Soundgarden

Soundgarden's Chris Cornell Clarifies Kanye West Comments

24 Jan 2012 13:03:06 EST

After reports surface that Cornell had called out Kanye onstage, the frontman tweets, 'We love him!'
By James Montgomery

Kanye West may have had a rough weekend Down Under, but at least he can take comfort in the fact that Chris Cornell didn't call him out onstage, as has been reported.

For the uninitiated, on Sunday, West took the stage 45 minutes late for his headlining set at Australia's Big Day Out festival, a delay he reportedly blamed on "sound problems" due to the rainy weather. His tardiness angered fans, many of whom took to chanting "bullsh--" while they waited, before abandoning his set for other acts playing at the same time.

Of course, Kanye's scheduling issues also supposedly drew the ire of Soundgarden frontman Cornell, who, angered that the rapper's soundcheck was bleeding into his set, announced to the crowd: "Sounds like there's children playing music there, retarded children, retarded as in 'held back.' There's no other word for it."

MTV News attempted to contact a spokesperson for Soundgarden to get comment on those comments, but reps for the band had not responded to emails by press time. But after the story broke, Cornell took to his Twitter account to set the record straight, writing that he has no beef with West, but rather took issue with the production team behind the fest.

"My comments at [Big Day Out] were directed solely at inadequate tour production," Cornell stated. "Kanye had nothing to do with it! We love him."

Cornell has yet to make any additional comment on the matter and, for his part, West has remained silent ... perhaps his attention is focused on getting the DONDA group up and running?

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Kanye West Takes Heat For Australian Festival Delay

23 Jan 2012 15:44:56 EST

Fellow performers Soundgarden criticize West after his soundcheck bleeds into their set at Sunday's Big Day Out festival.
By James Montgomery

It wasn't a delay on par with his 2008 Bonnaroo debacle — when he took the stage at roughly 4:30 a.m. (and then nearly destroyed his MacBook Air in the aftermath) — but at Sunday's Big Day Out festival in Australia, Kanye West was nearly 45 minutes late for his headlining slot. And, as you can imagine, folks weren't thrilled to be kept waiting.

According to reports, fans bided their time by breaking into numerous chants of "bullsh--" as they stood in the rain, and when West finally did appear, many wandered off to watch other acts like Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and My Chemical Romance. The Gold Coast Bulletin wrote that West blamed the delay on "sound problems" caused by the wet weather.

While those chants were no doubt withering, West did manage to rebound and wow fans with a booming, ballerina-enhanced set. Unfortunately, he couldn't impress fellow headliners Soundgarden, who were apparently less than pleased that his soundcheck bled into their set.

"Sounds like there's children playing music there, retarded children, retarded as in 'held back,' " frontman Chris Cornell told the crowd, after West's music was heard in between the band's songs. "There's no other word for it."

A spokesperson for Soundgarden did not respond to MTV News' request for comment on the matter by press time. Aside from the acrimony, weather and delays, several Australian newspapers noted that the West-headlined Big Day Out Gold Coast did not sell out — the first time the fest had not been at capacity "since the 1990s." Many attributed that to the fact that Kanye had also headlined Australia's Splendor in the Grass fest less than six months ago.

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Evanescence, Matt Pinfield Remember 1991: When Rock Rocked

02 Sep 2011 14:32:41 EDT

Pearl Jam's Ten, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger celebrate 20th anniversary along with Nirvana's Nevermind.
By James Montgomery

As the music world gears up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind, it's also bears mention that there were no shortage of other magical, massive and equally mythological albums that hit stores in 1991. To celebrate the year when rock truly rocked, MTV News has been asking some of today's biggest acts (everyone from Blink-182 to DJ Skrillex) to remember their favorite albums from that truly epic year.

