And Marie Curie, thaaaank you for posting the Ross Halfin link. That really is one of THE most gorgeous photo sessions known to mankind.
Whew! Ok, I felt the need to come and BUMP this up with a review of my recent life-altering CORNELL EXPERIENCE!! YES, this is a massive novel and feel free to fast forward at any time. I've just had a bunch of requests for a fully detailed review and I just really want to share it with you all. I could only think of one ideal place to do that.
*deep breaths*
Here it is almost a week later and I'm still in serious recovery mode. Floating about in a complete daze. It's been difficult enough trying to process everything that's happened yet alone to actually sit down and try to put it into words. But now that I have had awhile to let this experience soak into me in a bit more...I think I'm finally up for the challenge. I'm sure, much like my meeting with CHRIS, once I get going I won't be able to stop. haha.
So let the novel begin...
THE BLESSINGS ON OUR TABLE, MULTIPLY & DIVIDE
I remember the exact moment that I got the news from Dolly (soundgrunger). The news that we were going to SEE and MEET Chris "THE VOICE" Cornell in Philadelphia. !!! Dolly texted me exclaiming that she had entered and won the contest in Philly! OMG!!! :eek: What? I remember sitting there just saying "OMG" over and over and over. :D haha. The events leading up to this just made it that much more surreal. I mean talk about fate.
A few months prior we were planning on going to Hawaii for the Kokua fest with Jack Johnson and Eddie Vedder. We figured it was her birthday weekend and we wanted to spend it together, and what a perfect way to celebrate! Due to financial reasons the Hawaii plans ended up falling through. It was sweet, Dolly must have apologized a hundred times and I remember telling her over and over "it's ok, it's just not meant to be." Ain't that the truth! Little did we know that the universe had other plans for us. Chris Cornell had other plans for us! A few days later he announced the April 22nd date and I immediately messaged Dolly proposing that maybe we could try to make that bday show instead. I mean come on, Ed and Chris both playing on her bday?? We had to be at one of those shows. We just had to!! Unfortunately once again, finances quickly cancelled that out. Well I am so fuckin glad that finances didn't keep Dolly from entering that contest! Completely on a whim she figured "what the hell...it's my birthday show. I should just enter and if I win worry about getting there later. What have I got to lose?" I LOVE IT! HELL YES! NOTHING! She had absolutely NOTHING to lose. It was just the opposite. She won! Just like that. She said she couldn't imagine the experience without me being by her side, which truly means more to me than I will ever be able to express Dolly! AWwww! THANK YOU endlessly my soul sis.
So here it was. Handed to us on a golden plater. We were more than convinced that this trip was our destiny. Hawaii didn't work out for a reason, a bigger reason. A HUUUUGE reason. CHRIS CORNELL! The show alone was too much to take in, and to top it all off we were going to meet THE VOICE himself??? Something neither one of us could even begin to process. We are STILL trying to process it. Getting this news literally felt like we had won the lottery! It was just TOO huge to wrap our heads around. All I kept thinking to myself was "the blessings on my table, multiply and divide". Amen! And this was only the beginning.....
ONE AND THE SAME
Before I dive this I want to take a moment to explain how Dolly and I first met and why sharing this experience together meant the entire world to us. We first "virtually" met on THIS messageboard back in 2004. It was a SOUNDGARDEN thread here in Other Music that brought us together. I remember each of us responding to the others message in full agreement! Firing back and forth, so thrilled to be bouncing off of someone that shared the exact same passion and excitement for the holy CORNELL, and specifically SOUNDGARDEN. It was finally in a thread about DOWN ON THE UPSIDE that we really, really started deeply connecting. We both agreed that it was not only a highly underrated album, but that there was also something so untouchably special about it. YES! Someone else that got it. That got it ALL exactly the way I did. Wow! We both spilled our guts out, picking the album apart from start to finish. Analyzing the songs, the feelings and emotions behind them etc. Before I knew it we were messaging each other back and forth. The friendship kept getting deeper and deeper and escalating to higher and higher levels. It was crazy how much we had in common. Leaves from the same branch. Soon I had convinced her to come to Cali for some Audioslave shows!
The rest is history.
She has since become one of my dearest friends. We see each other as much as we can, which generally tends to be circulated around shows. Pearl Jam & Chris Cornell related shows to be exact. Pearl Jam & Chris.... our blood. The life force that pumps through our veins. The same heart and soul, sharing this same intense love and passion. I found her! Dolly... truly my soul sister! And now we were going to share this experience TOGETHER!!!?? My god! I, too, could not have imagined it happening any other way.
FLUTTER GIRLs
So the day before I was suppose to leave for Philly everything started hitting me a little bit more. Mainly I remained in shock and denial but every now and then reality would sink in the pit of my stomach and I actually started feeling SICK! HA. I called Dolly for support and it was so comforting to know that she was feeling the exact same way. I told her how part of me really, honestly did NOT want to meet Chris. How this was just too huge and meant TOO much. As usual, she understood me completely and said that she was also going through these emotions.
We were officially freaking the hell out!! How were we going to do this? The anxiety took hold. What if this? What if that? AHHHH!! We feared that we'd both completely draw a blank. How are we gonna be able to form sentences? God! haha. We knew there were so many countless things that we'd like to tell him but we had no idea how we were going fit them all into our time together... or how we were going to conquer our nerves enough to fit ANY of it in.
In effort to get our own backs, I had an idea. I thought it would be in our best interest if we brought some "props" to aid us in our conversation. haha! I suggested that we bring our Down On The Upside cd book for him to sign. This would help us ease into telling him how much this album meant to us and how it brought us together. Perfect! I also thought it would be awesome if we wore PJ shirts, not only to represent our boys, but to also work some PJ into the conversation!! Aw yeah. Europe anyone?? The burning question inside us all, and this would be the time and place to ask the voice himself.
We wanted everything laid out for us to make this much feared conversation flow as smoothly as possible. Still though...what do you say to someone that means this much to you? That has impacted your life on infinite levels. That has left the biggest imprint on your soul. How in the world would we possibly be able to come remotely close to expressing that?? It's a very overwhelming thing to think about... not to mention plan and prepare yourself for!! We had both come to the realization that we'd be listening to Chris's music for half of our frickin lives. HALF OF OUR LIVES!!! :eek: THAT'S HUGE! What the hell could we possibly say to this man? THIS MAN! The Untouchable voice. The never-ending talent. Amazing guitarist, out of this world lyricist...producer, songwriter. The complete package deal to the extreme. THIS UNWORLDLY MAN! A talent that has changed my life in the most beautiful and amazing way.
Chris has always had this power over me that no one else has. I cannot even begin to describe what happens to my body/heart//mind/soul when the man open's that blessing of a mouth, but I swear to god it is a feeling that cannot be duplicated by anyone else. Like the untouchable voice itself, the effect of it is just the same. It's the only voice that can straight up paralyze me. That can make me cry just from a simple hum or "ooo" or "ahh". GOOD GOD! Alright, what am I doing? I'm suppose to be writing a review here. HA! This is a prime example of the Cornell effect.:p
Moving on.....
What do you say? It's just beyond any kind of words.
>> Fast Forward onto the day of the show (or this review is seriously gonna last for WEEKS. hehe) >>
SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
We got to the venue around 2:00 in the afternoon. My sweet PJ buddy Bri had gone out of his way (literally) and given us a ride there. He had also given us shelter the night before which saved our broke asses so much money. Bri you are the BEST! I am seriously overwhelmed by your sweetness. You really, really took care of us and we appreciate it more than you'll ever know. Thank you for EVERYTHING! We were taken care of left and right really. It was amazing and just proved to us both even more just how meant to be this entire trip was.
So we get to the venue and it's still not really hitting either one of us. HA! We kept wondering if it ever would. We spent the day mainly walking around South Street (a very cute part of downtown btw) just enjoying each other's company. Oh and yeah...trying to find me a copy of Down On the Upside. My tired cracked out self had lost it on the plane! DOH!! I was crushed. That was a big part of our conversation with Chris. Aw well. We'd still be able to tell him and atleast Dolly still had hers. I ended up finding a copy of Badmotorfinger and just bought that to bring along. That album changed my life and that's something else I had really wanted to tell him, so it worked out perfectly in the end. There's that word again. "Perfectly". It's so true though. EVERYTHING ended up working out perfectly.
While we were walking around South Street I spotted my little *Bee Girl* (Michelle)! Another PJ buddy! YAY! The day was filled to the brim with even more PJ peeps (*waves to Nicole and Mike*). It was such a PJ reunion. I loved that! We also met some kick ass SG peeps too (*waves to Leo and Sergio*). There was just a general collection of extremely kick ass people everywhere. I knew Michelle was gonna be at the show and planned on calling her later on to meet up, but instead our paths crossed right then and there which was awesome. We ended up hanging out in line with her, her hubby and her friend Nathalie off and on for most of the day. Such a beautiful bunch of people. I felt right at home. Speaking of which *sigh*.....Philadelphia. It felt SO right being there. I had always dreamed of seeing a show there and of being a part of a legendary Philly crowd. Every single PJ boot I have ever heard from Philly has blown my mind. I mean these crowds are some of the loudest of the loud. And here I finally was!! And to see CHRIS CORNELL no less. And with a ton of PJ people at that! Fuckin amazing!!!!! For many countless reasons, it just felt so right and was once again confirmed....this was meant to be.
BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE
BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE
It was getting closer and closer to 7pm (when the doors open) and Dolly and I still didnt have our tickets. Turns out the tour manager was late giving the will call lady the greet list. We had been checking back and forth ever since we got there at 2pm!!! It was around 6:45 when we were finally told it was really, really, for real this time...on it's way. The meet and greet winners were told to start forming a line by the entrance. This was a completely separate line from where all of our friends were. They were lined up down a side street a bit away from the actual venue. They had us line up RIGHT in front of the venue. Bless them! The door we were standing next to was open a crack. We heard something going on there and we already knew what we were about to experience! Soundcheck!!!! Our first reunion with the mighty VOICE was here. Loud and clear. The were playing SEASONS! Ooooooh shit! Too beautiful! There we stood having orgasms before the show had even begun. Silence for a few minutes and then right into the next song. What is it? We're trying to figure it out. It's a new one. It sounds sooo good! They only play a little bit of that one but enough to leave us curious and impressed.
