WILKES-BARRE — All Chris Cornell had to do to off the crowd was walk on stage and raise a hand to wave. Then, he asked for noise, and the room erupted into a resounding din of approval and excitement before the 51-year-old alternative rock legend ever sang a note.
Every seat was filled at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Oct. 17 for Cornell’s “Higher Truth” acoustic tour as fans waited in anticipation for the singer/songwriter to begin a set that would encompass many stages of his body of work, including tunes from his tenure as the iconic front-man of both Soundgarden and Audioslave as well as songs from his multiple acclaimed solo albums.
Dressed in jeans and long sleeve tee combo with boots just high enough and unlaced enough to be quintessentially rock-star and a pair of shades, Cornell started the show by playing a record and singing over it, leading with his soulful dirge, “Misery Chain,” from his latest solo release, which shares a name with the tour and was featured on the soundtrack for the film “12 Years a Slave.”
Surrounded by eight acoustic guitars in different tunings, Cornell owned the stage, perched in the center spotlight whether standing or sitting in a high wooden bar chair that resembled a humble throne.
From the beginning, Cornell’s performance gathered every bit of energy the crowd had to offer. Each momentary break in lyric, each instance of the singer resting his powerful voice, which went from sweet to strained to screaming in single verses, incited a roar from the audience, making every nuance a highlight.
Cornell responded by giving his constituents everything they asked for.
He followed his opener with another song from “Higher Truth” called “Before We Disappear,” a melancholy but thoughtful song about, as the singer said, the impermanence of life.
Then the showman took a moment to talk about his excitement at getting his 1999 record “Euphoria Morning” produced in vinyl 16 years after its release, opening up a “Storytellers” type of monologue that would continue throughout the show, providing insight into where the singer was and what was on his mind as he wrote songs in different stages of his career.
After performing the crowd favorite “Can’t Change Me” from that album, Cornell put a harmonica holder around his neck and played his first cover of the night, a slightly-rewritten version of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” His rendition was met with rave in-house reviews in the form of a standing room-shaking ovation.
The Dylan tune kicked off a string of covers in which Cornell proved why he is spoken of as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock and roll in such publications as Rolling Stone and in the company of Robert Plant, Freddie Mercury and Roger Daltry.
Cornell sang a classic version of Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You” and also a slow version of Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean,” both of which provoked the crowd into cheers. His most stunning vocal tribute of the night came when he performed Prince’s “Nothing Compares to You,” showing his incomparable vocal range and richness.
The grunge god celebrated a fallen friend by doing a rendition of “River of Deceit” by Mad Season, a band that featured the late Lane Staley of Alice in Chains on vocals.
He also gave audience members plenty of what they fell in love with years ago, leading first with “Fell On Black Days” with cellist Brian Gibson accompanying him.
The first moment he hit the high raspy register that was the crescendo of many Soundgarden songs, the audience lost its collective mind, and he played into that energy, performing “Blow Up the Outside World,” “Rusty Cage” and “Black Hole Son” as the show went on. He gave the crowd a taste of his days with Audioslave when he delivered “I Am the Highway” as per adamant requests from the seats.
Not to leave out his solo catalogue, especially songs from “Higher Truth,” Cornell displayed his knack for folk music, both in finger-pick style guitar playing and storytelling lyricism. He performed “Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart” and “Worried Moon” from the new album as well as one of his more recognized solo hits, 1998’s “Sunshower.”
His performance of “Hunger Strike” by Temple of the Dog was poignant as he sang only his parts of the alternative rock duet he and Eddie Vedder first recorded in 1990. Cornell showed his timelessness as he sang again over a record, delivering his original “When I’m Down.” His sorrowful intensity and smooth bluesiness over a piano riff was reminiscent of Ray Charles.
As Cornell brought his set to a close, he thanked the crowd for supporting his career and allowing him to continually make music to share. He said he couldn’t imagine his following stop in New York City could bring a more enlivened audience.
The set ended with a powerful version of Soundgarden’s “Like Suicide” before Cornell returned and encored with “Josephine,” a recently-finished song for his wife and the title track from “Higher Truth,” which the singer ended with a psychedelic improv, using his voice and his peddle board to end the show in a sonically stunning way.
The crowd never stopped clapping.
