On a day of incredible Bridge School Benefit performances including a stripped-bare display of Florence & The Machine‘s breathtakingly ethereal voice, Tom Jones‘ panty-dropper crooning and Pearl Jam channeling both The Beatles (“Rain“) and Temple of The Dog (“Hunger Strike“), Soundgarden delivered a rare acoustic performance that gave goosebumps to the goosebumps on the arms of grunge-survivor attendees on Saturday.
Chris Cornell was in top vocal form as he led his band through a short acoustic run of classics, kicking off with a haunting take on “Fell on Black Days” and a magnificent run through “Blow Up The Outside World,” which ended with an enchanting repeated vocal “blow up… blow up…,” and a wildly celebrated run through deep-cut Down On The Upside track “Dusty”. Drummer Matt Cameron, pulling double duty with Pearl Jam on Saturday, did a fine job of harnessing his explosive energy for the unique sonic setting, while guitarist Kim Thayil shredded his way all over the acoustic fretboard and bassist Ben Shepherd, sporting a freshly cropped haircut, kept the low end pulsing strongly.
Prior to the excellent “Dusty” run, however, Cornell told a story of kicking his way down a ditch on the side of the road and finding Neil Young’s “Rust Never Sleeps” on cassette, buried in the dirt. He explained how the find inspired him to try to write a song that could be as cool as what was on that dirt-covered tape, which led to a positively kickass run through “Burden In My Hand”.
Soundgarden Bridge School Setlist 2014:
Fell On Black Days
Blow Up the Outside World
Black Hole Sun
Burden In My Hand
Dusty