Then, after another short break, the next song starts. Is that? Nooo. It can't be. Then we hear a lyric and both of us lose our balance. I swear my heart stopped. We couldnt make sense of this. We had just had a conversation about this at the airport the day prior. A "what if he played *THAT* song" conversation. AND HE WAS IN THERE PLAYING IT!!! BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD!!! :eek: :eek: OH....MY...FRICKIN....LORD!!!!!! Full band, blowing up the outside world. We were out there singing it at the top of lungs, smiling the biggest smile. A few people were like "what is he playing in there?" in which we'd excitedly blurt out "BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD!!!!" Everyone would gasp in amazement. Yeah!
What a night we had a in store. We were only getting a tiny taste and we were already completely loosing it! haha. I kept reminding myself to hold on. It still hadn't even begin. Wow. We were IN FOR IT!
It was finally around 7:30 when soundcheck came to an end. I guess everything was late that night. Hey fine by us. We just heard soundcheck!!! The doors ended up opening shortly after 7:30. We watched our line of friends shoot into the venue as we still stood there helpless.... ticketless. Michelle told us to just move our way up front and find them once we got in. At long last the list had arrived. We got our tickets and we made our way up front with our friends. Once again, perfect.
At around 9pm our time had come! This was the exact moment when it hit us both. OMG THIS WAS REAL! THIS WAS REALLY HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:
And so it begins....
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"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
~NO ONE SINGS LIKE YOU ANYMORE~ :The Show : SWEET EUPHORIA & then some
The band comes out followed by the mighty Cornell. The crowd is already loud as hell! They immediately blaze into...
~COCHISE
Hooooly shit no he is not opening with this!?! THANK YOU CHRIS! THANK YOU! Just a few days before I had noticed this pop up at a show MIDset. I was so excited. I love this song to pieces but it's always been played at the very end of every single Audioslave show. Cochise is to Audioslave what Yellow Ledbetter is to PJ. It sucks cuze it's like you aren't able to fully enjoy the song really. You end up having this uncontrolled resentment towards it. haha. It signifies the inevitable, something we've been trying not to think about all night... the end of the show. The END! AHH! Um so yeah, I was beyond thrilled to have this OPEN the show. This song always ignites the beast! UGH! Always gets my blood boiling, What a way to kick things into gear! I knew right then and there it was totally confirmed... TONIGHT was THE night.
The BAM, right into...
~ORIGINAL FIRE
We were sooo loud. Everyone singing along. Entire crowd engulfed in flames already. It could not have been more fitting.
Chris takes a quick breath before punching us in the face with the chunkified classic goodness of...
~OUTSHINED
UGGH! Crowd is seriously going nuts! We could tell by waiting in line all day that this crowd primarily consisted of Soundgarden fiends..just like us! This became undeniably obvious during every single Soundgarden song that night. Outshined was only the start of the SG rock fest. And what a way to set it off!
The crowd was still going ape-shit when the song ended. haha. And then we were all instantly paralyzed by those gorgeous, supernatural opening chords of enchantment. Pulling our hearts out of our chests with each and every strum. The sky had opened. It was indeed time for us all to...
~SAY HELLO TO HEAVEN
I could not believe he was playing this. Tears welled up in my eyes. Dolly and I were squeezing each other's hands so tight. My Michelle turned to me and we both just stared at each other with this intense look of comfort & support. It's seriously like we were hugging each other through our gaze. It was so intense and so beautiful. Chris nailed every single heavenly note. Talk about an out of body experience. It was unreal.
As soon as the song was over I remember just standing there completely in awe of what I had just experienced. No way that happened. Inside I felt like I was drowning in tears and yet, being there and experiencing this first hand was so intense that I actually could not even cry. Wow!
We had no time to compose ourselves. Before we knew it we were quickly rocked back to earth with...
~NO SUCH THING
LOVE THIS SONG! Another new one that I was really hoping we'd get. It killed lived!
~YOU KNOW MY NAME
The crowd really ate this one up too. Chris introduced it as one of "favorites from the new album"
To tell you the truth I never really got into this song, but seeing it live and seeing how passionate Chris was about it definitely hit me in a way it hadn't before.
~LIKE A STONE
Introduced as a "sing along". Boy was it ever. Philly you made me fall in love with this song on a whole new level!!
A short pause and BAM...we're back in the Soundgarden.
~FELL ON BLACK DAYS
WHOA! Collective freak out. It was absolutely flawless. Chris sounded dead on and straight up angelic. The crowd was actually singing louder than him during most of it though. haha. We were sooooooo loud!! And the band?? They really nailed everything and especially did the SG stuff some serious justice. Phenomenal!
Next up is one of the most stunningly beautiful performances I have ever witnessed...
~SEASONS:o
*chillsCHILLSchills*
Chris introduces the song as one he wrote by himself couped up in a room for months or something and how it became his "little secret"
Well god damn I'm so glad the secret is out! This has always been one of my most loved and adored by the man. What his band adds to this is absolutely brilliant. I didn't think it was possible for this song to be more beautiful...but they managed to make it happen.
Everyone leaves the stage and then Cornell comes back out. Let me tell you right now this man's energy was incredible! I know I say this every tour, but now more so than ever, he is ON IT!!! He's actually reborn. He truly is. All throughout the show, inbetween songs he'd sign stuff for fans. So sweet!! Totally interacting with everyone. It's so beautiful to see this side of him. And that smile could burn a hole right through you. GOOD LORD! Bright as could be ...and constant. He's never looked happier. And he's never sounded better. I think he's at the greatest place HE HAS EVER BEEN right now....in every single way. He is shining his brightest. I can't praise him enough. This is a new Cornell. Kinda like Seasons.... I didn't think HE could possibly get any better but somehow HE did!! Absolutely mind-blowing.
So the reborn Cornell comes back out on stage....just him and an acoustic guitar. To tell you the truth this all I need in life right here. It doesn't get any better.
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"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
Our hearts are fluttering with anticipation. And then he unleashes the ectasy slowly easing us into....
~CANT CHANGE ME:o
People all around (including me!) are moaning in euphoria! This is one of the most gorgeous songs on the planet and always knocks me to my knees. Once again as soon as the chorus hit the entire venue roared. Amazing!!!
He wastes absolutely NO time and goes right into.....
~BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD :eek: :eek: :eek:
Excuse me?! OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dolly and I turn to each other, mouths open in disbelief. Are we really hearing this? We heard it soundchecked with the full band and flipped out then...and here he was not only playing it but ACOUSTIC!!!? OMG!!! It sound better than ever! Jesus! I had shivers racing up and down my spine! I literally elevated off the ground and started grabbing onto everyone around me screaming "OMG! OMG! OMG!" haha. I couldn't help it. I was under attack. THE VOICE most definitely blew up EVERYTHING with this one. I still can't believe he played this. One of the greatest highlights of the night by far, which is saying a lot since the entire night was a highlight! BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD?? ACOUSTIC?? *faints* Unfuckinbelievable!
The song ends and I'm turning to everyone around me shaking my head in denial. No way! It was felt throughout that entire place and everyone would shake their heads right back. The cheering went on FOREVER and kept getting louder and louder. Chris said something like "Thank you. I like that one too" Awww!
Dolly and I are grinning at each other from ear to ear. We can't believe that just happened. And we can't believe there's MORE to come!
~DOESNT REMIND ME
Everyone instantly starts clappin and singing along. We already have THE biggest grins on our faces and this was such a great way to follow that up. I've always especially loved this song live. It's fun and really brings the crowd together.
~SPOONMAN
Once again the crowd unity is off the charts and the Soundgarden freaks are going wild!! There really was this something that changed in the air, an extra massive freak out that would happen specifically with every Soundgarden song! I LOVED IT! I honestly can't express how much I appreciated that.
THE VOICE begins to speak. He introduces the next song, saying it's one of his new ones and how he wishes to dedicate it to the families and victims of Virginia Tech. A very touching moment, especially since our hearts were already spilled out all over the room. Before oozing into what happens to be my FAV song from Carry On thusfar, he added how this is a song about all of us pulling together to live in peace and how it's a wish for all of us to just "fucking get along".
"This one's called..." ~SAFE AND SOUND !!!!!
*heart swells*
This song is SOOOOOOOO out of this world amazing! It had first debuted about a week prior at the MuchMusic performance. I got ahold of an mp3 of it and from that very first listen I was instantly hooked and instantly in love. I remain completely floored by this beauty. To have this soulful classic sound in CC form? It's one of the most amazing things I ever heard. And every single thing about it was a million times more radiant and powerful live. I think this was one of the brightest moments of the night. Chris really, REALLY shines on this song. It perfectly compliments those golden pipes. I remember standing there light headed from it all. My eyes closed, just drinking it up...intoxicated as hell! This was TOO BEAUTIFUL! And I loved how we were surrounded by die hards that also already knew all the words. haha. Hell yeah. At one point I opened my eyes and Chris was staring right at me. GOD! Talk about extra paralysis! That gaze left me frozen. I was probably mouthing all the wrong words at that point. haha.
~WHAT YOU ARE
KICK ASS! I was thrilled to get this one. Once again we're all rockin out in sync and as soon as that chrous hits we fuckin EXPLODE!!!!! Everyone is pumping their fists up in the air. UGH! Chris comes over to our side of the stage and looks right at Dolly and I. FUCK! The paralyzing gaze strikes again! Intense. Way intense.
The Badmotorfinger beatdown continues with....
~RUSTY CAGE :eek: :eek:
AHHH! WHaaaat??! This classic beast!? Mother of god! We are being beat to a bloody pulp and loving every single second of it!! Hair and fists everywhere! Everyone headbanging into oblivion. Are you sure this isn't 1991? At one point we were all bouncing off the ground at the same time, kind of lifting each other up. INSANE! We were one powerful force and Chris was sweating out an endless supply of fuel for our fire.
Once again the band and Chris completely nail it! Chris! Every single song, every single note. THE GOLDEN PIPES= SUPER POLISHED! How are these notes even possible!!?? Superhuman I tell you!
