Last one then I'm all caught up....this will be a shorter one.
4-20-11 - The Fillmore Detroit - Detroit, MI - Stone Temple Pilots
Initially, I wasn't expecting to go to this show. I had already seen STP twice in 2010, and floor sold out pretty quickly, so I figured it wouldn't be worth it. My dad, however, who loves these guys, got floor right when they went on sale and invited me. And so, for the third time in a little over a year, I was on my way to see the highly-acclaimed grunge act. Unlike the first two times, we did not have to arrive late, so we got there right before doors and entered on time. This was our local radio station's 40th anniversary show, so there were a few special promotions going on and plenty of their good-looking "Rock Girls" running around the whole venue. Eventually, I worked my way to the very left side of the stage and claimed rail there very easily, and I would remain there for the rest of the show.
Taddy Porter - A fairly new band with a classic rock/blues-influenced sound. Nothing special, but they were entertaining throughout the half hour they played. I spent most of their set watching their guitar player who was situated right in front of me, and he proved to be a pretty good player, as shown on a couple of cool solos. One of their songs, Shake Me, was a song I had heard many times on the radio but had not cared enough to look up who it was by. So it was one of only two songs they played that I knew. The other one was their closer, a cover of the Beatles' classic "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," one of my favorite Beatles songs ever. It was a nice change of pace compared to the rest of their songs, which were basically full-out rockers, and they didn't ruin it, playing it pretty much by the book, which was fine with me. Not a bad opening act at all. 6/10
Toby Redd - This band was a local that had been around in the 80's, with their claim to fame being the fact their drummer was none other than Chad Smith, current drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They hadn't played a show together since 2003, and one of the special treats of this 40th anniversary show was this reunion performance. They played for a good while, about 45 minutes, and overall they seemed to fit in the classic rock bluesy kind of stuff Taddy Porter played, but slightly better in its execution. The real treat about this whole thing, in my opinion, was watching the Will Ferrell look-alike, Chad Smith, drum his ass off. I hadn't seen a drummer dominate a stage so much since I saw Morgan Rose with Sevendust. He was absolutely on fire, and whether it was intended or not, he was the focal point of every single song they played. There were a couple songs where he tossed out several drumsticks to the crowd like they were candy, another similarity between Morgan and him. He also added backing vocals on a couple of occasions. Smith alone made this set, and there were a few really good songs that the band played too, most notably a song called Learning Fast. This performance made me really want to see Red Hot Chili Peppers live, and hope that this band stuck around so that I could see him play again once in a while. 7.5/10
Stone Temple Pilots - I've reviewed this band twice already, so I'm not going to rehash much. The show they played was incredibly similar to the show back in August, with the same setlist minus three songs. Unfortunately, one of the songs cut was Dead and Bloated, which was somewhat surprising. I had hoped that they might throw in something special for us, but it was not to be. The band went on, played through their set in workmanlike fashion, and left. Again, Scott was in fine form, and I do believe he was actually sober for this one, just as he was in August. The DeLeo brothers and Eric were excellent again, and every song went along without any hiccups. At this point, the little tempo changes they throw into some songs have become predictable to me, but that doesn't take away from the greatness of the songs. Interstate Love Song and Big Empty are still two of my favorite songs ever, and I absolutely love the solo in Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart and the riffs in Plush, Vasoline, Wicked Garden, and Sex Type Thing. Rob was working the magic on his bass right in front of me for the entire set, and it was truly gratifying for me to see one of my favorite bassists play up so close. The crowd got a bit restless behind me, and a fight broke out in the middle of Silvergun Superman, but other than that the push was not bad at all, especially considering the crowd I dealt with the last time I saw these guys at the Fillmore. At this point, all worries I've ever had about STP imploding onstage have been alleviated. Scott has proven that he's learned to keep his shit under control, and while I'd love for them to change the setlist or make another album before they come around again, they've been great all 3 times I've seen them and I won't ever complain about seeing one of my favorite bands for free. 9.5/10
Setlist:
Crackerman Wicked Garden Vasoline Heaven and Hot Rods Between the Lines Hickory Dichotomy Still Remains Big Empty Dancing Days (Led Zeppelin cover) Silvergun Superman Plush Interstate Love Song Huckleberry Crumble Down Sex Type Thing -------------------------------- Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart
I've given STP 10/10 before, I knocked them down half a point this time because they cut their setlist and it was exactly the same as last time. Plus musically, Symphony X was far more impressive.
