Soundgarden Tour
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Soundgarden 2017 Tour Opening Band: Dillinger Escape Plan & The Pretty Reckless (on select dates)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What songs will Soundgarden play in concert?
Soundgarden is another one of those big 90’s grunge bands attempting a comeback in the last half of a decade. The group’s latest release, after their return from hibernation, is 2012’s, King Animal. It performed lukewarm on the charts, and was critically mixed, which probably contributes to its lack of any major presence on this tour. The band performs about three songs from the release, and sometimes only one. “A Thousand Days Before” is expected, but the group may also come out with “Been Away Too Long” or “Attrition.”
The real excitement comes from Soundgarden’s 1994 breakthrough, Superunknown. The album was recently re-released in deluxe form, which could fill in as the supporting album for this tour. This is likely the case, since Superunknown makes up about half of the setlist; around nine tracks in total. The band has performed “4th of July,” a song woefully ignored live throughout their entire career, but is short lived as they dropped it from their recent setlists.
Other Superunknown jams include the famous “Spoonman,” the epic “Fell on Black Days,” and the powerful “The Day I Tried to Live,” which appears near the end of the set.
The band also promotes the more metal/punk tunes from Badmotorfinger, including “Jesus Christ Pose” and “Rusty Cage.” The latter is almost always saved towards the end of the setlist.
Clearly, the group’s most popular song is “Black Hole Sun.” The piece is not a closer since it appears most often in the first third of the show.
Searching With My Good Eye Closed
Spoonman
Attrition
Nothing to Say
Outshined
Black Hole Sun
Jesus Christ Pose
Like Suicide
Been Away Too Long
The Day I Tried to Live
My Wave
Superunknown
Blow Up the Outside World
Fell on Black Days
A Thousand Days Before
Head Down
Rusty Cage
4th of July
Beyond the Wheel
How long is a Soundgarden concert?
At a solid 100 hours, Soundgarden packs a lot of material into their setlist. This is slightly shorter on the dates with Nine Inch Nails considering they are sharing the headlining slot.
Who is Co-headlining again?
The acclaimed and ever accomplished Nine Inch Nails is touring alongside Soundgarden for this tour, which marks their first major tour together. Nine Inch Nails is touring on their recently released album, Hesitation Marks, which is widely considered one of the best releases of 2013.
Who is opening the Show?
The controversial and enigmatic hip hop/rock act, Death Grips, recently broke up, losing Soundgarden their original opening band for the tour. Fortunately, the band found three worthy replacements that are cycling out during the tour: Cold Cave, Oneohtrix, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. There is no date with all three acts performing, so check with your local venue of choice for the opening act.
Cold Cave is largely an electronic act, with a music blend of atmospheric trance with aggressive breakbeat and gothic rock styles. This brand of music is labeled as darkwave, and the artist is touring on behalf of his third studio release, Sunflower.
Oneohtrix Point Never, consists of musician, Daniel Lopatin, another largely electronic artist that manages to swirl together a mixture of chaos and beauty in his experimental style. Lopatin boasts a wide number of indie imprint albums released independently. Warp Records recently picked him up for his latest release, R Plus Seven.
The Dillinger Escape Plan passively adds electronic elements into their sound, and are a hardcore group first and foremost. Their experimental progressive style is further explored on their 2013 release, One of Us is the Killer.
Who is the Soundgarden’s publicist and press contact?
The group is part of the very popular, The Artist’s Organization. They have two offices, one in Los Angeles and the other in New York City. Reach out to them by using the contact form on their website.
How do I get access to presale tickets for Soundgardens’s tour?
You can find presale tickets through a variety of sources. The first is through the American Express Entertainment platform, which is servicing the entire tour. You need an American Express card for purchase, but the tickets are reliable each time out.
The best place to get tickets is through the Nine Inch Nails official website. The band and team describe every component of the presales, including what is offered and what to expect. Considering Nine Inch Nails resilience to corporate entities and respect and closeness with fans, this is the best way to go.
Concert Reviews
“The quartet opened with three songs from more than 20 years ago — “You guys remember those?” Cornell teased — and the lead single from its multiplatinum 1994 breakthrough disc. A heavy drum exit climaxed starter “Jesus Christ Pose” and fed into “Flower,” the first track on Soundgarden’s 1988 debut. The hefty-catchy “Outshined” drew one of the night’s biggest yell-alongs, and “Spoonman” followed with its staccato drumline, furious bass and meaningfully meandering guitar runs. It was 20 heavy minutes.” – Erik Pederson of The Hollywood Reporter
“Cornell, as the big name attracted much of the attention and delivered a good bit of the set’s power, his gruff wails striking like venom. But “Black Hole Sun” aside, Soundgarden was never primarily about hooks and the charisma of the frontman, but about the intensity and complexity of the sound and the full ensemble that created it.” – Piet Levy of the Journal Sentinel: Tap Milwaukee
“How Cornell can scream his head off for two straight hours without needing a case of Ricola to recover remains a mystery, but his epically broad vocal range was definitely on full display. And the ever-stoic Kim Thayil delivered loud and loaded guitar solos with ninja-like finesse, especially during stand-outs like ‘By Crooked Steps’, ‘I’ve Been Away For Too Long’, and ‘Non State Actor’.” – Audra Tracy of The Waster
Tour Archive
Soundgarden 2013
Tour Opening Acts: Mike McCready
Started January 16, 2013 in New York, New York | Ended May 28, 2013 in Broomfield, Colorado
Soundgarden 2012
Tour Opening Acts: NA
Started May 5, 2012 in Irvine, California | Ended November 27, 2012 in Hollywood, California
Soundgarden 2011
Tour Opening Acts: Mike McCready
Started July 6, 2011 in Uncasville, Connecticut | Ended October 28, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana
Note: Soundgarden took a touring hiatus from 1996 to 2010-2011, with a few scattered shows in 2010.