Audioslave fans fired up by band’s surge of energy

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/10/2005 (7625 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AUDIOSLAVE

MTS Centre,

Tuesday, Oct. 4

Attendance: 9,000

4 stars out of five

CHRIS Cornell has his fair share of fans, but Tom Morello is a guy who can make or break a band.

The former Soundgarden screamer and Rage Against The Machine guitarist are the main attractions of Audioslave, the heavy-rock supergroup formed out of the ashes of the two ’90s rock institutions, sharing equal influence on the quartet’s pair of albums, Audioslave and Out Of Exile.

Cornell, Morello and the ex-Rage rhythm section of bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk have worked hard at forging a unified front since Audioslave first solidified in 2002.

But in a live setting, this is Morello’s show, as his ultra-precise re-imagining of Zeppelinesque blues-rock drives every Audioslave riff and rhythm. Sure, Chris Cornell’s voice hasn’t lost a decibel of domination since the early ’90s, but the air almost seems electrified when Morello races through a solo.

Playing to an impressive crowd of around 9,000 at MTS Centre last night, Audioslave proved to be much more dynamic in the flesh than they are on record, dividing a set due to last two hours into one third Audioslave songs, another third from Out Of Exile and the final slice to a smattering of Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine material.

The show blasted off with Exile opener Your Time Has Come (featuring the first of countless amazing Morello solos), Set It Off from Audioslave and then the arguable best new song from the second album, the jangly and melodic Doesn’t Remind Me.

This one-two-three combination immediately had fans on the floor lurching forward like a storm surge, with the energy travelling upwards through the bowl by the time Be Yourself afforded the first opportunity for a sing-along.

Cornell then waltzed down memory lane with Soundgarden’s Rusty Cage and Spoonman before returning to Audioslave’s jarring bruiser The Worm. Then it was time for more audience vocals with Like A Stone and then finally a Rage number, Sleep Now In The Fire, which carried the band into the beginning of what promised to be a long encore.

Returning to the stage with an acoustic guitar, a slightly hoarse Cornell performed Soundgarden’s biggest hit, Black Hole Sun, before a miniature galaxy of lighters and cellphones, with the audience giving the poor guy a break.

At press time, this was turning out to be a far better show than was expected from a band that frankly sounds tired and complacent in the studio.

When you factor in two opening acts, last night’s show was set to last roughly four hours, which is a decent amount of live music for the top ticket price of $47.50.

Before Audioslave, South Africa-born Seether played 40 minutes of Nirvana-inspired neo-grunge and one Nirvana cover, Drain You. Led by singer-guitarist Shaun Morgan, whose face-obscuring mop of auburn hair makes him look more like Cousin It than Kurt Cobain, the quartet received a much warmer reception from the Winnipeg audience than they did at the old Arena in 2002, when they opened for Our Lady Peace.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

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