In memoriam: Chris Cornell
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Published by Sareth Ney on May 19, 2017 at 9:57 p.m.
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Photo credit: Sareth Ney
PALM COAST, Fla. – I could not bring myself to write an article, yesterday. It was because I found out the world had lost Chris Cornell. In honor of his memory, I will write about the number of occasions I had the opportunity to see him.
The first time I saw Cornell perform live, it was at Project Revolution and the venue was Fiddler’s Green. It was in Greenwood Village, Colo. and the date was Aug. 12, 2008. The lineup was great. It featured Linkin Park, The Bravery, Ashes Divide, Street Drum Corps, Atreyu, 10 Years, Hawthorne Heights and Armor For Sleep. There were two stages. It was when he went solo for a bit. I remembered when he jumped into the crowd, sang and everyone flocked towards him. Chester Bennington, vocalist of Linkin Park, took the stage to sing Eddie Vedder’s parts of Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike”.
My second opportunity to see Cornell was with Soundgarden. It was for the “King Animal” tour and was the first of three sold out dates at The Wiltern. It was in Los Angeles and I remembered purchasing merchandise. My friend, Darby, had sold me a shirt that was one size too large for me. It was the only size they had left with the cities on the back of it. Since my weight loss, the shirt was three times too large for me. I also purchased a screen printed poster for the first of three shows. There was a skull inside of a nest resting on a tree branch and with a bird inside of it.
As the photographers waited to get escorted inside of the performance area, I remembered I should have invested in a better lens. We were only allowed to photograph from the ramp because there was no photo pit. I made the most of it and some of the photos turned out okay.
My last opportunity to see Soundgarden was at Welcome To Rockville. I left after A Perfect Circle’s performance and did not stay for one of Cornell’s final performances. I was trying to beat traffic and as I walked to my truck, I heard his unforgettable voice to the tune of “Spoonman”.
If there was one thing I will take with me from seeing Cornell perform in a live setting, it is the fact he had a great vocal range and he will be missed.
The first time I saw Cornell perform live, it was at Project Revolution and the venue was Fiddler’s Green. It was in Greenwood Village, Colo. and the date was Aug. 12, 2008. The lineup was great. It featured Linkin Park, The Bravery, Ashes Divide, Street Drum Corps, Atreyu, 10 Years, Hawthorne Heights and Armor For Sleep. There were two stages. It was when he went solo for a bit. I remembered when he jumped into the crowd, sang and everyone flocked towards him. Chester Bennington, vocalist of Linkin Park, took the stage to sing Eddie Vedder’s parts of Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike”.
My second opportunity to see Cornell was with Soundgarden. It was for the “King Animal” tour and was the first of three sold out dates at The Wiltern. It was in Los Angeles and I remembered purchasing merchandise. My friend, Darby, had sold me a shirt that was one size too large for me. It was the only size they had left with the cities on the back of it. Since my weight loss, the shirt was three times too large for me. I also purchased a screen printed poster for the first of three shows. There was a skull inside of a nest resting on a tree branch and with a bird inside of it.
As the photographers waited to get escorted inside of the performance area, I remembered I should have invested in a better lens. We were only allowed to photograph from the ramp because there was no photo pit. I made the most of it and some of the photos turned out okay.
My last opportunity to see Soundgarden was at Welcome To Rockville. I left after A Perfect Circle’s performance and did not stay for one of Cornell’s final performances. I was trying to beat traffic and as I walked to my truck, I heard his unforgettable voice to the tune of “Spoonman”.
If there was one thing I will take with me from seeing Cornell perform in a live setting, it is the fact he had a great vocal range and he will be missed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sareth Ney is the journalist for A Quarter and Dream Pictures. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications and Center for New Media from Colorado State University-Pueblo. He is a former apprentice to master of horror, Clive Barker. He is a Wu-Tang Clan inspired superhero, Wu-Man Chu. He is an award-winning short filmmaker; his goal is to write 150 articles in select time zones, inducts every article into his hall of fame, is a stand-up comedian, motivational speaker, founder and co-host of Pueblo's Independent Multimedia Podcast and is the festival director at Sareth-Fest Music and Comedy Festival.
