Chris Cornell - Riviera Theatre, Chicago - April 19, 2009

Photos courtesy of the very nice Jeffgarden website. My own grainy and distant photos can be found in several of the posts below. Jeffgarden also has a couple videos (Billie Jean and Redemption Song). The visual quality is great, thanks in part to the proximity to the band - but the audio is overloaded for the same reason.

We had a great time at the show, which was a good mix of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and solo material. I was apprehensive about how much stuff he would play from the new album. It did not dominate the set - comprising less than a third, which was good. You can take a look at the setlist in a previous post. His vocals sounded good and were prominent (in a good way) in the mix, especially compared to the Audioslave show I saw almost exactly four years ago, when his voice was pretty much buried. The Scream songs certainly didn't fit smoothly with the rest of the set. Even though they were probably improved by being performed by his band, they still sounded completely different from the other songs because of the odd effects on the vocals, and synthesized crap that predictably sounded very artificial.

I would still say that I enjoyed the Audioslave show more, and I don't think it's purely a case of being in the front row versus being back and off the floor. Instead, I would attribute it to the fact that Audioslave was great, cohesive actual band in concert, while last night's show was definitely a case of a great singer performing with backing musicians.

I had been hoping for the inclusion of a little Zeppelin at the show, but it didn't happen. During this tour, Spoonman has included a little Good Times Bad Times, and Immigrant Song has been featured as an encore at many concerts, but the Chicago show was regrettably unLedded.

This request sign for Down on the Upside's Overfloater was prepared by the people behind the Jeffgarden site. Chris remarked on the sign during the show, took it in hand and placed it on the drum riser, but unfortunately it was not played (perhaps due to the curfew mentioned at the show and the interview here; the link is to the first of an enjoyable four-part interview at a Chicago alternative station... in part two, he addresses Soundgarden rumors).

Chris Cornell @ Chicago's Riviera Theatre - Setlist and Photos from the Front

These pictures are from the very nice Jeffgarden website. Above, you get a great look at the setlist. As I mention in a post below, the listing for CORNELL between Rusty Cage and Cochise actually refers to a fairly sizable solo acoustic set.

I can confirm that while Spoonman and Black Hole Sun appear on this setlist, they were not played. Apparently there was a curfew at the Riviera on Sunday, which resulted in the set being scaled back. Cornell and his band came on to the stage around 8:40pm and played for just about two hours. The last song was a cool rendition of Like Suicide, and an amusing instrumental 'lounge version' of Black Hole Sun was played over the PA as the lights came up.

More From Chris Cornell at Riviera Theatre

Chris Cornell in Chicago

opening with Part of Me/Time from Scream

Can't Change Me/Burden in My Hand

Cornell at the Riv, Continued

Cornell did a solo acoustic set of songs that did not appear individually on the setlist (only noted as "Cornell"), but included Audioslave's Like a Stone and Dandelion, Soundgarden's Fell on Black Days, and Bob Marley's Redemption Song (hey Thom, Matt, and Kevin - it all makes sense now...).

Chris Cornell - Riviera Theatre, Chicago - April 19, 2009

Three videos taken from the vantage point of the first railing at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago. I should have some pictures and additional commentary about the show in the next couple days, but here are the songs I captured on video (disappointingly poor quality... these were taken with my Nikon E5600 that was purchased in late 2005... maybe it's time to upgrade).

Hunger Strike



Show Me How To Live



Dandelion > Fell on Black Days

Teabagging

You may have heard about this crap, which seems largely manufactured by right-wingers and has surely been promoted by Fox News.

Carlin on Golf

Watched a lot of golf this Easter while trying to stay out of the various fights that Laura's mom and grandmother were having with other members of their family. I don't particularly enjoy golf, and especially hate watching it on television, but I amused myself by thinking about this George Carlin routine...

Jesus Shaves, by David Sedaris

Jesus Shaves - David Sedaris

Jimmy Page Inducts (and jams with) Jeff Beck

Audio of Jimmy Page's induction of Jeff Beck, courtesy of Steve Sauer at http://ledzeppelinnews.com



Beck's Bolero>Immigrant Song>Bolero
Jimmy Page on Fender XII



Finale



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From Billboard.com:

April 05, 2009
10:13 AM ET

Gary Graff, Cleveland

Jimmy Page appearances are rare, but the Led Zeppelin guitarist was happy to come to Cleveland on Saturday to induct his longtime friend and former Yardbirds bandmate Jeff Beck into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist.

"He's been instrumental in pioneering a whole blueprint that was totally unique to him and...has been such a blueprint for everyone else to learn from," Page told Billboard.com before the ceremony. "No one's ever equaled what Jeff's done. He really shifted the whole sound and face of electric guitar music."

Asked after Beck's induction -- during which the two guitarists combined "Beck's Bolero" and Zeppelin''s "Immigrant Song" -- about their enduring friendship, Page noted that "we've known each other since we were...11 years old. We've vibed on the same things, and music's been the main common denominator of us meeting in the first place. So that's always been there. We're respectful of each other's playing and solo endeavors and all the rest of it. Mutual respect, man."

The two did joke around about Beck's ouster from the Yardbirds in 1966. "I was thrown out," he said, to which Page replied, "Not by me."

Beck: "It was your fault! (Page) didn't like me on the stage with him."

Page: "Oh, bollocks..."

Beck and Page also joined Metallica, Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood and Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea for an all-star rendition of the Yardbirds staple "Train Kept A Rollin'," while Beck was also part of an all-star jam on Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock."
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Jimmy Page will Induct Jeff Beck into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Tonight

Jeff Beck covers The Beatles

Everyone is hoping that the two former Yardbirds will jam together this evening.

Below, three former Yardbirds guitarists collaborate on Tulsa Time at the ARMS benefit in 1983.