So far, we've looked back at Metallica's Black Album, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Dinosaur Jr.'s Green Mind, My Bloody Valentine's Loveless and Slint's Spiderland. And now, a couple of professional music fans reminisce about two other game-changing 1991 releases: Pearl Jam's Ten and Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger:

Pearl Jam, Ten
A little more than a year after they formed from the ashes of Seattle's Mother Love Bone — with an assist from a gas station attendant/surfer from San Diego — Pearl Jam roared to life with Ten, an album that not only ranks as a cornerstone of American rock, but one of the most successful debuts of all time. Few bands went from relative obscurity to international superstardom with the speed of Pearl Jam, a breakneck pace seemingly predicted on tracks like "Once" and "Why Go." Of course, Eddie Vedder's contemplative, everyman (yet otherworldly) ruminations on "Black" and "Jeremy" added depth and breadth to the sonic squall. A classic in every sense of the term, Ten remains Pearl Jam's most popular release to this day, and the fact that the band is still going strong proves that not all overnight success stories have to come with an unhappy ending. Also, rather indirectly, it remains the greatest thing Mookie Blaylock has ever been (loosely) associated with, even better than Oklahoma's run to the 1988 NCAA title game.

As Remembered by Amy Lee, Evanescence: "We moved from Rockford, Illinois, to Little Rock, Arkansas, when I was 13. It was really hard, you know, right at the wrong age, didn't have any friends, didn't know anyone, moved to a new school. It was real preppy, didn't fit in ... all that classic stuff. And, at the same time, there was some music that I was addicted to, like, needed it, and Pearl Jam's Ten was one of those records. I had the tape ... and I would listen to it, turn it over, listen to the whole other side, start it over again. All night. Like, I could just lie in bed and cry or think ... that was the outlet. I love that record. I love 'Black,' that song's just so totally beautiful, I could listen to that one over and over. 'Alive,' 'Jeremy,' probably the biggest song on the record for me. That video, that kind of horrifying, childlike experience, it completely moved me and touched me. That had to be the song for me. I wore that tape out, completely. And, I remember, the [liner] had them with their hands raised, together, and I had that on my wall. ... They felt like I felt, and their music described things I couldn't say out loud. And that idea and revelation was so inspiring to me, like, I wanted to live inside the songs."

Soundgarden, Badmotorfinger
They'd break through to the big time with the follow-up, 1994's Superunknown, but to the purists, Badmotorfinger remains Soundgarden's crowning achievement, a sludgy, leaden thing that channeled the bludgeon of Black Sabbath and the keening vocal pyrotechnics of a million hair-metal frontmen. And, in the process, the band created an album that was heavily indebted to the past, while still managing to forge new territory that left their grunge contemporaries (and contemporary critics) grasping at straws. Pounding, primal, precise ... all the adjectives apply here, and on songs like "Rusty Cage," "Outshined" and "Jesus Christ Pose," they often apply at the same time.

As Remembered by Matt Pinfield, host of MTV2's "120 Minutes": "Badmotorfinger is such a great record, and it says a lot about the band and their songwriting, just the crazy time signatures on tracks like 'Rusty Cage' and 'Jesus Christ Pose' — it took balls to write a song and do a video like 'Jesus Christ Pose' back in the day — but also, if you look at how songs like 'Outshined' have lasted, how incredible they are as a band. Chris Cornell, one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time, Kim Thayil, one of the most incredible guitar players, just dirty, sludgy, tuned-down. Ben Shepherd, a powerful bass player who plays rhythm with his bass, and, of course, Matt Cameron, one of the greatest drummers ... still going strong, looks as young as he did then, playing with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. So, I love Badmotorfinger. It's one of the greatest albums in a year that had so many really great albums."

Share your favorite memories of 1991's seminal albums in the comments below!

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Soundgarden Triumph At Red Rocks Reunion Show

19 Jul 2011 08:14:17 EDT

After reuniting last year, the grunge gods prove they can still shred.
By Mary J. DiMeglio

MORRISON, Colorado — An ecstatic-looking Chris Cornell gazed over the Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Monday night and declared, "We're Soundgarden, and we're back."

