There is an amble of blues to welcome the faithful to their seats in the acoustically superior Roy Thomson Hall. Whereas the theatre is accustomed to operatic arias and the like, tonight it’s filled with melodies of a different nature — the musical musings of Chris Cornell.

Impassioned former ’Gardeners are faced with a smack of theatre etiquette as ushers are prepared to offer no leniency or exceptions for this eve’s unusual feature. The lights dim and hollers and whistles play with the chants Cornell has chosen to signal his arrival on stage. The drums are immediately pounded — Greg Upchurch does more than that, he absolutely smashed them. All the guitar, bass and keyboard chords and cables are neatly fastened to the stage with masking tape as if marking out blocking for musicians Alain Johannes, Ric Markmann and Natasha Shneider, respectively.

Finally, the unassuming hurricane of musical genius emerges quietly from the wings and waves an arm. He looks like a transient who made his way to Toronto by hitching a ride on a CN Rail boxcar — worn deep blue flare jeans, black leather biker boots and a black tee under a less-than-black jacket. Deny it though he may, like it or not, the man exudes sex.

Chris Cornell

He immediately blows into a smoothly sweet rendition of "Sunshower" that’s powerful enough to draw tears. This is followed by the man's first official single as a solo artist, "Can't Change Me." He’s on top of every note, launching with it a deceiving amount of power from a slim body that expels so little energy.

And so into "Mission" he goes — the most Soundgarden-like song on Cornell’s Euphoria Morningand still a very solo "effort." From there it’s "Reaching The End Of The World" where his voice soars up to fill the rafters and causes eruptions of goosebumps and other hardened skin.

As calmly as he moves around the stage — a pose and spin on one bended knee being the highest level of his exertion — he is offset by Shneider’s role as a Tim Burton-esque Spider Girl, with her sliding head strutting between out-curved arms. She looks almost possessed again in contrast with bassist Markmann, who knows his place kitty corner to Upchurch’s subservient drum kit. The stage must be covered with splatterings of sweat as Upchurch beats his drums in a mad fury.

Chris Cornell

One of the most interesting moments of the show begins with Johannes playing in his politely anarchic way. Cornell begs of the crowd to listen because it’s something very special, never been done before by man or beast. It sounds like a dolphin symphony just before the killer whales come in, all through his guitar and pedals.

While Johannes gets the most interesting moment award, he does not touch Cornell for best, nor most beautiful. The haunting "Seasons," from the Singles soundtrack is a more than pleasant surprise accented with congo drums. As if in tribute to all Knights of the Soundtable in attendance, Cornell goes solo with an electric guitar for Superunknown’s"Fell On Black Days." The man knows how to jazz up the oldies and does it again with middle-eastern-tinged "Like Suicide" several solo songs later.

Two hours in total, Chris Cornell’s foray into the theatre venue circuit brings him a true, and deserved, theatre applause for his spine-tingling performance: A standing ovation.