A show which certainly got people talking. Some loved it, some hated it, some went expecting one and felt the other. Chris played Scream start to finish and encored with burden In My Hand and Disappearing One. Meanwhile, rock journalist Shay Quillen spent more time articulating his anti-pop prejudices than he did actually reviewing the night's events. So little attention did he pay to Cornell's set that he got two songs' names completely wrong...
Intro - Part Of Me - Time - Sweet Revenge - Get Up - Ground Zero - Never Far Away - Take Me Alive - Long Gone - Scream - Enemy - Other Side Of Town - Climbing Up the Walls - Watch Out - Two Drink Minimum - Burden In My Hand - Disappearing One
by lois
I can't stand hip-hop/urban music. I never could stand disco. So, you can all imagine that I've been pretty scared about Scream...But, there is some stuff that I really liked at first listen and I found myself enjoying the show and the experience more and more as the evening went on....Long Gone has really grown on me. Scream is absolutely infectious and I really liked it from the first time I heard it on Wednesday night. I woke up singing it in my head this morning. It kind of reminds me of Hypnotize, where the first time I heard it I was initally like, WTF? and the next second he had me groovin' to it. That blues song. Oh my fucking God. I was in heaven over that one. Please, please let the man want to do more blues!...The band rocks. They simply rock. The crowd...Lots of people dancing. There was one guy that couldn't decide if he wanted to dance or headbang, so sort of did both. It was pretty funny. Heads bopping in time. Toes tapping. I didn't see anyone who looked disappointed or upset. Overall, it was a great reaction to the new music.
There were some fun costumes - a guy as a toilet, a really good Sarah Palin, a white guy dressed as a Mexican with fake moustache and sombrero (which I'm sure the authentic latino gang members in the crowd, um, appreciated), a very cool pirate that looked like vintage clothing rather than the fake stuff you find in costume shops....Chris had something to say about the crowd. "San Francisco. The only city you can play on Halloween and the crowd looks normal!" Too freakin' funny! Yeah, we've got a strange little city here.
by michael
Chris Cornell likes to sing.
Whether it be grunge (Soundgarden), millenium rock (Audioslave), or moody
introspection (solo albums), Cornell finds a way to belt out his unique
chords in one fashion or another.
Hallow's eve found Cornell's chameleon self move into the realm of straight
up pop. The producer maestro known as Timbabland who has the midas touch
when producing solo artists such as Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake
threw his hands into the mix trying to put Cornell back up the charts.
It turned out to be a mixed bag of goodies (Halloween pun intended). I
wasn't sure what to expect from the onset as I know Chris has played the
new album "Scream" in its entirety on the first few stops of this tour
but then started to mix it up with some hits and obscure tunes from his
past on more recent dates.
During Timbaland's opening set he told the crowd they were in for a treat
(another damn pun) as Cornell was going to play "Scream" from beginning
to end. This answered what was to be expected for the bulk of the evening.
It's tricky for a fan to listen to a full album live without having the
benefit of the music being released (it was supposed to drop on October
14th and mysteriously no new date). In interviews Cornell has equated
the experience of the full album to that of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of
The Moon". Maybe a little ego driven to have the chutzpah" to make a comparison
of such stoic proportions.
I found the live experience to have some peaks but not without i's valleys.
The strongest parts of the evening had more to do with dancing than rocking.
Tunes like "Ground Zero" and "Watch Out" made you want to boogie while
other new stuff like "Scream" and "Long Gone" made you want to sway. In
between you found some tunes on the level of "The Killers" and "Maroon
5".
If you knew going in like I did that the entire new album was going to
be played you were mentally prepared. If you came into this show just
as a Chris Cornell, Audioslave, and/or Soundgarden fan then you probably
were hanging on to the hope of a legoin of hits to bust out somewhere
during the evening.
This was appeased to a minor extent when Cornell busted out the encore
with an incredible version of "Burden In My Hand".
The problem wasn't whether "Scream" will go down as "Dark Side Of The
Moon". The issue is that Cornell already has a catalogue that stands toe
to toe in legendary status. Soundgarden's 1994 "Superunkown", Temple of
the Dog's self titled 1992 album, and Audioslave's self titled 2002 release
could have been the Dark Side Of The Moon on Halloween at the Fillmore.
Instead we were spoon fed what Cornell & Timbalands will be spinning
on top 40 radio for the next year.
by tosh
When CC came on the crowd roared and seemed to LOVE what he was doing. It was Chris showing he can sing anything and sing it well....I think he gained a lot of new fans last night. Cory REALLY seems to be enjoying himself with this music and Yogi and Peter seemed to be having fun as well. Billy Wes on keyboards is adorable and really loves this gig! I can't wait to buy the cd and while a couple of the songs weren't my taste, Chris's rendering of them, especially live, brought them to LIFE, everyone dancing, wanting to touch him as he reached out to those of us in the front rows.......we all have our own experiences, this for me was exciting and worthwhile.....Chris was all smiles and totally having a great time. One of the more ballady type songs he sang directly to Vicky, up in the balcony......very sweet....on a scale of 10, this was a 10!!!!