Setting off the night with "Searching With My Good Eye Closed" from 1991's Badmotorfinger and the Grammy-winning "Spoonman," one of their first big hits, the recently reunited grunge gods quickly cleared any doubts about whether they still had it, even after 14 years apart. "We're doing this because of you," Cornell professed.

After the frontman encouraged the crowd to "smoke it all so you don't get busted on the way home," the band unleashed "Jesus Christ Pose," with Matt Cameron's pummeling of the drums reminding everyone that while he's served as drummer for Pearl Jam since Soundgarden's 1997 breakup, it was his work with the night's headliner that made him sought after.

The band then allowed the audience to take a breath, slowing down the already-sleepy "Blow Up the Outside World." The song's fade out had the sold-out crowd of 9,400 chanting in unison.

Cornell reveled at the venue his reformed group had taken on. "We played here before, and maybe a little bit was lost on us," he said. "It's f---ing amazing." Between songs, he coaxed attendees to shriek just for the hell of it, giving props to the amphitheater's legendary acoustics. "This big rock over here and this one over there," he said, referencing the two giant stones that flank the seating area, "it acts like a speaker, funnels down to my head. It's trippy."

The Seattle foursome revisited their breakthrough album, Superunknown, for three in row, following "The Day I Tried to Live" with "My Wave" and "Fell on Black Days." They went all the way back to their Screaming Life/Fopp EP for "Nothing to Say" and shredded eardrums with "Rusty Cage." For "Outshined," Cornell dropped his guitar in favor of a microphone stand as his temporary weapon of choice, alternately waving it and pounding it into the stage.

As seasoned bands often do, Soundgarden changed up some of their biggest hits when most fans probably would have preferred the radio version. And while Cornell shied away from some of the notes on the choruses of "Black Hole Sun" and "Pretty Noose," it seems he was saving his pipes for the set-ending fan favorite "Slaves & Bulldozers." Having admirably conquered the night's 20-plus selections, Cornell explored the heights of his iconic wail without hesitation.

The band — which released its first-ever live album, Live on the I-5, earlier this year — is currently crafting its first studio LP since 1996. Though nothing new was debuted during Monday night's hit parade, fans can be hopeful that they channel the passion they displayed for their old material into their next offering.

Have you seen Soundgarden on their reunion tour? Share your review in the comments below!

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Soundgarden To Begin Recording New Album 'Very Soon'

17 Feb 2011 12:31:21 EST

Recently reunited Seattle stars announce plans for first studio album in 15 years.
By James Montgomery

It's been 15 years since we've been able to say this, but it looks like there's a new album from Soundgarden in the works.

That's according to the Seattle screamers themselves, who took to their official site to announce plans for a new studio record, their first since 1996's Down on the Upside.

"Over the past few months, we've been busy jamming, writing and hanging out together — exploring the creative aspect of being Soundgarden. It feels great," the band wrote, under the headline "Our Goal for 2011: Let's Make a Record." "We have some cool new songs that we are going to record very soon. Thank you for all the support!"

Soundgarden announced that they were ending a 12-year hiatus on December 31, 2009, and then played a handful of shows: one in Seattle under the handle "Nudedragons," then a sludgy Chicago gig ahead of their headlining slot at Lollapalooza.

Buoyed by the success of those gigs, Soundgarden released Telephantasm, a career-spanning collection of hits and sundry, in September, and hinted to MTV News that the album might just be a preview of things to come.

"We're taking baby steps ... Baby Godzilla steps," guitarist Kim Thayil joked.

"Maybe we'll do, like, 'Soundgarden on Ice,' [next]" frontman Chris Cornell laughed. "'Sound-Capades.' I'd watch that."

In January 2011, the band announced plans to release Soundgarden: Live on I-5, recorded on the West Coast leg of their 1996 tour. The album will hit stores on March 22.

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Soundgarden Say Telephantasm Is Just The Start Of Their Reunion

28 Sep 2010 13:57:55 EDT

'Maybe we'll do, like, 'Soundgarden: On Ice,' ' Chris Cornell jokes about upcoming projects.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias

Chris Cornell rang in 2010 with a bang, announcing on New Year's Eve that, after a 12-year hiatus, Soundgarden would be re-forming.

