When Chris Cornell made it known that his old band Soundgarden was re-forming on New Year’s Day 2010, the cynics were quick to assume that their return would amount to little more than a nostalgia trip, intended to keep the band’s accountants happy.
But last night at Terminal 5, Seattle’s grunge godfathers emphatically demonstrated that they have a hunger for something more than just a nice payday.
The ferocity of last year’s “King Animal” album — their first in 16 years — took even their most faithful fans by surprise, and the quartet proudly showed off their new tricks during much of the show (which they’ll reprise next Tuesday and Wednesday at Hammerstein Ballroom).
Their opener, “Been Away Too Long,” set the tone for the night with its bone-rattling riffs, while the slower, more psychedelic colors of tracks such as “Taree” offered guitarist Kim Thayil a chance show his vastly underrated talent.
But the most remarkable and consistent sound of the night turned out to be Cornell’s banshee wails and guttural screams.
Almost three decades after the band’s birth, the singer’s pipes are in remarkably good condition despite his prolonged battle with alcoholism, which ravaged him for years, not to mention the fact that he seemed to be fighting through a heavy dose of the dreaded man-flu.
But while the “King Animal” material certainly keeps things fresh for the band members, it only took a brief glance at the sea of sweaty, plaid-clad dudes in the mosh pit to realize that the vast majority of the sold-out crowd wanted to hear classics. And lots of them.
They weren’t disappointed. Over the course of more than two hours, Soundgarden made sure to get in plenty of deep cuts such as “Spoonman,” “Fresh Tendrils” and a version of “Hands Down” added to the set at the request of a super fan in the front row. It may not have been a song that everyone wanted to hear, but no one begrudged the band for showing such generosity to continually loyal fans.
Cornell in particular seemed happy to honor the band’s past as he dedicated “Hunted Down” to the attending Jonathan Poneman — the man who put out the early work of both Soundgarden (and most famously, Nirvana) on his Sub Pop label, helping kick-start the alternative-rock revolution that dominated the music world in the 1990s.
Such is the immense weight of the band’s past that it’s almost impossible to imagine Soundgarden ever managing to move completely past it.
The deafening roar that greeted the first notes of their calling-card hit “Black Hole Sun” or the thunderous drum intro of “Jesus Christ Pose” is a testament to Soundgarden’s immovable presence in music history.
But at the very least, Cornell and Co. can use their current hot streak of creativity to prove that they’re nobody’s show ponies.