End of the first set.
SWEET LORD!! What just happened? Where are we?? What's going on? We are all in a state of shock and can do nothing but SCREAM OUT FOR MORE!
They come back out to feed the starving crowd. 1 minute without was far too long. WE ARE CRAZED ADDICTS FOAMING AT THE MOUTH!
And now~~>we're DOWN ON THE UPSIDE!
encore 1: BURDEN IN MY HAND :eek:!!!
YAY!!! *tears* More Down On The Upside love!! Dolly and I had ALSO mentioned this, what if we get BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND BURDEN IN MY HAND BOTH?!?!? We were manifesting everything! What a trip! So many dreams became reality in Philly. I kept turning to Dolly shaking my head. It didn't even seem to hit her until mid song what it was. haha. It was too cute! She was completely and totally in shock. Another major highlight of the night. This song has been and always will be one of my SG obsessions.
Next we are treated to a brand new song!! It had only been played once a few nights before Boston. Now it was our turn for..
~GHOST
I recognized it right away. It was the song we heard a snippet of during soundcheck. YES!!! The crowd reaction was as if we'd all heard it a million times before. A very easy one to dissolve. It sounded GREAT! Then we got to a point where Chris just started screaming...and holding this enormous godlike note for daaaaaaays!! What?? I kid you not, everyone was turning to each other and saying just that "whaaaat??" Then back into the song, back into him singing....then BACK TO THAT SCREAM! HOLY SHIT! HERE IT IS AGAIN! HOW IS HE DOING THIS?? That will always be my first impression of this song...those "HOLY SHIT" screams! I can't wait to hear this one once the album is released. It has me so pumped up!
And finally.....
~BLACK HOLE SUN
Always a crowd pleaser and always drop dead gorgeous. Another sing along too. Beautiful!!
Then Chris thanks the crowd, tells us were amazing and then says goodnight. No! This can't be the end!
The house lights come on and the overhead music starts playing. No one moves and inch. haha. I loved that! We all just refused to accept that the show was over. Some guy next to me starts chanting "CHRIS CORNELL! CHRIS CORNELL". Before I knew it I was chanting it too...followed quickly by the entire frickin venue. At this point "loud" doesn't even begin to describe us.
Chris's wife Vicky comes over sidestage and is standing there laughing at us in disbelief. The guitarist comes running out and pushes his arms up in the air. Totally encouraging us to get LOUDER! ha! And that we did. Finally Chris and the rest of the band come running back out. All of them taking a moment to just stand there and stare at us in amazement.
encore 2:
This encore must have been improved. It wasn't on any of the setlists. How fuckin cool is that!!?
They kick right into....
~HUNGER STRIKE
OOoooh! What an incredible performance. The crowd participation here was off the charts! The excitement was everywhere. I mean, an entire PJ crew rockin the rail and we get this? Come on. It was too amazing! And guess what else? Chris went for every single one of those high notes and nailed them ALL to spine-tingling perfection.
Next up........
~SLAVES & BULLDOZERS :eek: :eek: :eek:
NO! Nooooo! I had this stuck in my head all day! Mother !#$%&! In comes that tweaked out intro followed quickly by that sick ass beast of a riff! UGH! WE ARE ONCE AGAIN UNDER ATTACK!
I remember getting this at an Audioslave show in Long Beach and it was a newer jazzy type version. Nope. This shit was raw and original. Straight up Badmotorfinger!!
Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor. I thought my eyes were about to fly outta my skull. The place exploded on new levels! We all started screaming and headbanging. It was crazy!! Now it really, really felt like we were back in the 90's at a Soundgarden show. Everything about it... from the energy of the crowd, to Chris's polished pipes. My god! I'm getting chills just typing this. It was monstrous. During one point Chris turned the mic out to us and let us sing part of the chorus. During "everything I gave" he hits his chest and then pushes his hand out towards us. It was so fuckin true. The man had given us EVERYTHING...and we had given it all right back. Round and Round we went the entire fuckin night. Recycling this amazing massive force of energy. Energy that had all of us high as a kite. Even Vicky was sidestage taking pictures of the crowd throughout the show and smiling at us all in disbelief. You felt the freak out all around you. And this was the grand finale! Wow! The show could not have ended with a better song. \m/
Chris said his final goodbyes for the night and thanked us repeatedly adding "we will be seeing you MANY, MANY more times Philly"
Holy crap! Well, I guess that means I'll be seeing Philly many many more times as well.
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"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
EVERY WORD I SAID IS WHAT I MEAN : Face to Face with THE VOICE
The time had come! After everything we had just experienced there was STILL more. You have got to be kidding me! I thought Slaves and Bulldozers was the grand finale?? You mean we're gonna meet HIM?? That's actually happening? YEAH...that's when THAT finally became real to me. My high from the show quickly started battling a comedown. An anchor of anxiety deeply sinking itself in. I was a MESS..in more ways than one. We quickly ran to the bathroom to freshen up since we didn't want to meet THE VOICE looking like sweaty hell beasts. HAHA! So we freshen up and then go back into the venue. They had cleared it out. Such a tiny little place and a perfect intimate setting for a meet & greet.
Previous meet & greets had been just an open room with Chris standing there and people walking around talking to him and stuff. Totally laid back. Then the format changed and became much more organized. Chris and the band sitting behind a table. The fans lined up and ushered down to him 1 by 1. This format made Dolly and I nervous as hell (as if we werent already). We kept wondering how was ours was gonna be--and we were about to find out!
So we're standing there next to the elevated bar section trying to figure out how the hell to get the backing off of our MEET AND GREET sticker when out of the corner of my eye I notice the guitar player come over and sit down at a table to my right. A few seconds later I hear Dolly going "OMG Lydia. Lydia" I already knew. THE VOICE was right over there! :eek: AHHH! We quickly started shuffling around in a panic. We weren't at all ready for this. A second later I heard someone shout "ok everyone get in a single file line...then we'll go down the line and do autographs and photos". Well I guess this is how we were doing it. Someone else shouted "where does the line start?" and then I saw a hand motioning towards us. "there" another voice said. Ooooh hell no!! Dolly and I quickly teleported our asses to the end of line. No way in hell we were going first. We weren't ready to go AT ALL!
The panic really started rushing through us at full speed, so much so that it was pushing itself out. We had tears in our eyes!! We kept repeating to each other, "I don't wanna do this. I don't wanna do this. It's too much" People in line were playfully laughing at us and telling us it would be ok. LOL!! Then the security guard (who had told me a few minutes before that he thought my head was going to explode during the show hahahaha. he's not the only one!) was like "it's ok, he's just a person" Dolly and I both turned to each other and looked into one others eyes and said it without saying a word.."he doesn't get it". Of course we know he's a person, that's not the point!! So the line is moving along way quicker than we're prepared for. Everyone is so calm & professional. They shake his hand, thank him, get a photo and they're off. How in the? It was kind of a weird thing to witness. Very organized. It also looked rushed. Yet another reason we were grateful to be at the end of the line. This is already an insanely nervous situation and to top it off we were gonna feel rushed?? No thank you.
I asked Dolly if there was any way she'd be able to start the conversation, perhaps with her Down On The Upside booklet? She agreed. Thank god. I didn't feel capable of starting this. We were trying to kinda rehearse what we were gonna say. haha. And before you knew it we were being told it was our turn. My heart literally felt like it was about to pop out of my mouth! OMG!! Here we go!!!!!
We walk up. He's sitting at an elevated table at the bar.
<~TIME OUT~>
You all need to know that this man is a million+++++ times more beautiful in person. It's ridiculous! Somehow he manages to defy age in every single possibly way. I mean he's actually getting BETTER looking. Wtf?? He's flawless. Once again, not of the world!
So we approach the table and look up and him. I'm sure he could see that panic in our eyes. It felt so obvious. Meanwhile he's sitting there calm as could be. I'm not sure what happened but that whole 'not being able to say anything first' thing flew out the window! I instantly grabbed his hand and said "THANK YOU CHRIS! I know it's the biggest understatement EVER...but THANK YOU" I could feel my voice and my hand trembling.
Then Dolly started it. Her voice shaking a bit too. She put her Down On The Upside booklet in front of him and thanked him for that album, and for everything. She explained how that album meant a lot to both of us and how it brought us together. His voice perked up "Really?" "YES!" we said simultaneously. Then Dolly said how tonight was really special for us. How this was our birthday show (hers was THAT day and mine a few weeks away) and how we both flew out from the West Coast to be here. It was cute, he totally didn't get that. He was like, "Oh so both you girls are from Philly then?" I told him nope. That I was from California and Dolly from Canada. He looked stunned. "So you flew out here just for this show?" Again, in unison , "YES!" He immediately put down his sharpie and leaned over the table towards us, extending his hand. "Thank you! I really appreciate that" SO SWEET! He looked genuinely amazed and appreciative of that. That's when he took Dolly's DOTU booklet and wrote "THANX!" on it...
Then we brought up BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD and I remember just grabbing his forearm and going "BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD??? WHAAAAT!!?" hahahaha. We were able to tell him that we've been listening to his music for HALF OF OUR LIVES!! It was shortly after this that I somehow ended up calling him THE VOICE right to his voice. AHAH! Oh god. There was no holding back. We were complete excited maniacs. LOL!!!!! I loved how he got to see this real side of us though. Everything that he naturally brings out in us...that passion, that intensity, that excitement...it was all out full force right in front of his face. I'm sure it was a lot to handle and we actually saw him suppressing laughs a few times just like "these girls are something else" hehe. But once again, I loved that this is how it ended up being. I never imagined it happening this way. As nervous as we were. I never thought we'd go up there and just be...US! Overflowing with excitement. As real as you can get!
I think we must have said "THANK YOU" every other second. It was funny too cuze each time we did we'd reach out and grab his hand. I get very touchy when I get excited. Again, nothing was held back with Chris. We seriously molested the living hell outta that hand! LOL!!! I still crack up everytime I think about it.
What was going through his head?? haha.
I also said something to him that I say all the time and that has been said many a time in this very thread! HA! I grabbed that hand, looked him straight in those piercing absolute blue eyes and said...
