Soundgarden at the Orpheum Theatre February 2nd, 2013

I’m certainly not the
first person to wax poetic about how life-changing discovering Soundgarden as a
youth was and I definitely (thankfully) won’t be the last. But it’s hard not to
express just how important this band was to me and how crushing it was when
they broke up. While watching the show, it occurred to me that, along with the
2,600 other folks nestled the Orpheum, I was witnessing something really
momentous; something beyond the mass nostalgia. This was a band successfully
picking up right where they left off after a 13-year absence from the music
scene and 18 years since the band even played in Minneapolis. That cold, snowy
Saturday evening Soundgarden blasted through plenty of old and familiar songs,
but kept everyone planted in the here and now. Who needs nostalgia when the
most exciting time in your life is happening right now, right in front of you?

Unleashing “Incessant
Mace” from 1988’s Ultramega OK as the first song of the night was just
one of many wonderful surprises the band had in store for the wild sold-out
crowd. Vintage favorites like “Hunted Down” and “Flower” followed and had the
audience going absolutely insane. Fans were punching the air, pointing
violently at and screaming with a very lean, curly-haired Chris Cornell, who
shut down all the naysayers who assumed he wouldn’t be able pull off those high
notes. I am ashamed to admit I was one of those folks (but singing the way he
does has got to have an expiration date) However, by the time guitarist Kim
Thayil tore into the dirty, chugging “Outshined,” I was begging Cornell’s
forgiveness and reveling in that most impressive wail of his. Chris, I will
never doubt you again!

The sonic punches kept
flying as the band kicked into Superunknown’s “Let Me Drown.” Badmotorfinger’s
“Jesus Christ Pose” encouraged a choir of voices to sing along and all eyes
were on Cornell as he stretched out his arms in that iconic stance. The heavy
throb of “Gun” fluidly gave way to urgent new track “By Crooked Steps” as
Thayil stalked the corner of the stage, occasionally trading grins with bassist
Ben Shepherd and some very lucky audience members. Drummer Matt Cameron, while
stationary behind the drums, isn’t one of those drummers that sulks in the
background; not only did he make himself present by pummeling those skins raw,
but he was also interacting a lot with the crowd. Tall, stoic Shepherd, who
stood on the opposite end of Thayil, experienced tons of love from fans as
well; when he wasn’t lost in the music, he was bumping fists with audience
members. Clearly, these guys were having as much fun as fans were.

I have to say the best
part of the entire show had to be the slew of tracks from my favorite album and
Soundgarden’s final album, 1996’s Down on the Upside. Songs I never
thought I would ever hear like “Rhinosaur,” “Blow Up the Outside World” and the
beautiful, slow-burning “Zero Chance” suddenly filled every corner of the
theater and left me feeling very bittersweet. Cornell had been introducing many
of the songs, occasionally relating a story, but mostly just murmuring the
title into the mic. So when he approached the mic and quickly muttered, “This
is called ‘Ty Cobb,’” the joy was almost too much to bear and I nearly toppled
over the poor woman in front of me. “Ty Cobb” is pretty rarely heard live track
these days which is unfortunate considering that it contains a gleefully
caustic chorus (“Hard-headed, f*ck you all”) that is difficult not to sing out
loud. Cornell mentioned during the set that the band regretfully skipped
Minneapolis on the national tour supporting Down on the Upside – I can’t
help but wonder if these Upside gems were selected just for Minnesotans.

The band concluded the
set with two killer Superunknown tracks: “Fresh Tendrils” and the album’s
title track, wherein Thayil set his guitar from stun to kill and the band
poured out this hard, swirling psychedelia that had everyone dancing in the
isles. The deafening roar from the crowd brought the band back after a very
brief exit for an intense three song encore featuring a blistering performance
of “Spoonman.” As a result of being overplayed on the radio, “Spoonman” had
somewhat lost it’s appeal to me, but watching it was such a visceral
experience. Cameron, especially, really flexed his percussive muscle on this
one. The high energy classic “Rusty Cage” and sinister throat-shredder “Slaves
and Bulldozers” closed the show in a shower of blissful reverb. Maybe it’s a
premature (slightly biased) prediction, but I feel like Soundgarden has the
talent and savvy to be as big now as they were when they called it quits.

Near the end of the
concert, Cornell told the crowd that Minneapolis would see Soundgarden again.
Just don’t keep us waiting too long, fellas. We’re hungry for more.

emily () ♥ soundgardenworld.com