Well, I am finally semi-alert enough to write a show report. I don’t promise that it will be coherent. Actually, I promise that it won’t be.

It’s hard to concentrate with a constant ringing in your ears.

After getting a bit high from a healthy dose of second-hand weed smoke in the pit, and dehydrated from moving all over the place, from the very front of the pit and stage, to the middle of the pit, and finally to the rear of the HOB to get more water … an old man like me pushing 40 probably should have bought reserved seating. But come on, it’s Chris Fucking Cornell.

In 2 hours, I saw 3 of the greatest bands ever last night. Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, Audioslave … and of course now, Cornell … the solo artist.

The pit was actually relatively tame compared to my heyday 15 or so years ago. I was the most hyper one. And to make it 100% clear, there never was actually a “pit” in the traditional sense of a “mosh pit”, but for this report I just use the term for the first 30 feet or so in front of the stage, and maybe 20 feet on either side of the microphone.

This is where the most die-hard fans stood, and it is where people got more interactive, excited, and vocal with the show. There was no crowd surfing or moshing (my how times have changed), although there were some brief moments of pushing, errant fist-pumps, etc. Like I said, very mild compared to a decade ago. The vibe was very positive and good. Everyone in the “pit” seemed to be bona-fide, long time fans of the music.

But there were a few small conflicts in the beginning. Why? Because some people thought that it was a really frigging marvelous idea to bring open cups of beer and expensive camera phones into the pit. And they got really angry when someone accidentally touched their camera or someone accidentally knocked against them and made them spill their beer. What would you expect within the first 20 feet of the stage?

How can you groove to this type of music holding a plastic cup full of beer with the band directly in front of you?

I didn’t get it.

But that was actually just a few people. The majority of the crowd was awesome. They knew every song, and were completely into it. They sang along to every word, they erupted into applause at the beginning of the song, at all the tempo changes, and at the end of every song. They were great.

I was standing about 5 rows of people back from the front of the stage before the show. Then the lights went down, and they came out and just launched into “Spoonman”. I rushed the stage, and ended up at the front after sending a few people flying in different directions. It’s the pit, you have to hold your ground or give it up. That’s just the way it is, or at least the way it was when I was young. I think it is considered aggressive now. I rushed a pit that never quite materialized in the traditional sense. Security gave me the stink-eye, and I did feel bad for the carnage I had left behind. I made it a point to be more courteous. I was just excited and assumed everyone would bum rush the stage. I fully expected to take my own pummeling (which I did a bit later).

There were some smaller petite girls and guys behind me and I reached out to grab their hand and position them in front of me so they could see better, and they seemed to appreciate it. I acted as the barrier, and took the beating for them from the people behind me. But I was happy to let them get into it as I personally took a few wayward fist-pumps to the head for them. At my height, my head was at just the right level. But it wasn’t that bad and I didn’t mind. It was all done out of love for the band.

The next song was “Outshined”. The song that personifies “grunge” more than any other song ever written. I used to play that song all the time with a 1×12 Fender Amp with the gain on 10 and at a volume that could be heard on Mars. One of my favorite songs, but I say that sincerely about many of these songs.

I was zoned into my own world, and looked up every now and then to see people staring at me (a recurring theme for the night).

The band was just spot-on, and at points you would have been convinced that Cornell was lip-syncing. It is impossible to believe that at 43 years old, he can belt the songs out the same way he did 15 years ago. But he did exactly that. I don’t know how he keeps the voice.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Cornell is often considered the best vocalist in rock music. He is said to have the greatest range of any male vocalist ever, being able to go from the highest note on a male scale to the lowest note on a male scale.

Eddie Vedder is great. But he can be imitated (see: Creed, Stone Temple Pilots, etc).

Chris Cornell cannot be imitated. The simple fact is that nobody can sing his songs … except him.

And that will probably always be the case.

So the show just plows on, and they get to “Say Hello 2 Heaven”. Again, a favorite, but this one is possibly my favorite song of all time.

After this song, I am drenched in sweat. Not like … sweaty … but it looked like I had been dunked in a swimming pool.

At this point I decide to give up some room and move to the fringe of the pit where I can get a tiny bit of video and a still shot or two. I wasn’t there to record the show as many other people were. I saw a few people hold the damn cellphone camera up the whole show. What’s the point of that? I get the idea of a 30 second video souvenir, that makes sense … but recording the whole thing on a cell is asinine. The sound quality and video quality suck … and you can’t enjoy the show as much, IMHO.

So I just took a couple of shots and stuck the phone back in my pocket. I got my souvenir.

The mid-point of the show was a great acoustic set which featured an incredible rendition of “I am the Highway”. If that didn’t bring a tear to your eye then you have no soul.

After the acoustic set, and a couple of new tracks, I went back to reload on water.

It took forever to get my hydration, so I saw the next several songs from the back of the venue. There were two encores, but while I was next up for a drink, they started tapping out “Burden In My Hand”, and I got back to the floor just in time to launch myself off the top step in perfect sync with “I shot my love today, would you cry for me”, much to the surprise and/or amusement of the people standing nearby. Man did I get looks the whole show. I think people thought that I had taken a massive overdose of something. Like I gave a shit.

