INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The amps were cranked up and the emotions were flowing at the Forum on Wednesday night as musical friends and big-name…
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The amps were cranked up and the emotions were flowing at the Forum on Wednesday night as musical friends and big-name admirers paid tribute to the late rocker Chris Cornell.
It was a vast show of affection that drew rock powerhouses (Metallica), pop stars (Miley Cyrus) and celebrities (Brad Pitt) to the Forum stage, 20 months after the Soundgarden singer-songwriter’s death at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel.
The nearly five-hour “I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell” was at times reverent, often raucous, as Cornell’s sprawling body of work was celebrated for a capacity crowd that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Gene Simmons, Tom Hanks and Courteney Cox.
With a fitting Seattle-esque rain outside, fans in the Forum were spoiled for choice in a loose-knit concert that saw one musician after another coming, going, and coming again throughout the show.
“Chris is here with us tonight,” drummer and former Cornell band mate Matt Cameron said atop the show. “He has the best seat in the house.”
Some memorable moments:
For the first time since that ill-fated night in Detroit in May 2017 — when Cornell was found dead of suicide by hanging — Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd performed together onstage publicly. (Thayil and Cameron were part of last year’s MC5 anniversary tour.)
They closed Wednesday’s tribute show with an intense, eight-song Soundgarden set that included vocalists Taylor Momsen, country-rocker Brandi Carlile and an ever-affable Taylor Hawkins, while guitarists Wayne Kramer and Tom Morello joined up for the serpentine highlight “Loud Love.”
Peter Frampton was a surprise guest, stepping out to trade solos with Thayil as Carlile led the crowd in a “Black Hole Sun” singalong to wrap up the long night.
