Soundgarden Kick Off 2011 Summer Tour In Toronto

Soundgarden kicked off their long anticipated summer tour on Saturday night with the until-recently unreleased song 'Black Rain,' and while it was the only “new” material heard on the night, that didn't stop fans from enjoying two hours of grungetastic rock from the reunited Seattle pioneers. The setlist, while void of any major surprises, mixed the expected radio hits with a nice selection of deeper cuts from the band's catalog of releases.

Frontman Chris Cornell took videos and photos of the opening night crowd and told them that Toronto was the “best place to start," adding jokingly, “it sounds like bulls---, but it's not bulls---.” As the Toronto Sun reports, Cornell was in good voice and void of any rust, benefiting from the fact that he's been on the road himself playing solo shows, including a Toronto show in April.

With the exception of a hefty light show, Soundgarden played on a stage that was otherwise minimally occupied and void of any flashy frills. They had been in Toronto for a couple of days leading up to the show and played an hour long soundcheck for a small group of contest winners on the night before Saturday's performance.

Soundgarden continues to work on their new album, which is set for release in early 2012. Here's the setlist from the tour opener:

'Black Rain'
'Searching with my Good Eye Closed'
'Spoonman'
'Gun'
'Rusty Cage'
'Blow up the Outside World'
'Let me Drown'
'Jesus Christ Pose'
'My Wave'
'The Day I Tried to Live'
'Outshined'
'Beyond the Wheel'
'Fell on Black Days'
'Ugly Truth'
'Burden in My Hand'
'Superunknown'
'Black Hole Sun'
'4th of July'

Encore:

'Face Pollution'
'Like Suicide'
'Slaves and Bulldozers'

Watch Soundgarden Perform 'Rusty Cage' In Toronto