ONE FOR THE AGES

July 29, 2011

When rumours began to swirl of a possible reunion, fans dared hope. Friday night after waiting out the 12 year break, they filled Rogers Arena and revelled in the glory of Soundgarden reassembled and on tour.

As promised it was a night of hits.

Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd took fans through the highs of Soundgarden from their early days in Seattle's grunge scene to their rise through the mainstream ranks. One of the biggest to emerge from grunge era, the group was in good company as a pioneering band of the genre.

As if a Soundgarden reunion wasn't reason enough to pack into Rogers Arena, the epic four hour show boasted a lineup that had fans beside themselves.

Keeping to the theme of grunge nostalgia, the night started with the Meat Puppets who included "Lake of Fire" in their opening set. A blend of punk and psychedelic rock, the band counted Kurt Cobain as a fan, gaining a boost in exposure when he asked the Kirkland brothers—founding members of the group—to join him as guest musicians for Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged performance.

Queens of the Stone Age stormed the stage next. Serving as the second opener, the California-based rock band of headliner status knocked their supporting role out of the arena.

Led by Josh Homme, the founding and only permanent member, the band has seen an impressive list of musicians add their talents to the ranks over the years. Soundgarden's Cameron and Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl are just two of the notable cameos.

In their self-described robot rock style, the QOTSA set was generous in volume and instrument heavy featuring their riff-oriented sound. Fans flooded the floor as the band reeled off hits including "Little Sister", "Go With the Flow" and "No One Knows".

When Soundgarden finally hit the stage reunited after disbanding in 1997, the anticipation was thick. Wasting no time with niceties they launched right into "Searching With My Good Eye Closed" off Badmotorfinger.

The sound was huge and the music crisp. The crowd began to swell as the music coursed through the massive, convulsing mosh pit.

"Spoonman"—their Grammy Award winning hit off 1994's Superunknown which drove them into mainstream popularity—followed, the rhythm felt up into the rafters. "Blow Up the Outside World" and "The Day I Tried to Live" came close behind.

The night was notably without the frills and gimmicks of big arena concerts. Soundgarden relied solely on their talent and a trippy light show that transfixed the crowd.

Lights and music. That's all they needed to blow the roof off the stadium.

Relaxed and fluid, the group sunk into their music and sounded phenomenal as they slid through "Burden in My Hand", "Fell on Black Days", "Black Hole Sun" and "Outshined". Cornell's pipes are still among the industry's elite.

The crowd not ready to call it a night—and after waiting so long you can't blame them—cheered the band back on stage for an encore. The concert finally came to a close with "Slaves & Bulldozers", the last chords ringing through the stadium.

What a note to go out on.