Soundgarden played the Big Day Out in 1997 and after two shows in Hawaii in their way back across the Pacific, decided to end their half-decade of riff-fuelled global domination.
Fifteen years later after the quartet had been traversing the globe once again, the finally made it back to Australia to circle the country as part of the Big Day Out tour, but this time, they weren’t on the verge of a breakup. This time, they were proud of their legacy and they weren’t afraid to show it.
Leaping straight back into 1991, the band opened with the Badmotorfinger scorcher, Searching With My Good Eye Closed. Quickly knocking off a couple of mega-hits in the form of Spoonman and a sped up version of Jesus Christ Pose ensured the few people there whose Soundgarden album collection consists entirely of either of the band’s “best ofs” were kept happy, but the band proved they were just as comfortable leading a 14,000 strong singalong as they were playing early obscurities like Beyond The Wheel from their 1988 debut Ultramega OK with the knowledge that the one guy down the front (long hair, slightly to the right of centre) was probably the only guy in the venue that knew every word to that song.
They weren’t just here to play the classics (although no classic was left behind). They were here to educate the audience on some of their lesser known sludgy-metal tunes. Sure, Burden In My Hand might inspire a great sing along, but the encore of Beyond the Wheel, I Awake and Slaves and Bulldozers highlighted the chutzpah the band carried around to remind people they were a great band.
Visually, the band were backed by the spiral design found on the cover of Badmotorfinger that at times would light up with patterns reminiscent of the wavy patterns from the Windows ’98 Screen Saver. It wasn’t a particularly visually stimulating show, but when the band were sounding this good, it didn’t have to be. Though they did let the lighting do some work during their biggest hit Black Hole Sun. Throughout the songs the yellow lights brightened and the previously nondescript eye that was peeking out behind drummer Matt Cameron’s head expanded until it caught fire and became a sun in total solar eclipse (Which looks like a “black hole” sun, geddit?).
The band were great at the Melbourne Big Day Out a few days earlier, but in front of 14,000 Soundgarden fans they kicked it up to another level. Perhaps it was the near-40-degree heat that had drained the festival crowd, but for over two hours, the atmosphere at the Myer Music Bowl couldn’t be topped.
Soundgarden are one of those rare bands where each member is invaluable and undeniably unique. Whether it’s Ben Shepherd’s pounding bass lines, Chris Cornell’s soaring vocals, Matt Cameron’s thunderous drums that drive the band’s odd-time signatures or Kim Thaiyll’s powerful riffs, each member brings something to the table that can’t be found anywhere else. Bring it all together and you have a pretty fucking great show that won’t soon be forgotten. The youngest member of this band might still be in his 40s, but to quote one of the great rock movies of the 90s, they can still really wail.
Soundgarden Set List
Sidney Myer Music Bowl, February 1, 2012
Melbourne, Australia
Searching With My Good Eye Closed (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Spoonman (from Superunknown, 1994)
Jesus Christ Pose (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Hands All Over (from Louder Than Love, 1989)
Blow Up the Outside World (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Hunted Down (from Screaming Life/Fopp EP, 1990)
Drawing Flies (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
My Wave (from Superunknown, 1994)
The Day I Tried to Live (from Superunknown, 1994)
Pretty Noose (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Burden in My Hand (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Fell On Black Days (from Superunknown, 1994)
Ty Cobb (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Rusty Cage (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Outshined (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Loud Love (from Louder Than Love, 1989)
Let Me Drown (from Superunknown, 1994)
Black Hole Sun (from Superunknown, 1994)
Superunknown (from Superunknown, 1994)
4th of July (from Superunknown, 1994)
Beyond the Wheel (from Ultramega OK, 1988)
I Awake (from Louder Than Love, 1989)
Slaves and Bulldozers (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Also, if you’re curious, here’s Soundgarden’s set list from the last time they played in Melbourne:
Soundgarden Set List
Festival Hall, January 26, 1997
Melbourne, Australia
Spoonman (from Superunknown, 1994)
Searching With My Good Eye Closed (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Let Me Drown (from Superunknown, 1994)
Pretty Noose (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Burden In My Hand (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
My Wave (from Superunknown, 1994)
Ty Cobb (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Black Hole Sun (from Superunknown, 1994)
Outshined (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Rusty Cage (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Helter Skelter (Beatles cover)
Boot Camp (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Blow Up The Outside World (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Search and Destroy (Stooges cover)
Rhinosaur (from Down on the Upside, 1996)
Slaves and Bulldozers (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
Mailman (from Superunknown, 1994)
Jesus Christ Pose (from Badmotorfinger, 1991)
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