Soundgarden Stays On Course in an Economical Concert

Part jazzman and part rocker, Soundgarden’s frontman Chris Cornell looks like a hell-bent Puck and sings like a loose cannon. But he doesn’t go for anything dishonest.

That felt like a simple blessing on Sunday as Soundgarden played at the Universal Amphitheatre to support its latest album, “Down on the Upside,” a swirling mix of speed-metal and art-damaged psychedelia. Soundgarden was the first group from Seattle’s grunge underground to be signed to a major label. Since 1987, the quartet has married metal with ironic, downright punkish lyrics and cool smarts with a holler that would make Axl Rose smile.

Now that Metallica is following its fashion cues, Soundgarden is wandering from forceful rock into watery psychedelia. Thankfully, Sunday’s economical show stayed on course, with the group’s lack of theatrical pyrotechnics making other bands seem practically corny for their excesses. Rather than play up their hit “Black Hole Sun” with flashing lights and guitar windmills, everyone but Cornell left the stage for the song. The singer turned the throbbing anthem into a solo slow-groove.

The most gripping tunes were fast and hard, with the assault of “Ty Cobb” and the half-ironic freedom call of “Rusty Cage” the highlights. Soundgarden’s more recent, loose-limbed and Eastern-tinged sounds were not neglected, and tribute was paid to the ‘60s with winding versions of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” and the Doors’ “Waiting for the Sun.”

Slouching over his guitar in a plain white T-shirt, Cornell played his frontman role with little affectation. Any cliched gesture (balancing his guitar over his head and tossing it meekly into the drum set, for instance) would bring a sarcastic smile to his face. Even when he drop-kicked his microphone, Cornell seemed almost frail. But the band allowed itself one excess at the end--a feedback frenzy a la Nirvana, with Cornell standing on his guitar, sliding around on the strings.

After second-billed Rocket From the Crypt’s delicious, too-short set of silver lame and Iggy Pop via Les Brown, Soundgarden seemed even more spare and club-like. Overall, the evening proved that Soundgarden is an arena-rock troupe that plays it straight and scrappy like a garage band. This long-lasting powerhouse just needs to learn to experiment with its sound without leaning so heavily on dated rock forms.