 |
 |
EDMONTON - Rarely will you find a band as confounded about its place in the world as the Stone Temple Pilots.
First they were accused of jumping on the Seattle grunge bandwagon -- worse, not being from Seattle. It didn't help that they sounded a lot like Pearl Jam.
Then singer Scott Weiland showed a few flashes of genius, took a lot of drugs, got in trouble, went to jail, got his act together and started hanging out with various Hollywood ne'er-do-wells -- hence the break-up of STP and subsequent formation of Velvet Revolver with members of Guns 'N' Roses, which was, for a week or so there, an even bigger draw than STP.
Now, Weiland has left Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots has reformed to become a tribute act to themselves, judging from their merry bang-through-the-numbers concert for 4,100 fans at the Shaw Conference Centre last night.
Worst case of Modern Rock Dissonance I've ever seen.
These guys have a surprising number of hits racked up over the years. We heard pretty much all of them faithfully performed last night, very little changed save for the odd tempo mutilation, and all accompanied by trippy, psychedelic images on the big screen backdrop.
|
If there was any new material, it was lost in the barrage of arena grunge, and went unannounced. There is apparently a new record expected next year, but there's plenty of old material to make a swell "greatest hits live" event. Why tour without an album if it's not for the money?
It's hard to tell what kind of a band this is supposed to be in late 2009 -- classic rock, retro grunge, alternative rockers with bigger ideas than pop radio but get sucked down there anyway? Who knows? And whom shall we blame for this confusion? Weiland seems like a good scapegoat. He's been confused, and he was, sad to say, the weak link last night.
The band played at the top of its game -- specifically guitarist Dean DeLeo, drummer Eric Kretz and bassist Robert DeLeo, who could pass for a sideman in a Vegas show band. They gave these songs they've played a thousand times and dusted off for the reunion tour a dynamic, artful touch.
The same cannot be said for the frontman. From the wistful melodies of Sour Girl to the lurching grunge of songs like Plush or Vasoline, Weiland performed them all with the same laconic cool, as if his heart -- or his head -- wasn't completely into it. It is possible he was just playing it so cool that he overshot the mark.
Hard to know. He was about three-quarters throttle the entire time, though looking natty in a three-piece velveteen suit. Swaying gently from side to side was his version of rocking out. He did show passion in lambasting a fan who threw something on stage. After a repeat incident a bit later, he declared, "We were going to play for another hour ... (but) we're just going to play a couple more songs and then split." Cue boos. Cue two minutes of funky noodling, cue another slam bang big hit and all was forgiven.
The fact that this announcement came at about the 80-minute mark makes me think Weiland was joking. I won't condone throwing things on stage, but it happens in a lot of rock concerts, especially with a crowd this excited, and most rock musicians ignore it or just calmly duck out of the way. He could've handled it better. In any case, they did come back for an encore, ending with ripping version of Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart, with its telling line that hits very close to home for this band, "I'm not dead/I'm not for sale."
Opening the show was the Crash Kings, one of these new-fangled, guitar-less bands that puts the keyboard player -- after a long era being the bit player in the rock 'n' roll canon -- in the unlikely spot of rock star. These guys came off like the Ben Folds Ten. Tony Beliveau was at least a double threat, with vocals like Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, and a wild keyboard style like Eddie Van Halen if Eddie played a clavinet equipped with a whammy bar. Don't see that at a rock show every day. Some of the material was kind of sappy, but on the whole, and I hate to say it, the opener was better than the headliner. Bonus points for the Black Sabbath tune.
It might seem sad that a keyboard band has to emulate electric guitar and cover Ozzy to avoid getting lynched as the opening band at a rock concert, but hey, it's a start. Keep an eye on the Crash Kings.