Matt & Kim Pictures

Soundgarden Nearly Reunite At Tom Morello Justice Tour Stop in Seattle

Photo: Natkin/WireImage Rock Daily spotted some reports about a near Soundgarden reunion last night in Seattle at one of Tom Morello’s Justice Tour stops. RS Reader Chris Senn writes in with an eyewitness account of what went down at the Crocodile Cafe after the MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Morello’s Nightwatchmen, Steve Earle and Morello’s new Street Sweeper had taken their turns onstage: “Of course, with Tom Morello and Wayne Kramer in the building it’s a given the audience is in for some kind of incarnation of ‘Kick Out the Jams.’ For lead vocals they brought out Mark Arm, lead singer of Mudhoney while Morello and Kramer faced off in a guitar duel front and center stage. Shortly after this an additional guitarist showed up quietly, playing at the side of the stage. Although it’s been over a decade since Soundgarden broke up and his signature beard is now gray, there’s no mistaking Kim Thayil! When Thayil was playing I could see Matt Cameron peeking around the backstage curtain. That’s when it was obvious something was up because Cameron wasn’t announced on the bill. After the song they were playing at the time ended, whatever it was, Tom Morello had the announcement those at the Croc had been waiting for. ‘I haven’t been this fucking excited about something in a long time,’ Morello exclaimed, almost bubbling over with joy, ‘It’s like I won some type of contest or something.’ Then came the introduction: Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd, Matt Cameron and Tad Doyle as Tadgarden!! The Soundgarden bandmates, playing for the first time together since the band broke up in 1997, didn’t take long to hit a groove. Tad Doyle, a veteran of the Seattle scene with a voice as rough as he looks and the size of about two Matt Camerons, screamed at the top of his lungs while bounding around the stage with reckless abandon. Their way too short three song set rocked nonetheless. They tore through ‘Nothing to Say,’ and Morello joined them on ‘Spoonman.’ Kim Thayil displayed his signature guitar licks

Published: 2009-03-25 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Silverchair, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cold War Kids Rock the Early Shift at Lollapalooza’s Day Two

Before any band even begins playing, Saturday is off to a promising start. Overcast skies and lower temperatures are a welcome relief from the heat, and the hand-sanitizer dispensers have actually been refilled.Boy-girl Brooklyn synth-pop duo Matt & Kim are equally enthused. Neither can believe the size of the stage or the throng of people awaiting them. “Look how my boobs look up there. That is so not to size!” exclaims drummer Kim Schifino upon seeing her body up on the projection screen. Her partner, keyboardist Matt Johnson, is downright giddy. Their pastel tunes belong in a basement, not on a bandshell, though that doesn’t prevent “Grand” and “Yea Yeah” from registering cute-factor points. Later, Matt & Kim pull double duty, subbing for the cancelled CSS. Tokyo Police Club also express shock at attracting a decent crowd. Sonically, the Toronto quartet doesn’t stay in the same place for too long, and its approach borders on train-wreck looseness, yet somehow everything gels. The group punctuates its hectic garage-cum-indie rock with red-throat yelps and spiky bursts of sound. A few fans wave Canadian flags as keyboardist Graham Wright flails about and tambourines fly through the air during a forty-five-minute set that lives up to the hype. Speaking of expectations, 2006 buzz band Tapes ‘n Tapes take the stage next, and despite similarities between the two acts — herky-jerky motions, disjointed new-wave synthesizers, staggered tempos — the Minneapolis foursome is far artier. Maybe the group is distracted by the wafting pot smoke, but they threaten their set’s momentum with an overabundance of pauses and tempo changes. A few stages away, Silverchair is performing in the area for the first time in recent memory. Shirtless and sporting a headband, leader Daniel Johns embraces his inner rock star. The stadium-directed anthems are proudly populist and carried by falsetto vocals. Thanks to the band’s ringing chords, basic structures, showy

Published: 2007-08-06 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Festivals, Lollapalooza