frustrations by listening to my outdated Walkman. On this particular day, the announcement that Soundgarden were disbanding had just been announced, and I first heard the news on Lincoln's local rock station, The Blaze. Soundgarden is, and always has been, my true love from the grunge era. In my selfishness, I felt that it was incredibly unfair that they would do such a thing to me, especially since I'd never had a chance to see them live.

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To make a long story short, the years passed and my wounds were mended yet remained unhealed. Chris Cornell would eventually begin his solo career, which - although it doesn't really compare - would be the closest I would ever get to seeing Soundgarden in action. His solo material is often criticized, but I find that it experiments with Cornell’s softer side, allowing his vocal prowess to shine.

Keeping all that in mind, fast forward to August 13th, 2008. Cornell’s solo act with band in tact was set to play at Stir Cove on the grounds of the sleazy Harrah’s Casino. The crowd sat anxiously awaiting the 8pm start time of night's main attraction. Half an hour later, a symphonic version of "Black Hole Sun" began to play over the PA system. It seemed as though many had come just to hear this one song; I was hoping that this would be only time I heard it that night. The band soon emerged and quickly ripped into a couple songs off of Cornell's 2007 release, Carry On. They seemed to be on track, shredding through riff after riff and eventually arriving at the inevitable Soundgarden portion of the night with a rendition of "Pretty Noose." This began a nostalgic trip back through Cornell’s discography that included "Hunger Strike," the first hit that featured his one-of-a-kind vocals with his band Temple of the Dog.

Unfortunately, my best picture of Cornell and his band

On our hour-long journey to the venue, I had explained to my buddy that I was hoping for a little acoustic love from Mr. Cornell solo. My prayers were answered when we were treated to a mellow four-song mini-set that featured "Fell on Black Days" from Soundgarden's breakout album Superunknown, as well as "Can’t Change Me" off of Cornell’s freshman solo effort, Euphoria Morning. After a boisterous round of applause for his solo efforts, the band joined Chris on stage and jumped into "Outshined." The band reproduced Soundgarden’s intense sound very well...that is, until they decided to play a new one from Cornell’s upcoming album.

I don’t recall the name of the new song that was played, which is probably beneficial to all of us. I almost felt as if this song were a joke, imagining when I closed my eyes that I was at a Justin Timberlake show instead. Although much of the obedient audience seemed to feel that the tune was at least tolerable, I almost vomited out of my eye sockets. After doing a little bit of research, I learned that Cornell chose to take a more hip-hop/pop approach to his new album (entitled Scream) and opted to have Timbaland produce it for him. Disgusting, huh? I’m all about experimenting with new sounds, but if this noise pollution is any sign of what is to be included on the new album, you can count me out. Honestly, an album like this would force me to lose a large amount of respect for Cornell, but until it comes out, I’ll still sing his praises because of an almost amazing show.

Thankfully, the new material did not hold a prominent position in the set, and Cornell and his band instead ran through the rest of Soundgarden’s hits. The show was a nice flashback to the way that rock used to rock, instead of the current, monotone shit that you hear on the radio. I wish they had included more of the lesser known tracks from Soundgarden's catalog, but I understand why they played the set they did. Just as I was bitching to my friends about this exact topic, the band began playing the opening riff to "Jesus Christ Pose" from their third album, Badmotorfinger, to finish off the evening. It was as if Cornell had connected with me through ESP and granted my wish.

Cornell

Overall, I was excited that I had gone to this show, and it was something that I had wanted to see for several years. Although there were some aspects of the night that I felt were less than desirable, it made for a great night of listening to some music that I grew up with. Unfortunately, I’m not holding out for Mr. Cornell’s future, particularly as regards the new album, but luckily I was able to catch him before he became an ultra douche.

For a night of rock mixed with a little gambling, a lot of sketchiness (as you might expect at a casino), a little clubbing music and being able catch one of the greatest vocalists of our time; I give Chris Cornell 6.5/10.