"THANK YOU FOR EXISTING!!"
AHAHAHAHA!!!! YES!!!!!
Then I thanked him for sharing his gift with the world and Dolly and I both said "just keep it up! please just keep making music!" To which he replied "OH I PLAN TO!"
I pulled out the BADMOTORFINGER cover and set it down in front of him. I told him how much the album meant to me. How I was a teenager when it first came out. I grew up with up and it had literally changed my life.
I also mentioned seeing Soundgarden at The Greek Theater in Berkeley and how that was one of my first shows EVER. He nodded and was like "yeah I remember that show!" Ummm WHAT?! :eek: Ok dude you are seriously NOT HUMAN! How many frickin shows have you done between then and now? With how many different bands? SG, solo, Audioslave. And you're sitting here telling me you remember that shit?? Unreal. The man is unreal!
So we share that awesome little moment and then he makes his beautiful artistic mark (that can NOT be your signature! wtf?) on the cd booklet and hands it back to me...
There was not one silent moment throughout our entire time together. Dolly and I managed to keep the conversation flowing NON-STOP! It all happened so naturally too. We went from fearing we wouldn't be able to talk, to not being able to shut up. We honestly covered EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING we could have possibly wanted to talk about, to bring up, to thank him for...WE DID IT! INCREDIBLE!! I still remain completely in awe of us. WOW!
Halfway into our conversation his wife Vicky (who is also even more gorgeous in person) comes over and sits down next to him. I forget what we were babbling about at that point but I could see her smiling at us out of the corner of my eye.
Next I did something else that I always wanted to do but had no idea the opportunity would present itself. THANK HER! I turned to her and said "and YOU! I love how you're a part of this. What you bring out in him is so beautiful!" at which point I grabbed Chris's forearm again. haha. I told her "you really bring out such this amazing positive side of him. It's beautiful! To hear that come through in the music is so beautiful."
Dolly agreed and thanked her as well.
He turned to Vicky and smiled. She looked at us then looked at him, with the biggest smile ever. She actually looked kinda like she was blushing. It was precious. She asked him "do I?" He nodded and said "yes you do". And she said "aw, it's like I'm your muse" In which point they had this cutesy little moment. Awwww!!! *heart melts into a puddle*
I loved that we got to experience their love first hand. To literally see and feel the source of this beautiful side of Chris. What an honor! They are truly such a beaming couple. Their happiness and love is so infectious. Dolly and I were completely overwhelmed by this and couldnt help but turn to each and "awwwww" out loud. I mentioned how smiley Chris is during the shows and how amazing it is to witness that happiness. He thought I was talking about HER and turned to me all excited "Oh? Was SHE smiling during the show?" hehe. I said "well I was talking about YOU.... but YES she was smiling too! Everyone's smiling! There's just so much love and happiness EVERYWHERE!!!"
Bringing it back to that beautiful connection of theirs we mentioned Safe and Sound! I told him how that is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard in my life. It really does have such a family vibe and always makes me think of his love for his family. Dolly and I both endlessly and passionately praised the beauty of that song. I brought up how the song had a very Otis Redding vibe to it, in which he turned to Vicky and said "interesting". Then my dork ass got all serious "it's like I always say...newer music is just lacking of soul. To hear YOU of all people bring that back?? Wow. It's just incredible. THANK YOU." He looked at me calm and serious and said "well, somebody had to do it!" ha. Indeed! The dork once again jumped out and replied "and you're just the man for the job!"
We both agreed that sharing that moment with Vicky was the best. I love that she was a part of this! She made us feel completely at ease. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that she made CHRIS feel more at ease. Anyways, she is the fuckin sweetest and I have a new found love for her and ...well...for their love.
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"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
Our conversation seemed to go on forever. I'm not even sure how long we were there. Maybe about 20 minutes? I am SO beyond grateful that we were last and had the chance to talk to him this long.
By now we thought it was due time to bring PJ into the mix. I pointed to our shirts and mentioned how we were representing "our band". hehe.
Here is when our excitement kicked into overdrive. We were so ecstatic at the very thought of him and PJ doing shows together in Europe that the words literally ended up tumbling out of mouths at the exact same time. HAHA! I'm sure this only exaggerated and echoed our extreme excitement and anticipation of his answer.
We said...
"So you and PJ are gonna be in Europe around the same time. What are the chances of you showing up at one of their shows?"
It was really cute. He quickly turned to Vicky. She not only seemed to be the one who kept track of HIS tour dates...but she knew PJ's too! I love it! She basically said that the dates didn't match up. It was pretty obvious that neither one of them saw that this could happen. I told them that I wouldn't lose hope because (my exact words).... "I believe in miracles" HAAAA!
And then more words tumbled out of mouth in an excited frenzy.
I turned to the man with the golden pipes and said...
"You know what would be THE BEST TOUR EVER...you opening for PJ!!!!"
He looked straight into me, serious as could be, nodded and said...
"I could see that happening"
Then some more talk about Europe dates happened and after that he once again brought it back to opening for PJ and said...
"ya know, that's actually something I'd REALLY LIKE TO DO"
:eek: :eek: :eek:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!!! NO HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!!
We could not EVEN contain ourselves. We turned to each other and freaked the hell out!!
Can you imagine this shit!?! Talk about the tour of tours!!!
This triggered memories of Santa Barbara 2003. The TOTD reunion! I mentioned how I attened that show. Chris said something like "yeah that was a good one" I told him how it's funny cuze at EVERY single PJ show someone starts a rumor that he's there. Vicky laughed. I told him that because of this, even though I was hearing it all throughout the day, I didn't believe he was actually there. He smiled a little and said "Yep! That time it turned out to be true!"
He looked off and seemed to be reminicising and once again said "Yeah...that was a lot of fun."
Again, the excited dork possessed me, "Yes! THAT SHOW WAS EPIC!!!!!" This time turning to Vicky, he suppressed another laugh.
After this freak out we thanked Chris a bunch more times (molesting the hand of course) and at one point he just looked at us and said
"YOU GIRLS ARE VERY SWEET"
WHAT THE FUCK? CHRIS CORNELL JUST CALLED US SWEET!
Finally our time had come to a close. Fine. I coulda walked outside and been hit by a bus and died the happiest woman on the planet!! No way this just happened. No way we just told him EVERYTHING we could have possibly wanted to tell him. No way he might tour with PJ! No way he just called us sweet! WTF? A security guard hurried us along to take our picture. The dork came out once again and I turned to Chris and said, in a perky little voice "picture time?" HA! Stupid!! He nodded and said "yeah!"
We took the picture. The first moment of silence in I don't know how long! The moment where it finally hit the blabbermouths what was happening...where we actually were. OMG and you can so see that captured. ahhaha. We look so freaked out. It's all in the eyes...
We thanked Chris a few times more (I'm telling you! Those were the words of the day) and then we floated on our way. My legs felt like jello walking out of there. WHAT A DREAM!!!
We quickly realized that we had left our bottles of water on the table so we ran back in there to get them. This is when we were reminded that the REST OF THE BAND had been sitting next to Chris the entire time. HA! OH YEAH! THEM! hahah. We were so in our own little bubble and had completely forgotten to thank them! DOH! So we shot a quick little "you guys were AWESOME!" their way and headed towards the door. We ended up seeing Vicky on the way out too and both, at the same time, yelled "BYE VICKY!" She turned around, waved and sent us both off with a beautiful smile. I love her!
So there you have it! We floated outside and spilled our excitement over everyone and both keep turning to each other like "did that just happen???" :eek:
Again, I am so amazed by us. No regrets and No remorse! WE WERE ABLE TO TELL THE VOICE EVERYTHING AND WE WERE SO US ABOUT IT ALL. HYPER EXCITED! I'm sure he appreciated that. Even though he was calm and collective and suppressing laughs....I'm sure he did. We most definitely left an impression. That's for damn sure. haha. God I love us!
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"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
This wasn't sinking in before it happened, and it's certainly isnt sinking in now! This entire experience means more to me than I'll ever be able to express. I still can't get over how perfectly everything happened for us. This really was meant to be. His music has been a part of me for HALF of my frickin life!!! I was able to pour it out to him how much that means. It's something truly untouchable to me. There's this completeness I feel within that I honestly won't ever be able to properly put into words. Words do it no justice. I dont expect everyone to understand but all I can say is my life has most definitely changed. I feel so beyond blessed to have had this experience.
I once again want to express how much it meant to share this experience with DOLLY. Really. It wouldn't have meant this much shared with anyone else. It wouldn't have happened this perfectly with anyone else. I don't think I'll ever stop thanking you for this opportunity of a lifetime. THANK YOU SIS! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I can't believe we'll have this memory to share forever.
I also, once again, want to extend my thanks to all of the amazing people that made this dream of a weekend that much more. There really is this brotherly unity on the East Coast that touches me deeply every single time I'm there. It's amazing. We are both floored by everyone's tight embrace. Bri, My Michelle and her hubby Robby... Nathalie....Leo and Sergio...Nicole...and everyone else inbetween. You guys are incredible!! Thank you so much!
And THAT PHILLY CROWD?? It was everything I imagined it being and so much more. Next time PJ and Chris come to town, I am so there! It's a MUST! I cannot wait to be a part of that magic again. One of the most amazing crowds ever!
THANK YOU CHRIS!! YOU ARE SO FUCKIN AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND REMARKABLY SWEET FOR PUTTING UP WITH US!! haha. Seriously! THANK YOU FOR GIVING ALL THAT YOU GIVE AND FOR BEING SO DOWN TO EARTH AND HUMBLE! YOU ARE A GIFT TO THE WORLD & THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT WITH US ALL!!
>>2007 marks his 20th fuckin year of making music! Can you believe that shit!? 20 years!!! WOW! I mean WOW! How super blessed are we??
THANK YOU CHRIS! YOU MELT MY HEART! YOU ARE PURE FUCKIN GOLD!
AND THANK YOU THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT MADE THIS MEET & GREET POSSIBLE!
The blessings are never-ending!
