The term ‘intimate’ is thrown around a lot in the music industry. As an audience we get sucked in to thinking that it means the artist is as interested in what we have to say as we are in their thoughts. As a publicist it probably means the venue is small. And as an artist it could mean they’ll be playing to their Mum once again. Chris Cornell’s solo gig at the Palais Theatre was the first time I’d honestly describe a show as intimate.
I won’t say it felt as though he was performing only for me and not the other 2500 people in the room, more that there was a stronger connection between the stage and the audience. The fans that have followed everything from Soundgarden’s first album back in 1988 to Cornell’s latest tweet which was 47 minutes ago, were visibly struggling to stay in their seats.
They air drummed to acoustic versions of their favourite songs, personally delivered their fan mail to the stage, and screamed, “Burden In My Hand”, at any sign of a pause. And Cornell took it all in his stride. He maintained a balance between performing and conversing, swapping between having the spotlight on his fans (literally) and engulfing the Palais with his own voice.
In previous interviews Cornell stated the importance of this balance: “Joke, but don’t turn into a comedian”. Intriguingly, it was less than five minutes after hitting the stage that Cornell had the audience laughing. As he motioned to the Palais Theatre, “This was actually an old courthouse, they used to hang people right here”, an awkward hush fell over the crowd as they wondered why an old courthouse would have seats up the front with orchestra written on them or what smart arse has taken the liberty to misinform our international guest.
Too many moments passed before Cornell admitted he was joking and we laughed at how gullible we were. From then on it was all he could do to stop cracking jokes. We learnt in which body part Cornell would prefer to be shot if he was in the mood at the time plus multiple instances of his not-so-life-altering, possibly undiagnosed, OCD. These included why a nine-track album is less complete than an eight-track and how unnerving it was having his stool three inches to the right of the stage. He was hilarious but it leaves you wondering how a man with such a beautiful voice can be so full of shit.
Speaking of that voice, adding Chris Cornell to the Palais Theatre was a winning combination. From the first song and cover, Nick Lowe’s “Peace, Love And Understanding”, the tone was set for a vocally rich evening. It was quickly followed by “Can’t Change Me” a song from Chris’s first solo album Euphoria Morning, and any doubts as to whether it would hold its own without instrumental backing they were quickly dashed. Stripping each song back gave the vocals more power and an incredible influence over each song.
There was a lot of variation in the set; Audioslave, Soundgarden, old and new solo stuff, even “Hunger Strike” by Temple Of The Dog. Whichever aspect of Cornell’s career seduced you, it was present. And there was a clear indication of just how many Soundgarden fans are itching for that reunion tour by the audience’s response to “Fell On Black Days”.
Cornell broke up the night with covers as well. When Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” began every iPhone in the room was recording. But it didn’t hit the mark quite like Cornell’s own songs. Or maybe that’s just my own bias toward MJ. Whatever their opinion, the audience was quickly won back by “Black Hole Sun”, “Burden In My Hand” and a cover originally written by Cornell’s crazy hippy neighbour, Creedance Clearwater Revival’s “Long As I Can See The Light”.
It was a perfect end to the night. The crowd stumbled back out into the warm night and milled around reflecting on the past few hours before they rushing home to tell their families and friends about the steamy St.Kilda night that they intimately spent with Chris Cornell.
– Lizzie Dynon