That was followed by a handful of secret gigs — including one under the anagram "Nudedragons" — and a headlining slot at this summer's Lollapalooza. And on Tuesday (September 28), fans got the next, somewhat inevitable step in the reunion: the release of Telephantasm, a career-spanning greatest-hits/ odds-n-sods collection.

But how did Soundgarden get to this point? Well, as Cornell told MTV News, it happened both very slowly and very rapidly, but always at the band's own pace.

"The thing that makes this work is one of the issues we had was kind of the cyclical nature of the music business: There was always a schedule, we were always late for something, or somebody was saying we were late for something, there was always sort of a two-year schedule put out, and Soundgarden didn't really start out that way," he said. "We were an indie band, and we just kind of did what we did a few weeks ahead. So now it sort of feels like we're back at that place ... we're doing what we want, when we want, in sort of a relaxed environment ... and, approaching it that way, we managed to put [Telephantasm] together in really a pretty short amount of time."

With the album now in stores, could there be plans for a full-scale tour? Well, maybe not quite yet — "We're taking baby steps ... Baby Godzilla steps," guitarist Kim Thayil chuckled — but that doesn't mean Soundgarden are done with all this reunion business either. They still have plenty of vault mining to do.

"We have a bunch of unreleased demos that we never put out that we recently unearthed, and they sound really good, so that's going to be something as well," drummer Matt Cameron said. "They're from this one specific [session], maybe it was [in] '88 or '89, so there's this one chunk of demos we're looking at. And also, when we release the catalog, hopefully we can include demos that are specific to each record too."

So if Telephantasm doesn't slake Soundgarden fans' thirst for the old stuff, there's plenty more to look forward to. And though there may not be a tour on the horizon, the guys say they're still going to be playing the odd festival gig or one-off show here or there. But, unlike the past, they'll be the ones deciding the particulars. That also extends to exploring brand-new revenue streams. After all, this is very much a reunion, and, after spending the last dozen years on the shelf, Soundgarden are looking to take full advantage of this brave new world.

"Maybe we'll do, like, 'Soundgarden: On Ice,' " Cornell laughed. " 'Sound-Capades.' I'd watch that."

Are you excited about Soundgarden's re-emergence? Let us know in the comments!

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The Arcade Fire Go Big, Soundgarden Get Heavy: Sunday At Lollapalooza

09 Aug 2010 01:46:12 EDT

Arcade Fire and Soundgarden go head-to-head with powerful Sunday night sets
By James Montgomery and Kyle Anderson

CHICAGO — Over the past three days, there's been no shortage of power from the big stages at Lollapalooza, though usually, it was coming from one side of Grant Park or the other. On Friday, it was Lady Gaga who provided the surge, and on Saturday, it was Green Day. But on Sunday (August 8), during the final night of Lolla 2010, we finally got dueling dynamos, as the Arcade Fire and the reunited Soundgarden squared off across the park with sets that packed a wallop, not just sonically, but physically, and emotionally, too.

This wasn't showmanship — neither band really brought out the big lights (or the even bigger explosions) like Gaga or Green Day did — this was old-fashioned, roll-up-your-sleeves, sweat-on-the-stage rock and roll, the kind that makes the genre so intoxicatingly compelling, and, yet, is sadly in short supply these days.

The Arcade Fire — who just celebrated the release of their The Suburbs album with a pair of sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden — took the stage in stately silhouette, while the orchestral strains of the title track swirled around them, and quickly proved that they had learned a thing or two from their recent gigs: namely, that their big, bawling new anthems sound best while played at very loud volume.

"Ready To Start" rolled along theatrically, getting bigger and bigger with each passing bar. "Rococo" started ominous and hushed, then built with each repetition of the chorus, husband/wife team of Win Butler and Regine Chassagne letting their voices become progressively more entwined, while the crowd chanted along in unison. And "The Suburbs" was jaunty and strong-limbed, stretching and expanding with Butler seated behind a piano and Chassagne on a second drum kit for added oomph.