I keep replaying everything in my head and this painful smile and these tears of joy just will not go away. I feel so totally overcome with emotion. It really is like I watched it happen to someone else. I remain completely in shock of everything! By far one of the most magical experiences of my life. It doesn't feel real. It's the dream I'm never going to wake up from...and that's fine by me.:o
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
2006 - Astoria, Dublin, Leeds
2007 - London
2009 - London, Manchester, London
2010 - Dublin, Belfast, London
2011 - Alpine Valley x2
2012 - Isle of Wight, Manchester x2
An untouchable talent that has blessed/changed my life in the most beautiful way and continues to completely floor and bewilder me with it's greatness. What a blessing you are! I'm eternally grateful for this magical day and the never-ending gifts that have blossomed from it. THANK YOU FOR EXISTING!(<~~ I'm so glad I got to tell you that to your face. haha) I simply cannot imagine a musical world/world in general without you. I hope you have a day as bright and amazing as you are! YOU SHINE!
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
An untouchable talent that has blessed/changed my life in the most beautiful way and continues to completely floor and bewilder me with it's greatness. What a blessing you are! I'm eternally grateful for this magical day and the never-ending gifts that have blossomed from it. THANK YOU FOR EXISTING!(<~~ I'm so glad I got to tell you that to your face. haha) I simply cannot imagine a musical world/world in general without you. I hope you have a day as bright and amazing as you are! YOU SHINE!
Room A Thousand Years Wide just came on shuffle, hell yeah! happy birthday to the voice.:)
Comments
And Marie Curie, thaaaank you for posting the Ross Halfin link. That really is one of THE most gorgeous photo sessions known to mankind.
Whew! Ok, I felt the need to come and BUMP this up with a review of my recent life-altering CORNELL EXPERIENCE!! YES, this is a massive novel and feel free to fast forward at any time. I've just had a bunch of requests for a fully detailed review and I just really want to share it with you all. I could only think of one ideal place to do that.
*deep breaths*
Here it is almost a week later and I'm still in serious recovery mode. Floating about in a complete daze. It's been difficult enough trying to process everything that's happened yet alone to actually sit down and try to put it into words. But now that I have had awhile to let this experience soak into me in a bit more...I think I'm finally up for the challenge. I'm sure, much like my meeting with CHRIS, once I get going I won't be able to stop. haha.
So let the novel begin...
THE BLESSINGS ON OUR TABLE, MULTIPLY & DIVIDE
I remember the exact moment that I got the news from Dolly (soundgrunger). The news that we were going to SEE and MEET Chris "THE VOICE" Cornell in Philadelphia. !!! Dolly texted me exclaiming that she had entered and won the contest in Philly! OMG!!! :eek: What? I remember sitting there just saying "OMG" over and over and over.
A few months prior we were planning on going to Hawaii for the Kokua fest with Jack Johnson and Eddie Vedder. We figured it was her birthday weekend and we wanted to spend it together, and what a perfect way to celebrate! Due to financial reasons the Hawaii plans ended up falling through. It was sweet, Dolly must have apologized a hundred times and I remember telling her over and over "it's ok, it's just not meant to be." Ain't that the truth! Little did we know that the universe had other plans for us. Chris Cornell had other plans for us! A few days later he announced the April 22nd date and I immediately messaged Dolly proposing that maybe we could try to make that bday show instead. I mean come on, Ed and Chris both playing on her bday?? We had to be at one of those shows. We just had to!! Unfortunately once again, finances quickly cancelled that out. Well I am so fuckin glad that finances didn't keep Dolly from entering that contest! Completely on a whim she figured "what the hell...it's my birthday show. I should just enter and if I win worry about getting there later. What have I got to lose?" I LOVE IT! HELL YES! NOTHING! She had absolutely NOTHING to lose. It was just the opposite. She won!
So here it was. Handed to us on a golden plater. We were more than convinced that this trip was our destiny. Hawaii didn't work out for a reason, a bigger reason. A HUUUUGE reason. CHRIS CORNELL! The show alone was too much to take in, and to top it all off we were going to meet THE VOICE himself??? Something neither one of us could even begin to process. We are STILL trying to process it. Getting this news literally felt like we had won the lottery! It was just TOO huge to wrap our heads around. All I kept thinking to myself was "the blessings on my table, multiply and divide". Amen! And this was only the beginning.....
ONE AND THE SAME
Before I dive this I want to take a moment to explain how Dolly and I first met and why sharing this experience together meant the entire world to us. We first "virtually" met on THIS messageboard back in 2004. It was a SOUNDGARDEN thread here in Other Music that brought us together. I remember each of us responding to the others message in full agreement! Firing back and forth, so thrilled to be bouncing off of someone that shared the exact same passion and excitement for the holy CORNELL, and specifically SOUNDGARDEN. It was finally in a thread about DOWN ON THE UPSIDE that we really, really started deeply connecting. We both agreed that it was not only a highly underrated album, but that there was also something so untouchably special about it. YES! Someone else that got it. That got it ALL exactly the way I did. Wow!
The rest is history.
She has since become one of my dearest friends. We see each other as much as we can, which generally tends to be circulated around shows. Pearl Jam & Chris Cornell related shows to be exact. Pearl Jam & Chris.... our blood. The life force that pumps through our veins. The same heart and soul, sharing this same intense love and passion. I found her! Dolly... truly my soul sister! And now we were going to share this experience TOGETHER!!!?? My god! I, too, could not have imagined it happening any other way.
FLUTTER GIRLs
So the day before I was suppose to leave for Philly everything started hitting me a little bit more. Mainly I remained in shock and denial but every now and then reality would sink in the pit of my stomach and I actually started feeling SICK! HA. I called Dolly for support and it was so comforting to know that she was feeling the exact same way. I told her how part of me really, honestly did NOT want to meet Chris. How this was just too huge and meant TOO much. As usual, she understood me completely and said that she was also going through these emotions.
We were officially freaking the hell out!! How were we going to do this? The anxiety took hold. What if this? What if that? AHHHH!! We feared that we'd both completely draw a blank. How are we gonna be able to form sentences? God! haha. We knew there were so many countless things that we'd like to tell him but we had no idea how we were going fit them all into our time together... or how we were going to conquer our nerves enough to fit ANY of it in.
In effort to get our own backs, I had an idea. I thought it would be in our best interest if we brought some "props" to aid us in our conversation. haha! I suggested that we bring our Down On The Upside cd book for him to sign. This would help us ease into telling him how much this album meant to us and how it brought us together. Perfect! I also thought it would be awesome if we wore PJ shirts, not only to represent our boys, but to also work some PJ into the conversation!! Aw yeah. Europe anyone?? The burning question inside us all, and this would be the time and place to ask the voice himself.
We wanted everything laid out for us to make this much feared conversation flow as smoothly as possible. Still though...what do you say to someone that means this much to you? That has impacted your life on infinite levels. That has left the biggest imprint on your soul. How in the world would we possibly be able to come remotely close to expressing that?? It's a very overwhelming thing to think about... not to mention plan and prepare yourself for!! We had both come to the realization that we'd be listening to Chris's music for half of our frickin lives. HALF OF OUR LIVES!!! :eek: THAT'S HUGE! What the hell could we possibly say to this man? THIS MAN! The Untouchable voice. The never-ending talent. Amazing guitarist, out of this world lyricist...producer, songwriter. The complete package deal to the extreme. THIS UNWORLDLY MAN! A talent that has changed my life in the most beautiful and amazing way.
Chris has always had this power over me that no one else has. I cannot even begin to describe what happens to my body/heart//mind/soul when the man open's that blessing of a mouth, but I swear to god it is a feeling that cannot be duplicated by anyone else.
Moving on.....
What do you say? It's just beyond any kind of words.
>> Fast Forward onto the day of the show (or this review is seriously gonna last for WEEKS. hehe) >>
SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
We got to the venue around 2:00 in the afternoon. My sweet PJ buddy Bri had gone out of his way (literally) and given us a ride there. He had also given us shelter the night before which saved our broke asses so much money. Bri you are the BEST! I am seriously overwhelmed by your sweetness. You really, really took care of us and we appreciate it more than you'll ever know. Thank you for EVERYTHING! We were taken care of left and right really. It was amazing and just proved to us both even more just how meant to be this entire trip was.
So we get to the venue and it's still not really hitting either one of us. HA! We kept wondering if it ever would. We spent the day mainly walking around South Street (a very cute part of downtown btw) just enjoying each other's company. Oh and yeah...trying to find me a copy of Down On the Upside. My tired cracked out self had lost it on the plane! DOH!! I was crushed. That was a big part of our conversation with Chris. Aw well. We'd still be able to tell him and atleast Dolly still had hers. I ended up finding a copy of Badmotorfinger and just bought that to bring along. That album changed my life and that's something else I had really wanted to tell him, so it worked out perfectly in the end. There's that word again. "Perfectly". It's so true though. EVERYTHING ended up working out perfectly.
While we were walking around South Street I spotted my little *Bee Girl* (Michelle)! Another PJ buddy! YAY! The day was filled to the brim with even more PJ peeps (*waves to Nicole and Mike*). It was such a PJ reunion. I loved that! We also met some kick ass SG peeps too (*waves to Leo and Sergio*). There was just a general collection of extremely kick ass people everywhere. I knew Michelle was gonna be at the show and planned on calling her later on to meet up, but instead our paths crossed right then and there which was awesome. We ended up hanging out in line with her, her hubby and her friend Nathalie off and on for most of the day. Such a beautiful bunch of people. I felt right at home. Speaking of which *sigh*.....Philadelphia. It felt SO right being there. I had always dreamed of seeing a show there and of being a part of a legendary Philly crowd. Every single PJ boot I have ever heard from Philly has blown my mind. I mean these crowds are some of the loudest of the loud. And here I finally was!! And to see CHRIS CORNELL no less. And with a ton of PJ people at that! Fuckin amazing!!!!! For many countless reasons, it just felt so right and was once again confirmed....this was meant to be.
BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE
BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE
It was getting closer and closer to 7pm (when the doors open) and Dolly and I still didnt have our tickets. Turns out the tour manager was late giving the will call lady the greet list. We had been checking back and forth ever since we got there at 2pm!!! It was around 6:45 when we were finally told it was really, really, for real this time...on it's way. The meet and greet winners were told to start forming a line by the entrance. This was a completely separate line from where all of our friends were. They were lined up down a side street a bit away from the actual venue. They had us line up RIGHT in front of the venue. Bless them! The door we were standing next to was open a crack. We heard something going on there and we already knew what we were about to experience! Soundcheck!!!! Our first reunion with the mighty VOICE was here. Loud and clear. The were playing SEASONS! Ooooooh shit! Too beautiful! There we stood having orgasms before the show had even begun. Silence for a few minutes and then right into the next song. What is it? We're trying to figure it out. It's a new one. It sounds sooo good! They only play a little bit of that one but enough to leave us curious and impressed.
Then, after another short break, the next song starts. Is that? Nooo. It can't be. Then we hear a lyric and both of us lose our balance. I swear my heart stopped. We couldnt make sense of this. We had just had a conversation about this at the airport the day prior. A "what if he played *THAT* song" conversation. AND HE WAS IN THERE PLAYING IT!!! BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD!!! :eek: :eek: OH....MY...FRICKIN....LORD!!!!!! Full band, blowing up the outside world. We were out there singing it at the top of lungs, smiling the biggest smile. A few people were like "what is he playing in there?" in which we'd excitedly blurt out "BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD!!!!" Everyone would gasp in amazement. Yeah!
What a night we had a in store. We were only getting a tiny taste and we were already completely loosing it! haha. I kept reminding myself to hold on. It still hadn't even begin. Wow. We were IN FOR IT!
It was finally around 7:30 when soundcheck came to an end. I guess everything was late that night. Hey fine by us. We just heard soundcheck!!! The doors ended up opening shortly after 7:30. We watched our line of friends shoot into the venue as we still stood there helpless.... ticketless. Michelle told us to just move our way up front and find them once we got in. At long last the list had arrived. We got our tickets and we made our way up front with our friends. Once again, perfect.
At around 9pm our time had come! This was the exact moment when it hit us both. OMG THIS WAS REAL! THIS WAS REALLY HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:
And so it begins....
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
:The Show : SWEET EUPHORIA & then some
The band comes out followed by the mighty Cornell. The crowd is already loud as hell! They immediately blaze into...
~COCHISE
Hooooly shit no he is not opening with this!?! THANK YOU CHRIS! THANK YOU! Just a few days before I had noticed this pop up at a show MIDset. I was so excited. I love this song to pieces but it's always been played at the very end of every single Audioslave show. Cochise is to Audioslave what Yellow Ledbetter is to PJ. It sucks cuze it's like you aren't able to fully enjoy the song really. You end up having this uncontrolled resentment towards it. haha. It signifies the inevitable, something we've been trying not to think about all night... the end of the show. The END! AHH! Um so yeah, I was beyond thrilled to have this OPEN the show. This song always ignites the beast! UGH! Always gets my blood boiling, What a way to kick things into gear! I knew right then and there it was totally confirmed... TONIGHT was THE night.
The BAM, right into...
~ORIGINAL FIRE
We were sooo loud. Everyone singing along. Entire crowd engulfed in flames already. It could not have been more fitting.
Chris takes a quick breath before punching us in the face with the chunkified classic goodness of...
~OUTSHINED
UGGH! Crowd is seriously going nuts! We could tell by waiting in line all day that this crowd primarily consisted of Soundgarden fiends..just like us! This became undeniably obvious during every single Soundgarden song that night. Outshined was only the start of the SG rock fest. And what a way to set it off!
The crowd was still going ape-shit when the song ended. haha. And then we were all instantly paralyzed by those gorgeous, supernatural opening chords of enchantment. Pulling our hearts out of our chests with each and every strum. The sky had opened. It was indeed time for us all to...
~SAY HELLO TO HEAVEN
I could not believe he was playing this. Tears welled up in my eyes. Dolly and I were squeezing each other's hands so tight. My Michelle turned to me and we both just stared at each other with this intense look of comfort & support. It's seriously like we were hugging each other through our gaze. It was so intense and so beautiful. Chris nailed every single heavenly note. Talk about an out of body experience. It was unreal.
As soon as the song was over I remember just standing there completely in awe of what I had just experienced. No way that happened. Inside I felt like I was drowning in tears and yet, being there and experiencing this first hand was so intense that I actually could not even cry. Wow!
We had no time to compose ourselves. Before we knew it we were quickly rocked back to earth with...
~NO SUCH THING
LOVE THIS SONG! Another new one that I was really hoping we'd get. It killed lived!
~YOU KNOW MY NAME
The crowd really ate this one up too. Chris introduced it as one of "favorites from the new album"
To tell you the truth I never really got into this song, but seeing it live and seeing how passionate Chris was about it definitely hit me in a way it hadn't before.
~LIKE A STONE
Introduced as a "sing along". Boy was it ever. Philly you made me fall in love with this song on a whole new level!!
A short pause and BAM...we're back in the Soundgarden.
~FELL ON BLACK DAYS
WHOA! Collective freak out. It was absolutely flawless. Chris sounded dead on and straight up angelic. The crowd was actually singing louder than him during most of it though. haha. We were sooooooo loud!! And the band?? They really nailed everything and especially did the SG stuff some serious justice. Phenomenal!
Next up is one of the most stunningly beautiful performances I have ever witnessed...
~SEASONS
*chillsCHILLSchills*
Chris introduces the song as one he wrote by himself couped up in a room for months or something and how it became his "little secret"
Well god damn I'm so glad the secret is out! This has always been one of my most loved and adored by the man. What his band adds to this is absolutely brilliant. I didn't think it was possible for this song to be more beautiful...but they managed to make it happen.
Everyone leaves the stage and then Cornell comes back out. Let me tell you right now this man's energy was incredible! I know I say this every tour, but now more so than ever, he is ON IT!!! He's actually reborn. He truly is. All throughout the show, inbetween songs he'd sign stuff for fans. So sweet!! Totally interacting with everyone. It's so beautiful to see this side of him. And that smile could burn a hole right through you. GOOD LORD! Bright as could be ...and constant. He's never looked happier. And he's never sounded better. I think he's at the greatest place HE HAS EVER BEEN right now....in every single way. He is shining his brightest. I can't praise him enough. This is a new Cornell. Kinda like Seasons.... I didn't think HE could possibly get any better but somehow HE did!! Absolutely mind-blowing.
So the reborn Cornell comes back out on stage....just him and an acoustic guitar. To tell you the truth this all I need in life right here. It doesn't get any better.
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
~CANT CHANGE ME
People all around (including me!) are moaning in euphoria! This is one of the most gorgeous songs on the planet and always knocks me to my knees. Once again as soon as the chorus hit the entire venue roared. Amazing!!!
He wastes absolutely NO time and goes right into.....
~BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD :eek: :eek: :eek:
Excuse me?! OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dolly and I turn to each other, mouths open in disbelief. Are we really hearing this? We heard it soundchecked with the full band and flipped out then...and here he was not only playing it but ACOUSTIC!!!? OMG!!! It sound better than ever! Jesus! I had shivers racing up and down my spine! I literally elevated off the ground and started grabbing onto everyone around me screaming "OMG! OMG! OMG!" haha. I couldn't help it. I was under attack. THE VOICE most definitely blew up EVERYTHING with this one. I still can't believe he played this. One of the greatest highlights of the night by far, which is saying a lot since the entire night was a highlight! BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD?? ACOUSTIC?? *faints* Unfuckinbelievable!
The song ends and I'm turning to everyone around me shaking my head in denial. No way! It was felt throughout that entire place and everyone would shake their heads right back. The cheering went on FOREVER and kept getting louder and louder. Chris said something like "Thank you. I like that one too" Awww!
Dolly and I are grinning at each other from ear to ear. We can't believe that just happened. And we can't believe there's MORE to come!
~DOESNT REMIND ME
Everyone instantly starts clappin and singing along. We already have THE biggest grins on our faces and this was such a great way to follow that up. I've always especially loved this song live. It's fun and really brings the crowd together.
~SPOONMAN
Once again the crowd unity is off the charts and the Soundgarden freaks are going wild!! There really was this something that changed in the air, an extra massive freak out that would happen specifically with every Soundgarden song! I LOVED IT! I honestly can't express how much I appreciated that.
THE VOICE begins to speak. He introduces the next song, saying it's one of his new ones and how he wishes to dedicate it to the families and victims of Virginia Tech. A very touching moment, especially since our hearts were already spilled out all over the room. Before oozing into what happens to be my FAV song from Carry On thusfar, he added how this is a song about all of us pulling together to live in peace and how it's a wish for all of us to just "fucking get along".
"This one's called..."
~SAFE AND SOUND
*heart swells*
This song is SOOOOOOOO out of this world amazing! It had first debuted about a week prior at the MuchMusic performance. I got ahold of an mp3 of it and from that very first listen I was instantly hooked and instantly in love. I remain completely floored by this beauty. To have this soulful classic sound in CC form? It's one of the most amazing things I ever heard. And every single thing about it was a million times more radiant and powerful live. I think this was one of the brightest moments of the night. Chris really, REALLY shines on this song. It perfectly compliments those golden pipes. I remember standing there light headed from it all. My eyes closed, just drinking it up...intoxicated as hell! This was TOO BEAUTIFUL! And I loved how we were surrounded by die hards that also already knew all the words. haha. Hell yeah. At one point I opened my eyes and Chris was staring right at me. GOD! Talk about extra paralysis! That gaze left me frozen. I was probably mouthing all the wrong words at that point. haha.
~WHAT YOU ARE
KICK ASS! I was thrilled to get this one. Once again we're all rockin out in sync and as soon as that chrous hits we fuckin EXPLODE!!!!! Everyone is pumping their fists up in the air. UGH! Chris comes over to our side of the stage and looks right at Dolly and I. FUCK! The paralyzing gaze strikes again! Intense. Way intense.
The Badmotorfinger beatdown continues with....
~RUSTY CAGE :eek: :eek:
AHHH! WHaaaat??! This classic beast!? Mother of god! We are being beat to a bloody pulp and loving every single second of it!! Hair and fists everywhere! Everyone headbanging into oblivion. Are you sure this isn't 1991? At one point we were all bouncing off the ground at the same time, kind of lifting each other up. INSANE! We were one powerful force and Chris was sweating out an endless supply of fuel for our fire.
