The National, Chris Cornell Support President Obama at Iowa Rally

The National and Chris Cornell hit the stage at a campaign rally for Barack Obama Saturday afternoon at Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, each turning in a brief performance before the president spoke to the estimated crowd of 10,000 supporters, reports the Times-Delphic.

The National opened the afternoon with a five-song set that kicked off with ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ and ended with ‘Mr. November,’ a tune whose title that was featured on T-shirts that the band sold to support Obama’s 2008 campaign. Before performing ‘Fake Empire’ — an odd choice for a political rally, given its dystopian undertones – singer Matt Berninger explained that the tune “was written before President Obama was elected in 2008.”

Cornell, the Soundgarden singer whose appearance at the rally upset some fans that had been expecting to see him at Jay-Z‘s Made in America festival in Philadelphia over the weekend, turned in a covers-heavy solo set that kicked off with Nick Lowe’s ‘What’s So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding’ and included ‘As Long as I Can See the Light,’ a tune made popular by Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s John Fogerty. He closed things out with John Lennon‘s ‘Imagine,’ calling it “one of the best songs anyone could have ever written.”

The event showed once more the strong backing President Obama has from the rock world. ”I think that we have a lot of support from a lot of industries and that includes music,” a spokesperson for the campaign told the Times-Delphic. “This event in itself shows how much the president cares about Iowa and the bands are just a part of it.”

Watch the National Perform ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ At the Obama Rally