Comments
Ants of the Sky "
=P~ =P~ =P~ =P~ =P~
4-20-11 - The Fillmore Detroit - Detroit, MI - Stone Temple Pilots
Initially, I wasn't expecting to go to this show. I had already seen STP twice in 2010, and floor sold out pretty quickly, so I figured it wouldn't be worth it. My dad, however, who loves these guys, got floor right when they went on sale and invited me. And so, for the third time in a little over a year, I was on my way to see the highly-acclaimed grunge act. Unlike the first two times, we did not have to arrive late, so we got there right before doors and entered on time. This was our local radio station's 40th anniversary show, so there were a few special promotions going on and plenty of their good-looking "Rock Girls" running around the whole venue. Eventually, I worked my way to the very left side of the stage and claimed rail there very easily, and I would remain there for the rest of the show.
Taddy Porter - A fairly new band with a classic rock/blues-influenced sound. Nothing special, but they were entertaining throughout the half hour they played. I spent most of their set watching their guitar player who was situated right in front of me, and he proved to be a pretty good player, as shown on a couple of cool solos. One of their songs, Shake Me, was a song I had heard many times on the radio but had not cared enough to look up who it was by. So it was one of only two songs they played that I knew. The other one was their closer, a cover of the Beatles' classic "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," one of my favorite Beatles songs ever. It was a nice change of pace compared to the rest of their songs, which were basically full-out rockers, and they didn't ruin it, playing it pretty much by the book, which was fine with me. Not a bad opening act at all. 6/10
Toby Redd - This band was a local that had been around in the 80's, with their claim to fame being the fact their drummer was none other than Chad Smith, current drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They hadn't played a show together since 2003, and one of the special treats of this 40th anniversary show was this reunion performance. They played for a good while, about 45 minutes, and overall they seemed to fit in the classic rock bluesy kind of stuff Taddy Porter played, but slightly better in its execution. The real treat about this whole thing, in my opinion, was watching the Will Ferrell look-alike, Chad Smith, drum his ass off. I hadn't seen a drummer dominate a stage so much since I saw Morgan Rose with Sevendust. He was absolutely on fire, and whether it was intended or not, he was the focal point of every single song they played. There were a couple songs where he tossed out several drumsticks to the crowd like they were candy, another similarity between Morgan and him. He also added backing vocals on a couple of occasions. Smith alone made this set, and there were a few really good songs that the band played too, most notably a song called Learning Fast. This performance made me really want to see Red Hot Chili Peppers live, and hope that this band stuck around so that I could see him play again once in a while. 7.5/10
Stone Temple Pilots - I've reviewed this band twice already, so I'm not going to rehash much. The show they played was incredibly similar to the show back in August, with the same setlist minus three songs. Unfortunately, one of the songs cut was Dead and Bloated, which was somewhat surprising. I had hoped that they might throw in something special for us, but it was not to be. The band went on, played through their set in workmanlike fashion, and left. Again, Scott was in fine form, and I do believe he was actually sober for this one, just as he was in August. The DeLeo brothers and Eric were excellent again, and every song went along without any hiccups. At this point, the little tempo changes they throw into some songs have become predictable to me, but that doesn't take away from the greatness of the songs. Interstate Love Song and Big Empty are still two of my favorite songs ever, and I absolutely love the solo in Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart and the riffs in Plush, Vasoline, Wicked Garden, and Sex Type Thing. Rob was working the magic on his bass right in front of me for the entire set, and it was truly gratifying for me to see one of my favorite bassists play up so close. The crowd got a bit restless behind me, and a fight broke out in the middle of Silvergun Superman, but other than that the push was not bad at all, especially considering the crowd I dealt with the last time I saw these guys at the Fillmore. At this point, all worries I've ever had about STP imploding onstage have been alleviated. Scott has proven that he's learned to keep his shit under control, and while I'd love for them to change the setlist or make another album before they come around again, they've been great all 3 times I've seen them and I won't ever complain about seeing one of my favorite bands for free. 9.5/10
Setlist:
Crackerman
Wicked Garden
Vasoline
Heaven and Hot Rods
Between the Lines
Hickory Dichotomy
Still Remains
Big Empty
Dancing Days (Led Zeppelin cover)
Silvergun Superman
Plush
Interstate Love Song
Huckleberry Crumble
Down
Sex Type Thing
--------------------------------
Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Symphony X is nothing but gay power metal.
i know obscure reference is obscure lol
heres the actual scene lol