Once again the band and Chris completely nail it! Chris! Every single song, every single note. THE GOLDEN PIPES= SUPER POLISHED! How are these notes even possible!!?? Superhuman I tell you!
End of the first set.
SWEET LORD!! What just happened? Where are we?? What's going on? We are all in a state of shock and can do nothing but SCREAM OUT FOR MORE!
They come back out to feed the starving crowd. 1 minute without was far too long. WE ARE CRAZED ADDICTS FOAMING AT THE MOUTH!
And now~~>we're DOWN ON THE UPSIDE!
encore 1:
BURDEN IN MY HAND :eek:!!!
YAY!!! *tears* More Down On The Upside love!! Dolly and I had ALSO mentioned this, what if we get BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND BURDEN IN MY HAND BOTH?!?!? We were manifesting everything! What a trip! So many dreams became reality in Philly. I kept turning to Dolly shaking my head. It didn't even seem to hit her until mid song what it was. haha. It was too cute! She was completely and totally in shock. Another major highlight of the night. This song has been and always will be one of my SG obsessions.
Next we are treated to a brand new song!! It had only been played once a few nights before Boston. Now it was our turn for..
~GHOST
I recognized it right away. It was the song we heard a snippet of during soundcheck. YES!!! The crowd reaction was as if we'd all heard it a million times before. A very easy one to dissolve. It sounded GREAT! Then we got to a point where Chris just started screaming...and holding this enormous godlike note for daaaaaaays!! What?? I kid you not, everyone was turning to each other and saying just that "whaaaat??" Then back into the song, back into him singing....then BACK TO THAT SCREAM! HOLY SHIT! HERE IT IS AGAIN! HOW IS HE DOING THIS?? That will always be my first impression of this song...those "HOLY SHIT" screams! I can't wait to hear this one once the album is released. It has me so pumped up!
And finally.....
~BLACK HOLE SUN
Always a crowd pleaser and always drop dead gorgeous. Another sing along too. Beautiful!!
Then Chris thanks the crowd, tells us were amazing and then says goodnight. No! This can't be the end!
The house lights come on and the overhead music starts playing. No one moves and inch. haha. I loved that! We all just refused to accept that the show was over. Some guy next to me starts chanting "CHRIS CORNELL! CHRIS CORNELL". Before I knew it I was chanting it too...followed quickly by the entire frickin venue. At this point "loud" doesn't even begin to describe us.
Chris's wife Vicky comes over sidestage and is standing there laughing at us in disbelief. The guitarist comes running out and pushes his arms up in the air. Totally encouraging us to get LOUDER! ha! And that we did. Finally Chris and the rest of the band come running back out. All of them taking a moment to just stand there and stare at us in amazement.
encore 2:
This encore must have been improved. It wasn't on any of the setlists. How fuckin cool is that!!?
They kick right into....
~HUNGER STRIKE
OOoooh! What an incredible performance. The crowd participation here was off the charts! The excitement was everywhere. I mean, an entire PJ crew rockin the rail and we get this? Come on. It was too amazing! And guess what else? Chris went for every single one of those high notes and nailed them ALL to spine-tingling perfection.
Next up........
~SLAVES & BULLDOZERS :eek: :eek: :eek:
NO! Nooooo! I had this stuck in my head all day! Mother !#$%&! In comes that tweaked out intro followed quickly by that sick ass beast of a riff! UGH! WE ARE ONCE AGAIN UNDER ATTACK!
I remember getting this at an Audioslave show in Long Beach and it was a newer jazzy type version. Nope. This shit was raw and original. Straight up Badmotorfinger!!
Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor. I thought my eyes were about to fly outta my skull. The place exploded on new levels! We all started screaming and headbanging. It was crazy!! Now it really, really felt like we were back in the 90's at a Soundgarden show. Everything about it... from the energy of the crowd, to Chris's polished pipes. My god! I'm getting chills just typing this. It was monstrous. During one point Chris turned the mic out to us and let us sing part of the chorus. During "everything I gave" he hits his chest and then pushes his hand out towards us. It was so fuckin true. The man had given us EVERYTHING...and we had given it all right back. Round and Round we went the entire fuckin night. Recycling this amazing massive force of energy. Energy that had all of us high as a kite. Even Vicky was sidestage taking pictures of the crowd throughout the show and smiling at us all in disbelief. You felt the freak out all around you. And this was the grand finale! Wow! The show could not have ended with a better song. \m/
Chris said his final goodbyes for the night and thanked us repeatedly adding "we will be seeing you MANY, MANY more times Philly"
Holy crap! Well, I guess that means I'll be seeing Philly many many more times as well.
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The time had come! After everything we had just experienced there was STILL more. You have got to be kidding me! I thought Slaves and Bulldozers was the grand finale?? You mean we're gonna meet HIM?? That's actually happening? YEAH...that's when THAT finally became real to me. My high from the show quickly started battling a comedown. An anchor of anxiety deeply sinking itself in. I was a MESS..in more ways than one. We quickly ran to the bathroom to freshen up since we didn't want to meet THE VOICE looking like sweaty hell beasts. HAHA! So we freshen up and then go back into the venue. They had cleared it out. Such a tiny little place and a perfect intimate setting for a meet & greet.
Previous meet & greets had been just an open room with Chris standing there and people walking around talking to him and stuff. Totally laid back. Then the format changed and became much more organized. Chris and the band sitting behind a table. The fans lined up and ushered down to him 1 by 1. This format made Dolly and I nervous as hell (as if we werent already). We kept wondering how was ours was gonna be--and we were about to find out!
So we're standing there next to the elevated bar section trying to figure out how the hell to get the backing off of our MEET AND GREET sticker when out of the corner of my eye I notice the guitar player come over and sit down at a table to my right. A few seconds later I hear Dolly going "OMG Lydia. Lydia" I already knew. THE VOICE was right over there! :eek: AHHH! We quickly started shuffling around in a panic. We weren't at all ready for this. A second later I heard someone shout "ok everyone get in a single file line...then we'll go down the line and do autographs and photos". Well I guess this is how we were doing it. Someone else shouted "where does the line start?" and then I saw a hand motioning towards us. "there" another voice said. Ooooh hell no!! Dolly and I quickly teleported our asses to the end of line. No way in hell we were going first. We weren't ready to go AT ALL!
The panic really started rushing through us at full speed, so much so that it was pushing itself out. We had tears in our eyes!! We kept repeating to each other, "I don't wanna do this. I don't wanna do this. It's too much" People in line were playfully laughing at us and telling us it would be ok. LOL!! Then the security guard (who had told me a few minutes before that he thought my head was going to explode during the show hahahaha. he's not the only one!) was like "it's ok, he's just a person" Dolly and I both turned to each other and looked into one others eyes and said it without saying a word.."he doesn't get it". Of course we know he's a person, that's not the point!! So the line is moving along way quicker than we're prepared for. Everyone is so calm & professional. They shake his hand, thank him, get a photo and they're off. How in the? It was kind of a weird thing to witness. Very organized. It also looked rushed. Yet another reason we were grateful to be at the end of the line. This is already an insanely nervous situation and to top it off we were gonna feel rushed?? No thank you.
I asked Dolly if there was any way she'd be able to start the conversation, perhaps with her Down On The Upside booklet? She agreed. Thank god. I didn't feel capable of starting this. We were trying to kinda rehearse what we were gonna say. haha. And before you knew it we were being told it was our turn. My heart literally felt like it was about to pop out of my mouth! OMG!! Here we go!!!!!
We walk up. He's sitting at an elevated table at the bar.
<~TIME OUT~>
You all need to know that this man is a million+++++ times more beautiful in person. It's ridiculous! Somehow he manages to defy age in every single possibly way. I mean he's actually getting BETTER looking. Wtf?? He's flawless. Once again, not of the world!
So we approach the table and look up and him. I'm sure he could see that panic in our eyes. It felt so obvious. Meanwhile he's sitting there calm as could be. I'm not sure what happened but that whole 'not being able to say anything first' thing flew out the window! I instantly grabbed his hand and said "THANK YOU CHRIS! I know it's the biggest understatement EVER...but THANK YOU" I could feel my voice and my hand trembling.
Then Dolly started it. Her voice shaking a bit too. She put her Down On The Upside booklet in front of him and thanked him for that album, and for everything. She explained how that album meant a lot to both of us and how it brought us together. His voice perked up "Really?" "YES!" we said simultaneously. Then Dolly said how tonight was really special for us. How this was our birthday show (hers was THAT day and mine a few weeks away) and how we both flew out from the West Coast to be here. It was cute, he totally didn't get that. He was like, "Oh so both you girls are from Philly then?" I told him nope. That I was from California and Dolly from Canada. He looked stunned. "So you flew out here just for this show?" Again, in unison , "YES!" He immediately put down his sharpie and leaned over the table towards us, extending his hand. "Thank you! I really appreciate that" SO SWEET! He looked genuinely amazed and appreciative of that. That's when he took Dolly's DOTU booklet and wrote "THANX!" on it...
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a17/LadyPJ27/CORNELL%20%20%20%20AS%20solo%20SG/l_207ecccb9aaa1baffaa32c6d4dcb9828.jpg
Awwwww WOW!!! THANK YOU CHRIS!
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I think we must have said "THANK YOU" every other second. It was funny too cuze each time we did we'd reach out and grab his hand. I get very touchy when I get excited. Again, nothing was held back with Chris. We seriously molested the living hell outta that hand! LOL!!! I still crack up everytime I think about it.
What was going through his head?? haha.
I also said something to him that I say all the time and that has been said many a time in this very thread! HA! I grabbed that hand, looked him straight in those piercing absolute blue eyes and said...
"THANK YOU FOR EXISTING!!"
AHAHAHAHA!!!! YES!!!!!
Then I thanked him for sharing his gift with the world and Dolly and I both said "just keep it up! please just keep making music!" To which he replied "OH I PLAN TO!"
I pulled out the BADMOTORFINGER cover and set it down in front of him. I told him how much the album meant to me. How I was a teenager when it first came out. I grew up with up and it had literally changed my life.