After that one, I had to go back for my damn water. I lost two bottles in the pit. I could barely focus on the stage, the room was spinning, I was high (not my fault), and if I was going down, I knew nobody could carry my 6′2 200lb ass out of there.

I finally loaded up on some water, and realized that I had to dry my clothes out. I could only imagine how bad I stunk. In retrospect, thank goodness for the pot smoke permeating the lower level.

I caught the close, “Jesus Christ Pose” from the rear, which was just incredible. And it was actually cool watching it from there, as the vantage point of seeing the illuminated huge crowd in front of me go berserk was half the fun of watching that closing encore. It summed it all up well.

I had wreaked my havoc at the beginning. Sung along to every damn song in the middle, and finished up the night watching 500+ people in front of me go balls-to-the-walls ballistic. I soaked it all in from just about every spot in the House of Blues. And I have to tell you, it was a beautiful thing.

It was a TOTD concert, it was a Soundgarden concert, it was an Audioslave concert, and it was Cornell himself at what could arguably be considered his best.

I also didn’t tediously write down the set list in order, but suffice to say that he covered just about EVERYTHING that everyone wanted to here. Except for one, single, minor exception that I was hoping for. Hungerstrike. The classic Cornell/Vedder duet that Chris often sings at his solo shows. But it would be impossible to cover every song without making it a 10 hour show, and I (and probably everyone else) was completely blown away by the set list.

A few unique notes. There were a couple of bimbos behind me holding up a sign that said “Seattle”. Chris said “I see that sign that says Seattle. Cool. Okay, I’ve seen it, you can put it down now. I don’t want your arms to get tired.”

He did a brief call-and-response with the crowd.

Chris: “What’s my name?”

Crowd:“Chris Cornell!!!!”

He made several references to Las Vegas and how great it was to be in this town. Which of course everyone went nuts about.

He was telling some story about the guitar player before “Say Hello to Heaven” and said the song was dedicated to him, but I didn’t quite understand it. Obviously the song was written for the late Andrew Wood, so I’m not quite sure what that was about.

Anyway, the crowd interaction was cool, and the band and the crowd were all happy.

BTW, he is actually touring before the release of his new record which is due at the end of May I believe. I have heard many of his new songs, and fans of the genre’ will really dig his album, IMHO. I can assure you that there are some more future classics on that effort.

Everyone was familiar by now with his new cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean”, and it got a good reception. But while very interesting and fun to hear, I think this is my least favorite of his new songs. But who knows, the damn thing might grow on me.

A note about the band … awesome, just awesome. They practiced every song lick-for-lick and were technically perfect. Yes we all miss Thayil, Shepherd, Morello, etc … but for hired guns, these guys did the songs justice, and then some. Very tight band, very animated, great performers. I was worried that the new crew would not fit after such a brief period together, and for having such gigantic shoes to fill, but I was wrong. They smacked every song like it stole something.

Please note that I am not disparaging the original members of the previous bands (who could never truly be replaced), but simply giving high praise to the new guys.

One of the greatest shows of all time. Without a doubt.

Negatives? Not many, but a couple (none having to do with the band).

Ventilation at the House of Blues is abhorrent. It reminded me of when I used to play small clubs as a musician, and when I would go to shows at said clubs.

But those were small clubs, you paid $5 to get in, and you expected a toxic sauna.

But This is the House of Fucking Blues at the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas. Not Frank’s Roadhouse in Fresno. The acoustics are great, but for fuck’s sake, circulate the damn air.

It was hot, the pot smoke cloud hovered in the same place for 20 minutes, it was stuffy.

When they opened the doors at the end of the show, this big WHOOOSSSSHHHH of cold air came in from the casino. That’s not good. That means we had no fresh air for 2+ hours. I’m not sure that the effort I expended really required me to basically have to take off my shirt and wring it out in the bathroom. Or maybe it did. I dunno. But it just felt like it was 110 degrees in there last night. And the body odor and smoke stuck to your nostrils like stink on a monkey. I appreciate that this was grunge, but there are parts of the grunge experience that can be foregone in an opulent venue like the Mandalay. Soundgarden fans are in their 30’s, 40, and even 50’s now. We’ve paid our dues over the years, now cut us some damn slack and turn the A/C past the off setting once in awhile.

Also, the people who took open-cup beer directly in front of the stage invariable got it spilled, and the entire floor was sticky. If you stood in one place for too long, your feet became glued to the floor. There was beer just all over the floor. It’s fine to drink during a show, and there were plenty of side areas to do so. It’s probably not the best idea to take it into the center area when it’s in an open cup. If it doesn’t get spilled, you will get other people’s spit, sweat, snot, dandruff and who knows what in it.

Those were my only real gripes, except for this:

As I left the HOB, they were already taking Cornell’s name off the marquee. You know who is playing that exact same stage tonight?

Alice in Chains?

Rage Against the Machine?

Foo Fighters?

No.

Taylor Hicks.

Yes, THAT Taylor Hicks. The one from American Idol.

The “Soul Patrol” (wooooo!) would be filling this exact same venue in less than 24 hours.

I stared for awhile as they took the letters off, and then shook my head as I wandered off into the Las Vegas night realizing that I no longer understand the world. Maybe I never really did. When I got outside, I heard that a plane had crashed on Las Vegas Boulevard 2 miles to the south of the Mandalay just as the show was letting out.

Weird.