They sprinkled their older stuff throughout, and it was just as life-affirming as it ever was, in particular "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)," which was even huge during the lilting verses, "No Cars Go," which had the crowd chanting "Let's Go!" while the band broke into an extended jam, and a swooning, smashing take on "Crown Of Love," which crescendo-ed until it toppled over on itself, all melodramatic and overwrought, and left the tens of thousands in the audience waving their hands back and forth.

But in a set where so much was so massive, there were a pair of moments that stood out as not only the hugest of the night, but probably of the entire weekend. And they came within minutes of one another. The first occurred towards the end of their 90-minute set, when the band let "Neighborhood 3 (Power Out)" come crashing directly into "Rebellion (Lies)," a wave of sound that got downright spiritual, at least judging by the amount of arms thrust skyward, and then tore through "Month of May" a fiery burner off the new album. At the conclusion, with feedback still drenching the air, fans pressed against the barrier could be seen bowing to the band. They deserved it.

And then, for the encore, they (of course) did "Wake Up," which has become their defacto anthem, and the band didn't even have to provide the "Woah-Oh-Oh-Ohs!" (it was probably the only moment of the show where they weren't working overtime). Instead, Butler instructed the crowd to sing so loudly that they could "hear it on the space station." And they probably could. That's the power of old-fashioned rock and roll, after all.

And while all of this was happening at the north end of the park, Soundgarden were providing the power down on the south side, though they preferred to do so with brute force and maximum sludge. Playing only their third show in 12 years, the Seattle quartet rolled through a similar set to their Thursday night (August 5) show at the tiny Vic Theater just a few miles away in Chicago. But while that performance was compact and internal (matching the intimate nature of the venue), the Soundgarden that showed up to play the main stage at the close of the festival was the stadium-sized monster that most people remember from the "Black Hole Sun" days.

By far the most low key band to headline their particular stage all weekend (especially considering Lady Gaga's bombastic theatrics and Green Day's penchant for crowd-friendly spectacle), Soundgarden did what they do best: Grind out vicious, sludgy anthems designed to hit the listener square in the gut. Just as they did a few nights prior, the band opened with the Badmotorfinger dirge "Searching With My Good Eye Closed," which set the tone for a truly harrowing night of pounding, aggressive rock. While recognizable hits like "Black Hole Sun" and "Rusty Cage" got the biggest reactions, the crowd was appreciative of grinders like "4th of July" and "Let Me Drown," which captured the same kind of energy the band kept in reserve back when they last headlined Lollapalooza (they played the main stage on the touring version in 1996).

"This is the millionth time we've played Lollapalooza," frontman Chris Cornell announced to the crowd. Really, it might as well have been '96, as the group have not lost a step (in some ways, they sounded better than they ever have). Soundgarden are about the closest thing Lollapalooza has to an institution, and though no songs played during their festival-closing set were written after '96, there's something to be said for tradition — really, really loud tradition.

Soundgarden capped off a busy Sunday at Lollapalooza, which saw schizophrenic jumps from the over-the-top theatrics of X Japan to the grooviness of Erykah Badu to the stout riffage of Wolfmother to the gardening-friendly hip-hop vibe of Cypress Hill. An eclectic, sometimes wholly disjointed lineup, to be sure, but one that will live on in Lollapalooza history — and founder Perry Farrell wouldn't have it any other way.

Were you at Lollapalooza? What was your favorite part of the weekend? Share your reviews in the comments!