by jeffL
Chris have you sold your soul? What are you doing? I went with an open mind tonight but soon realized a couple of songs into the set that this is the type of music I'd expect to hear in the background while shopping for clothes in a mall store....and I HATE malls. WTF? Chris' voice is awesome. I just saw Chris a couple of months earlier at the Projeckt Revolution tour and he totally rocked. Scream is not a good album. Despite what Chris and Timbaland may say, this collaboration is not good. It's over produced and just not a good fit. I left early because it was so bad. Chris' voice is so good that I can listen to him sing Mary Had a Little Lamb all day. Unfortunately, the show just seemed ridiculous with all the gaudy LED panel lights and over production at the historic Fillmore. Chris' singing was the only thing that kept me around for as long as I stayed. I left before the encore and I truly feel bad as this is the first show at the Fillmore that I've left early and I attend a LOT of shows there. I understand that he can't remain stagnant and as an artist must progress and move on. Unfortunately I don't think this is the best direction for him.
by elolavarria
After listening to the 4 singles of Chris' new music that are available I have to admit my expectations were really low. Initially I did not even have plans of going to the show but decided to give it a shot at the last minute. I have been a Soundgarden fan since 1989. I am one of the people who doesn't really like the stuff Chris has put out since Euphoria Morning. Audioslave is OK but nothing extraordinary and Carry On doesn't do it for me. I did expect Chris to put up a new music only show so I went there with an open mind, just like you. I must say I was impressed. The songs sound VERY different live than the recorded versions. More hard rock, less pop. More importantly, they are innovative and elaborate. Timbaland's input is evident and while I do not like his stuff that much, I have respect for his contribution to popular music because it is truly original. So, in summary, I was really impressed. Not the style of music I would normally listen to, but I am glad something like this is out there and I hope it is very successful and replaces much of the crap we find in the radio today. I have learned to accept that Soundgarden's music is not coming back, and if this is what Chris Cornell has decided to do instead then it is more than OK with me. Its success will surely make the music scene a little better. And I'm not thinking twice about showing up the next time Chris' tour stops in SF. By the way, you missed Burden In My Hand and Disappearing One.
by nuraman01
I wasn't expecting Chris Cornell to play so much from his new album. But once I saw the stage setup, and once I heard the new song, I figured that's what he'd do. I prefer his other stuff (Temple Of The Dog, Audioslave, SoundGarden). But for the sound he was trying to achieve, this wasn't bad. It's different, still has some decent lyrics, good singing. It's just a bit more groove-oriented. I prefer the "full" sound of a rock band, but it's ok. I saw Cornell for the first time with Linkin Park a few months ago. This was a different setting, he went into the crowd a lot. I was close enough to touch him when he did, but just missed out each time.
Many people assumed roles at the Fillmore on Halloween, from pirates to Jokers, but the most unsettling was once-mighty Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell portraying an ordinary pop singer.
The concert — one of only eight across the country — was billed as an epic pairing of the charismatic Cornell, one of the best rock singers of his generation, and Timbaland, the ubiquitous hip-hop and pop producer.
The catalyst: "Scream," a Timbaland-produced Cornell solo album.
Originally slated for a September release, its street date has been pushed back so many times that the next step may be a release in Eastern Europe only, à la Jessica Simpson's "Major Movie Star." (The latest word is January, probably.)
On this night, the whole was less than the sum of its parts. The two leading men never appeared on stage together, and Timbaland's touch didn't rescue a gifted singer struggling to find his way commercially and artistically.
Timbaland's opening set was fun, though, as the maestro led his tight Junkyard Band through jams from his 2007 "Shock Value" solo album and grooved on some of the familiar tunes he's had his hand in, from Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" to Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" to One Republic's "Apologize." The band leader isn't much of a singer, played no instruments and never broke a sweat rapping, but he charmed as a mellow master of ceremonies.
The 40-minute set peaked with "Release," which climaxed with Timbaland's guitarist breaking into a riff from Soundgarden's old Seattle rival Nirvana, as Timbaland sang snatches of off-key lyrics from "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the crowd bounced joyfully.
Cornell took the stage 30 minutes later, joined by a four-piece rock band, plus two keyboardists from Timbaland's crew, to kick off the new album with "Part of Me."
Cornell worked hard, but the hour's worth of new material, with its mechanical drum rhythms and repetitive pop hooks, didn't serve his strengths as a vocalist. "Other Side of Town," with its falsetto chorus, sounded like something Maroon 5 could have pulled off better. Other songs were serviceable, but slight. "Pick It Up" [webmaster: he means "Watch Out"] is hardly a complete song, but at least its heavy guitars and shouted vocal hook gave the packed house an excuse to bounce up and down late in the set.
After the album was completed, Cornell pulled out a new bluesy, guitar-based slow burner, "Two-Drink Minimum," that was easily his best number of the night, and a reminder of what he does well. He wrapped up a two-song encore with his song "Disappearing Act". [webmaster: this wasn't the song from Carry On, but Disappearing One from "Euphoria Morning"]
Don't be surprised if this Cornell-Timbaland collaboration soon vanishes without a trace.
- Shay Quillen, Mercury News
Take Me Alive - thanks andydobbs2000
Sweet Revenge - thanks andydobbs2000
Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2008
