Can’t say I’ve paid much attention to Chris Cornell since I got sick of seeing the video for “Black Hole Sun” on never-ending repeat on MTV in the late ’90s. Audioslave had a few good tunes, but not enough to make me stop and take notice. So I was basically a blank slate heading into the 9:30 Club last night for Cornell’s solo show. Sure, I had heard the (mostly negative) buzz about his new Timbaland-produced solo album, Scream, but I hadn’t heard note one of the music, so for the first time in a long time, I went to a rock concert without any sort of expectations or idea as to what the night would bring. Would he play his older material? Would he have backup singers doing synchronized dance moves?

Cornell, to his credit, did not forsake his past at last night’s show, even if the whole reason for the show was to showcase his present and future. In a live setting, the material from Scream had more of a rock sound due to his backing band, but it still stood out for mostly the wrong reasons. His genre-hopping career made the pacing of the set difficult. The R&B influenced “Ground Zero” and synth-heavy “Time” made for harsh transitions from hard rock classics like “Hunger Strike” and “Spoonman.”