A selection of press reviews from Chris Cornell's Tel Aviv show on June 17.
"The
set list is an important factor to the Israeli audience, that has no
mercy on its heroes. In the press conference he held this morning
Cornell confessed he didn’t know what he was about to play tonight and
that he usually decides what he's to play only on the night of the
show.
In Tel Aviv Chris Cornell gave a perfect set list keeping
a perfect balance between his songs from different years. When he went
on stage with arms wide open to the sound of his last album "Scream"
the feeling was that this was going to be a great show, and such it was.
Cornell's
new songs (which most of the audience feared) got a new color, a new
life and passionate energies from an artist that has rock pumping
through his veins but doesn't mind fooling around with catchy hits as
"Part of Me"
Cornell is a true "stage animal" - you could see it
on every muscle on his face. He was in the show from the first second
and the Israeli audience gave him a big loyal hug, shouting the words
with him, cheering the first notes of a familiar song.
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Cornell's vocal powers are well preserved and could be heard clearly
when he gave his phenomenal version of "Redemption Song" armed only
with an acoustic guitar.
Cornell didn't miss out any period
of his musical career, from Soundgarden to his solo projects, and
Audioslave's "Show Me How To Live" was responded to with a great roar.
His touching version of "Billie Jean" and the moving "Hunger Strike"
that he sang in response to a few signs in the audience were a pure
pleasure.
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Cornell
didn't come over to "do his job", he came to enjoy himself and maybe to
compensate for last year's cancelled show, which he didn't forget to
mention. He ended with "Black Hole Sun" sending many smiling people
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- Moshe Mizrachi, Iton Tel Aviv
Elsewhere, the show received more rave reviews:
"Cornell...acted
on the stage of the Gane HaTa'arucha like his appearance in Tel Aviv
would determine the future of his career. He gave his soul, and on the
way he has proved that he has a huge one!...He communicated with the
audience in the most natural and honest way." - http://www.mouse.co.il/
"It's
really hard to find someone from the thousands that were last night at
Gane HaTa'arucha, who left unsatisfied from the impressive rock
performance provided by Cornell" - http://www.mako.co.il/
"A
show full of passion...the audience were hypnotized by the prince of
Grunge's voice, forgave the shirking from last year, and even
understood the songs from his latest album....looks a million dollars
and still has a pure voice that you can love or hate, but surely not
ignore!" - http://bidur.nana10.co.il/
Thanks to Moran Paz and Gal Dayan for translations from Hebrew.