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Soundgarden Kick Off Lollapalooza Weekend With Intimate Night Of Noise

06 Aug 2010 09:31:04 EDT

Grunge rockers get Chicago hyped for the festival with a set at the Vic Theatre.
By Kyle Anderson

CHICAGO — You could have easily convinced outsiders that they had wandered through a time warp and that the Chicago of 2010 was actually Seattle of 1992. The streets were filled with rock kids looking for a place to hang, tattoo parlors and coffee shops filled the storefronts, and there was even a shop called Never Mind around the corner from the Vic Theatre, which was playing host to Soundgarden on Thursday night. Back for only their second show since they decided to get the band back together after a 13-year hiatus, Soundgarden prepared for Sunday's Lollapalooza-closing set with a surge through their back catalog, with enough bulldozer riffs and druggy interludes to make the rapt audience forget what day it was (let alone what year).

With his long metal locks grown back to full length, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell strode easily onto the stage as though nothing had changed in the years since the band played "Searching With My Good Eye Closed," which opened the two-hour set well balanced with deep cuts and mainstream hits. Though the show was not without hiccups (hot microphones seemed to dog them all night), Soundgarden proved that their catalog of tunes has withstood the test of time. Old favorites like "Let Me Drown" and "Get on the Snake" laid out Soundgarden's whole aesthetic: thick, burly riffs, deep rhythmic thrusts and Cornell's towering yelp of a voice. It's no wonder that, when combined with a killer chorus, songs like "Black Hole Sun" and "Pretty Noose" — both of which showed up in Thursday night's set — became such gigantic mainstream rock hits.

But there are other parts of Soundgarden that have nothing to do with their radio-friendly side. Though usually thought of as the most "metal" of all the major grunge acts, Soundgarden kept as much punk-rock speed and clamor in their holster as anybody else from Seattle, and bits of that ethos kept creeping through (especially on the extra-adrenaline-packed "Rusty Cage"). There's also no shortage of churning guitar sludge in the deeper album cuts of their catalog, and those were on display as well (best illustrated by the set-closing "Slaves and Bulldozers").

By the time the band returned for the encore (which saw drummer Matt Cameron tease a jazzy solo while Cornell got some assistance with his guitar), the time warp was complete, and the band sent the 1,400 or so hardcores home with a trifecta of "4th of July," "Blow Up the Outside World" and "Like Suicide." For a group gone 13 years and only having had one show back in the saddle, they sounded impressively polished, passionate and loud — the ideal act to close out one of the biggest music festivals in the country.

Lollapalooza 2010 gets under way Friday — make sure to check out MTV News' Lollapalooza Live, streaming Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m., right here on MTV.com. And follow all of Lollapalooza on the MTV Newsroom blog.

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Lollapalooza Lookback 1992: Soundgarden Predict The Future

06 Aug 2010 06:50:56 EDT

Reunited group also headlines this year's fest, which kicks off Friday.
By James Montgomery

With the 2010 edition of Lollapalooza kicking off Friday (August 6), MTV News decided to dive deep into our archives and dig up the greatest/ weirdest/ scariest/ downright rocking-est moments in the fest's rather epic history. We're calling it "Lollapalooza Lookback," and we think it's a pretty fitting tribute to the granddaddy of American music festivals. We've already tackled Pearl Jam's 1992 afternoon set, Nine Inch Nails' stage-trashing heroics from 1991, Ice Cube's "buck wild" goals in '92 and Korn's rather, uh, interesting take on Lolla '97. And to cap things off, we're digging deep, for a chat with a band that's darn-near synonymous with Lollapalooza: Soundgarden.

1992: Soundgarden Stand on the Verge of Greatness

Aside from Perry Farrell's various musical machinations (and, since it's his fest, he can pretty much do whatever he wants), no band has played Lollapalooza as many times as Soundgarden. They've main-staged on three different tours, first in 1992 (when they were sandwiched between the Jesus and Mary Chain and Ice Cube), then again in 1996 (on the so-called "Rockapalooza" jaunt) and — now re-formed — they'll close down 2010 Lolla on Sunday night.

It sort of makes sense. After all, Soundgarden's career has eerily shadowed Lolla's rise and fall. They both broke big in the early/mid '90s, both took extended hiatuses in '97, and both staged remarkable resurrections in the 21st century (of course, Soundgarden waited until 2010 to do so). Along with, say, Pearl Jam or Jane's Addiction, Soundgarden are a living bridge between Lolla's scrappy past and its shiny future, which is why they're the perfect headliners for this year's fest.