I also mentioned seeing Soundgarden at The Greek Theater in Berkeley and how that was one of my first shows EVER. He nodded and was like "yeah I remember that show!" Ummm WHAT?! :eek: Ok dude you are seriously NOT HUMAN! How many frickin shows have you done between then and now? With how many different bands? SG, solo, Audioslave. And you're sitting here telling me you remember that shit?? Unreal. The man is unreal!
So we share that awesome little moment and then he makes his beautiful artistic mark (that can NOT be your signature! wtf?) on the cd booklet and hands it back to me...
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a17/LadyPJ27/CORNELL%20%20%20%20AS%20solo%20SG/l_72e4364c6877dbef5f3c35d259b1ca34.jpg
UNBELIEVABLE!
There was not one silent moment throughout our entire time together. Dolly and I managed to keep the conversation flowing NON-STOP! It all happened so naturally too. We went from fearing we wouldn't be able to talk, to not being able to shut up. We honestly covered EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING we could have possibly wanted to talk about, to bring up, to thank him for...WE DID IT! INCREDIBLE!! I still remain completely in awe of us. WOW!
Halfway into our conversation his wife Vicky (who is also even more gorgeous in person) comes over and sits down next to him. I forget what we were babbling about at that point but I could see her smiling at us out of the corner of my eye.
Next I did something else that I always wanted to do but had no idea the opportunity would present itself. THANK HER! I turned to her and said "and YOU! I love how you're a part of this. What you bring out in him is so beautiful!" at which point I grabbed Chris's forearm again. haha. I told her "you really bring out such this amazing positive side of him. It's beautiful! To hear that come through in the music is so beautiful."
Dolly agreed and thanked her as well.
He turned to Vicky and smiled. She looked at us then looked at him, with the biggest smile ever. She actually looked kinda like she was blushing. It was precious. She asked him "do I?" He nodded and said "yes you do". And she said "aw, it's like I'm your muse"
I loved that we got to experience their love first hand. To literally see and feel the source of this beautiful side of Chris. What an honor! They are truly such a beaming couple. Their happiness and love is so infectious. Dolly and I were completely overwhelmed by this and couldnt help but turn to each and "awwwww" out loud. I mentioned how smiley Chris is during the shows and how amazing it is to witness that happiness. He thought I was talking about HER and turned to me all excited "Oh? Was SHE smiling during the show?" hehe. I said "well I was talking about YOU.... but YES she was smiling too! Everyone's smiling! There's just so much love and happiness EVERYWHERE!!!"
Bringing it back to that beautiful connection of theirs we mentioned Safe and Sound! I told him how that is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard in my life. It really does have such a family vibe and always makes me think of his love for his family. Dolly and I both endlessly and passionately praised the beauty of that song. I brought up how the song had a very Otis Redding vibe to it, in which he turned to Vicky and said "interesting". Then my dork ass got all serious
We both agreed that sharing that moment with Vicky was the best. I love that she was a part of this! She made us feel completely at ease. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that she made CHRIS feel more at ease. Anyways, she is the fuckin sweetest and I have a new found love for her and ...well...for their love.
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
By now we thought it was due time to bring PJ into the mix. I pointed to our shirts and mentioned how we were representing "our band". hehe.
Here is when our excitement kicked into overdrive. We were so ecstatic at the very thought of him and PJ doing shows together in Europe that the words literally ended up tumbling out of mouths at the exact same time. HAHA! I'm sure this only exaggerated and echoed our extreme excitement and anticipation of his answer.
We said...
"So you and PJ are gonna be in Europe around the same time. What are the chances of you showing up at one of their shows?"
It was really cute. He quickly turned to Vicky. She not only seemed to be the one who kept track of HIS tour dates...but she knew PJ's too! I love it! She basically said that the dates didn't match up. It was pretty obvious that neither one of them saw that this could happen. I told them that I wouldn't lose hope because (my exact words).... "I believe in miracles" HAAAA!
And then more words tumbled out of mouth in an excited frenzy.
I turned to the man with the golden pipes and said...
"You know what would be THE BEST TOUR EVER...you opening for PJ!!!!"
He looked straight into me, serious as could be, nodded and said...
"I could see that happening"
Then some more talk about Europe dates happened and after that he once again brought it back to opening for PJ and said...
"ya know, that's actually something I'd REALLY LIKE TO DO"
:eek: :eek: :eek:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!!! NO HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!!
We could not EVEN contain ourselves. We turned to each other and freaked the hell out!!
Can you imagine this shit!?! Talk about the tour of tours!!!
This triggered memories of Santa Barbara 2003. The TOTD reunion! I mentioned how I attened that show. Chris said something like "yeah that was a good one" I told him how it's funny cuze at EVERY single PJ show someone starts a rumor that he's there. Vicky laughed. I told him that because of this, even though I was hearing it all throughout the day, I didn't believe he was actually there. He smiled a little and said "Yep! That time it turned out to be true!"
He looked off and seemed to be reminicising and once again said "Yeah...that was a lot of fun."
Again, the excited dork possessed me, "Yes! THAT SHOW WAS EPIC!!!!!" This time turning to Vicky, he suppressed another laugh.
After this freak out we thanked Chris a bunch more times (molesting the hand of course) and at one point he just looked at us and said
"YOU GIRLS ARE VERY SWEET"
WHAT THE FUCK? CHRIS CORNELL JUST CALLED US SWEET!
Finally our time had come to a close. Fine. I coulda walked outside and been hit by a bus and died the happiest woman on the planet!! No way this just happened. No way we just told him EVERYTHING we could have possibly wanted to tell him. No way he might tour with PJ! No way he just called us sweet! WTF? A security guard hurried us along to take our picture. The dork came out once again and I turned to Chris and said, in a perky little voice "picture time?" HA! Stupid!! He nodded and said "yeah!"
We took the picture. The first moment of silence in I don't know how long! The moment where it finally hit the blabbermouths what was happening...where we actually were. OMG and you can so see that captured. ahhaha. We look so freaked out. It's all in the eyes...
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a17/LadyPJ27/CORNELL%20%20%20%20AS%20solo%20SG/l_316da56080540e0bfc2024c86574a3d6.jpg
Priceless!
We thanked Chris a few times more (I'm telling you! Those were the words of the day) and then we floated on our way. My legs felt like jello walking out of there. WHAT A DREAM!!!
We quickly realized that we had left our bottles of water on the table so we ran back in there to get them. This is when we were reminded that the REST OF THE BAND had been sitting next to Chris the entire time. HA! OH YEAH! THEM! hahah. We were so in our own little bubble and had completely forgotten to thank them! DOH! So we shot a quick little "you guys were AWESOME!" their way and headed towards the door. We ended up seeing Vicky on the way out too and both, at the same time, yelled "BYE VICKY!" She turned around, waved and sent us both off with a beautiful smile. I love her!
So there you have it! We floated outside and spilled our excitement over everyone and both keep turning to each other like "did that just happen???" :eek:
Again, I am so amazed by us. No regrets and No remorse! WE WERE ABLE TO TELL THE VOICE EVERYTHING AND WE WERE SO US ABOUT IT ALL. HYPER EXCITED!
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
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This wasn't sinking in before it happened, and it's certainly isnt sinking in now! This entire experience means more to me than I'll ever be able to express. I still can't get over how perfectly everything happened for us. This really was meant to be. His music has been a part of me for HALF of my frickin life!!! I was able to pour it out to him how much that means. It's something truly untouchable to me. There's this completeness I feel within that I honestly won't ever be able to properly put into words. Words do it no justice. I dont expect everyone to understand but all I can say is my life has most definitely changed. I feel so beyond blessed to have had this experience.
I once again want to express how much it meant to share this experience with DOLLY. Really. It wouldn't have meant this much shared with anyone else. It wouldn't have happened this perfectly with anyone else. I don't think I'll ever stop thanking you for this opportunity of a lifetime. THANK YOU SIS! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I can't believe we'll have this memory to share forever.
I also, once again, want to extend my thanks to all of the amazing people that made this dream of a weekend that much more. There really is this brotherly unity on the East Coast that touches me deeply every single time I'm there. It's amazing. We are both floored by everyone's tight embrace. Bri, My Michelle and her hubby Robby... Nathalie....Leo and Sergio...Nicole...and everyone else inbetween. You guys are incredible!! Thank you so much!
And THAT PHILLY CROWD?? It was everything I imagined it being and so much more. Next time PJ and Chris come to town, I am so there! It's a MUST! I cannot wait to be a part of that magic again. One of the most amazing crowds ever!
THANK YOU CHRIS!! YOU ARE SO FUCKIN AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND REMARKABLY SWEET FOR PUTTING UP WITH US!! haha. Seriously! THANK YOU FOR GIVING ALL THAT YOU GIVE AND FOR BEING SO DOWN TO EARTH AND HUMBLE! YOU ARE A GIFT TO THE WORLD & THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT WITH US ALL!!
>>2007 marks his 20th fuckin year of making music! Can you believe that shit!? 20 years!!! WOW! I mean WOW! How super blessed are we??
THANK YOU CHRIS! YOU MELT MY HEART! YOU ARE PURE FUCKIN GOLD!
AND THANK YOU THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT MADE THIS MEET & GREET POSSIBLE!
The blessings are never-ending!
I keep replaying everything in my head and this painful smile and these tears of joy just will not go away. I feel so totally overcome with emotion. It really is like I watched it happen to someone else. I remain completely in shock of everything! By far one of the most magical experiences of my life. It doesn't feel real. It's the dream I'm never going to wake up from...and that's fine by me.:o
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
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2007 - London
2009 - London, Manchester, London
2010 - Dublin, Belfast, London
2011 - Alpine Valley x2
2012 - Isle of Wight, Manchester x2
An untouchable talent that has blessed/changed my life in the most beautiful way and continues to completely floor and bewilder me with it's greatness. What a blessing you are! I'm eternally grateful for this magical day and the never-ending gifts that have blossomed from it. THANK YOU FOR EXISTING!(<~~ I'm so glad I got to tell you that to your face.
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
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Room A Thousand Years Wide just came on shuffle, hell yeah! happy birthday to the voice.:)