Soundgarden brings killer riffs and a sound mix from hell to Vancouver

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      At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Sunday, February 10

      Vancouver's Soundgarden fans had real reason to rejoice in 2010 when the classic lineup of singer Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd, and drummer Matt Cameron reunited after 12 years apart, and then announced a summer arena tour that included a stop at Rogers Arena on July 30, 2011.

      But the excitement level for those same fans reached new heights in 2012 when the quartet—in the wake of releasing King Animal, its first album in 16 years—lined up a winter soft-seater tour that would include a stop at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 10, 2013. Not surprisingly, the show was an instant sellout.

      Considering how impressive they were in the home of the Canucks, I for one was psyched about seeing Soundgarden perform in the much more intimate confines of the Queen E. My only concern—after checking on setlist.fm website—was that the band hadn't included "Outshined" in its set two nights prior at the Paramount Theatre, in its Seattle hometown. I mean, could I really get the most out of a Soundgarden gig without hearing my favourite tune of theirs?

      As it turned out, the band did play "Outshined" last night—along with my other fave Soundgarden track, "Fell on Black Days". There was no problem with the song selection at all, in my books. The only problem was with the sound mix, which started off atrocious and stayed that way for the entire two-hour show.

      The acoustics in the QE can be pretty great, but apparently not so much for hard-rock acts. Subpar sound was evident when Chickenfoot played the venue last summer, only it wasn't half as bad as it was last night. Where I was sitting Soundgarden's guitar, bass, and drums coagulated into one hurtin', muddy mess, while Cornell's lyrics were indecipherable throughout. You just don't expect a band to sound way worse in a theatre than it did in a hockey rink.

      Maybe I happened to get stuck in a particularly poor-sounding location, because it wasn't as if the crowd fled in droves from the racket—or formed a posse to lynch the offending soundman. They held their ground and cheered every song, though not with any rabid enthusiasm.

      As well as tracks from King Animal—including the rifftastic opener, "Been Away Too Long"—Cornell and Co. focused on material from the top-selling '90s albums Badmotorfinger ("Jesus Christ Pose", "Rusty Cage", "Outshined") and the five-times-platinum Superunknown ("Fell on Black Days", "Black Hole Sun").

      There wasn't much verbal communication between the band and the audience, which was fine with me, since I'm from the "less talkin', more rockin'" school of thought. But a bit more in the way of visuals would have been nice, as it seemed like a lot of the lights that were set up were hardly even used. The most exciting thing that happened on-stage was when one overzealous fan crawled up and leapt around a bit before being tackled by a roadie and dragged away.

      I hate to say it, 'cause I admire the group, but judging by Sunday night, Soundgarden has fallen on black days itself.

      Or maybe it was just the soundman.

      Comments

      18 Comments

      Tyler

      Feb 11, 2013 at 9:01am

      I thought the show was great with a really interesting and diverse set list. The sound was pretty bad where I was sitting up in the balcony. I thought they looked like they were having a good time on stage. Lots of interaction with the first few rows.

      jimmy

      Feb 11, 2013 at 10:51am

      Only after reading this valley girl tripe about one supposed to be rad, but gnarly night did I scroll up to see who wrote it. Steve, you are usually better. My high school paper had better writing and analysis. And making your bad experience with the sound the primary focus is a cop out, followed closely with "I hope they play my favourite favourite songs" mantra. Visually too, there was an abundance not the dearth you describe. I can't say I was a fan of all of the cgi snow scenes, but there were several, changing backdrops, all complementary to their song. You didn't touch on how tight they were, yet seemingly comfortable and loose with each other. You were right about the setlist that changes every night. It contained the hits you wanted but some other album track nuggets, including ones that weren't the single off the new album. The new material shone on its own, showing the band as viable and in the game for more than a nostalgic cash grab. Sorry you had poor sound in your seat, and sorry we had to hear about that instead of the quality show performed.

      Philly

      Feb 11, 2013 at 3:42pm

      A good review. Despite the protestations of the fanboys, the mix was a garbled mess regardless of where you were in the theatre. The setlist was fine, the band tight - but the sound was very lacking.

      Meathead

      Feb 11, 2013 at 7:24pm

      Yeah, good show but the sound was terrible beyond description. Maybe the PA was the same one they were using back in 93, you know, with manual crossovers and stuff. I was half ready to go downstairs to The Media Club and grab that old guy who techs there... he would have fixed it up in a second!

      Jenn

      Feb 11, 2013 at 8:21pm

      Totally agree with this review - I was worried I was the only one who thought I was listening to Soundgarden on an old cassette tape or something. It was great to see the guys together but even the biggest fans have to admit there was very little energy in the room and the sound royally sucked. Disappointing.

      Lofft

      Feb 12, 2013 at 12:15am

      If you expect your fans to pay that much for a ticket, we can expect you to hire a good sound person. WTF. Seriously. I had friends that went in Seattle and they said the sound was bad there as well

      Mels

      Feb 12, 2013 at 1:42am

      Great setlist!!!! This was very true of the sound in the QE for this show, I found it poor and muddled together compared to Rogers show. I know that Ben was giving signals to the guy sitting beside Matt(moving his mic back and forth) during Black hole Sun to wrap thing up, and when the next song ended with not so much as a Thank you Vacouver, and with Ben immediately turning of his amps and walking off stage was a sign they were indeed as upset as their fans. Glad to have went to see them regardless! Cheers to all the SG fans out there!

      Pat Crowe

      Feb 12, 2013 at 9:36am

      Modern P.A. mixers have programmed in digital templates for theatres, arenas, clubs, stadiums, outdoor sound mix's.
      There is no excuse for poor sound in ANY room anymore.
      People should demand refunds.

      Vict

      Feb 12, 2013 at 9:39am

      Well, it looks pretty unanimous that the sound mix was crap! How does a band with SG's chops come off sounding like an over-amped garage band? I was at the Slash/Myles Kennedy show in the same venue and the sound was light years better. Maybe SG need to make sure their road crew stays sober on gig nights. What a freakin waste of money...

      Vict

      Feb 12, 2013 at 9:40am

      "You didn't touch on how tight they were, yet seemingly comfortable and loose with each other." - and you're giving him stick about HIS writing??