This past Saturday night, while you were getting your music/comedy/literature/art on at the Seattle Center, or your game on over at the Convention Center, a couple of massive musical acts were down in Auburn at the White River Amphitheater, playing to a packed house of nearly 20,000 roaring fans. The headlining act was Nine Inch Nails, who played a beautiful, light-filled set of intensity that only they could, but you’ll have to read about that at another time. This review is all about the opening act, Seattle’s own Soundgarden.
Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd, and Matt Cameron — these four guys first played together in 1991, starting with Badmotorfinger, the band’s third full-length album. The band released two more albums in the 1990s before taking a long hiatus in 1998. Over a decade later, they got back together and recorded a new album: 2012’s King Animal, and still with the lineup of Cornell on vocals, Thayil on lead guitar, Shepherd on bass and Cameron on drums. Saturday night’s show was the final show of their two-month stint with Nine Inch Nails.
The band is currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of their most successful album, Superunknown, and they played a handful of songs from that seminal 1994 grunge album, including “Spoon Man” and “Fell on Black Days.” The second most represented album played during the band’s set was Badmotorfinger. It’s been a while since I’d listened to that album, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear “Rusty Cage” again as a, shall we say, “older” gentleman. I have a newfound appreciation for the song, which has time signature and key changes that make it feel more prog-rock than grunge. I had the hardest time keeping up with the beat of the song in my gyrations, even though I know the song by heart.
The band enjoyed themselves on stage, happy to be playing to a hometown audience again. “It’s great to be back in Seattle!” yelled Cornell, garnering a massive response form the venue. Gesturing to the photo pit at the foot of the stage, Cornell then started talking about one of the photographers down there, former Mariner and soon-to-be baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson, aka “The Big Unit.” Johnson, since retiring from baseball in 2009, has dedicated himself to a former hobby of his: photography. Cornell was gushing. “I can’t get used to seeing Randy Johnson taking my picture. I should be taking his picture.”
Later on in the set, during the final song of the night, “Beyond the Wheel” from the band’s debut album Ultramega OK, from 1988, Johnson could be spotted on stage, behind one of the large amps, avidly shooting Thayil’s guitar solo, which was being played with the guitar flat against the top of the amp. I would love to see those photos.
I’m happy to report that Cornell can still belt those songs. He may be a tiny bit softer, a little less edgy than he used to be, but he still captures those high-register wails better than most singers can, regardless of age. And the rest of the band, too, still kills it on stage. The stages are huge, the crowds even bigger, but the band still manages to make everyone involved, keeping us all on our toes and our heads banging.
While the tour has ended, there is another opportunity to see the band coming up. This Thursday, September 4, before the NFL season opener at CenturyLink Field, Soundgarden will be playing a concert with Pharrell Williams and Ariana Grande. It will begin at 4:30pm, so be sure to get down there before then!
Setlist:
- Searching With My Good Eye Closed
- Spoonman
- The Day I Tried to Live
- My Wave
- Outshined
- Jesus Christ Pose
- Hunted Down
- Fell on Black Days
- Mailman
- A Thousand Days Before
- Burden in My Hand
- Rusty Cage
- Beyond the Wheel
