Soundgarden shakin the money tree

On August 6th of 1994, some friends and I drove from Binghamton, NY to Barrie, ON (that's Canada folks) to see Soundgarden and NIN play something loosely resembling a festival at Molson Park. Also on the bill but barely remembered were:

Pop Will Eat Itself
Reverend Horton Heat
Marilyn Manson
You Am I

I don't remember most of those bands because I was stuck in a orange mesh corral for a good part of the beginning of the show. Despite my wildest fantasies, Canada was not as free with its suds as I had anticipated, and despite the venue being named for the largest Canadian brewery that I knew of, they weren't exactly handing the beers out like balloons once inside. And while I went ahead and bought my 12 tickets for beers (3 tix = 1 beer), none of my friends did, and I was left to drink my 4 Molson Goldens one by one in the beer prison that separated the future members of AA from the smart kids who were smoking pot and out in the mix.

I mention this because I learned that Soundgarden is apparently reuniting for some tours this coming year. You have to turn your speakers up all the way to hear it, but this little chunk is breaking the newz for yall:

What I remember from the Molson Park show (besides the beer prison) was that Soundgarden wasn't all that good. Chris Cornell makes some good records (with Soundgarden that is, not with Timbaland), but his vocals at live performances are hit or miss from what I've seen. NIN on the other hand was pretty awesome. Come to find out, that Molson Park gig was apparently Trent's favourite Canadian show of his career.

“We had a chip on our shoulder about Soundgarden because their record [Superunknown] came out the same day Downward Spiral came out, and they beat us to No. 1 on Billboard. That became a kind of professional showdown. And we did show them.”

Anyhow, I guess these guys are needing to pay some college tuition by now. Seems a bit early for the nostalgia circuit, though.