Of course, way back in 1992, they were just another band standing on the verge of greatness. They had just released their seminal Badmotorfinger album and were still two years away from unleashing Superunknown, which would make them internationally famous. So when MTV News spoke with them at the kickoff that year, they were still sort of trying to figure out where they belong. To them, Lollapalooza was just another opportunity to check out some bands they really dug.

"I'd like to come and see Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.," guitarist Kim Thayil said. "I like the bill on the first stage. It's great. We have [played with a lot of them before], and I'm sure we'll continue to play with the type of bands that you'll show on ['120 Minutes'] or the type of bands you'll show on 'Headbangers Ball.' "

And, in a way, Thayil's comments were strangely prescient. In 1996, Soundgarden played Lolla with the likes of Metallica and the Ramones. This year, they share the bill with Lady Gaga and the Strokes. All of which goes to show you that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Sort of like Lollapalooza itself.

Lollapalooza 2010 gets under way Friday — make sure to check out MTV News' Lollapalooza Live, streaming Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m., right here on MTV.com.

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Soundgarden Reunite In Seattle For Secret Show

17 Apr 2010 09:48:00 EDT

For first concert in 13 years, set list includes 'Spoonman,' 'Outshined,' other fan faves.
By Tom Biro

SEATTLE — On Friday night, 13 years after last taking the stage together, the members of grunge-era band Soundgarden reunited in front of about 1,000 fans at Seattle's Showbox at the Market for a rousing performance that kicked off with fan favorite "Spoonman" and closed with a cover of the Doors' "Waiting for the Sun."

The surprise performance comes just four months after singer Chris Cornell proclaimed that Soundgarden would return to action. Since that January announcement, the band's inclusion in August's Lollapalooza festival in Chicago had been made public, but no additional concert dates had been set.

On Thursday afternoon, Seattle radio station 107.7 "The End" began tweeting about the possibility of a "secret" show, and news soon spread that fans on the band's e-mail list would receive information on when and where it would take place. When word got out that a band going by the name "Nudedragons" (an anagram of Soundgarden) would be playing on Friday night, fans began stalking Twitter and Ticketmaster, awaiting the moment that tickets would go on sale. According to local news reports in Seattle, the available tickets sold out in less than 15 minutes.

"That's Kim. That's Ben. That's Matt.," Cornell informed fans, pointing to his stagemates, halfway through the band's almost two-hour set, which included a run of more than an hour of nonstop rock before a short break. "And that's Chris," responded drummer Matt Cameron, bringing a cheer from the hometown crowd, who appreciated the introductions, though they were hardly needed.

"It's a rehearsal, so if we f--- something up, we're probably going to go through it again," explained Cornell, just before tearing into "Outshined," off 1991's Badmotorfinger. From the fans' perspective, however, the show appeared to be a rehearsal in name only, with the crowd holding tight to every note, drumbeat and guitar riff sent their way.

If the throwing of a guitar symbolizes all things rock and roll, then clearly bassist Ben Shepherd is ready to make a go of it. After tossing his bass in what many hard-core fans recognize as the "end" of the band back in February 1997, it probably won't go unnoticed that Shepherd did the same thing to close Friday night's show, in what could be seen as an effort to go back to the way things were — with Soundgarden as the heavy, loud powerhouse that exemplified the early-to-mid '90s.

Friday night's set list:
"Spoonman"
"Gun"
"Searching With My Good Eye Closed"
"Rusty Cage"
"Beyond the Wheel"
"Flower"
"Ugly Truth"
"Fell on Black Days"
"Hunted Down"
"Nothing to Say"
"Loud Love"
"Blow Up the Outside World"
"Pretty Noose"
"Outshined"
"Slaves and Bulldozers"

Encore:
"Get on the Snake"
"Big Dumb Sex"
"Waiting for the Sun"

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