Thursday, June 12, 2008

Just when you think that all Rock Stars - with capital letters - are dead, there comes along Scott Weiland.

Frontman Weiland and the three other members of the Stone Temple Pilots reunited earlier this year and performed at the E Center Wednesday in a 100-minute rock concert that was tight, focused and energetic.

Skeptics could snipe that the band played it safe by playing a set heavy on the hits, and that the live versions were near-identical to the versions on the records, but considering Weiland's long history of substance abuse, it was fun to see Weiland and the band alive and well.

From the opening song, "Big Empty," to the last song of the encore, "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart," Weiland's voice was strong and evocative, and he displayed a spellbinding stage presence and undeniable charisma.

The lead singer arrived on stage with a tie, vest, grey slacks and jacket. Showing a little flair, he wore a bright maroon fedora with a yellow feather tucked in the band, matching the bleached blonde locks underneath.

As the show progressed, he engaged in a gradual striptease, so by the time the song "Sex Type Thing" appeared near the end of the show, Weiland was bare-chested, showing off a leopard-skin belt. Throughout, his left hand alternated between holding a lit cigarette and clutching a megaphone. He prowled around the stage in a manner best compared as Jim Morrison's Lizard King persona melded with the hip-swaying, brazen sexuality of Axl Rose, making eye contact with the audience.

Brothers Dean and Robert DeLeo, on the guitar and bass, respectively, anchored the crunch the band is known for and the venue was able to present the sound clearly, a welcome change compared to Kanye West's muddled sound two nights before.

As for the set, the big screen behind the band showed off the usual abstract images, and lights and fog machines were in full effect, but the real show was the resurrected Weiland.

Here is a YouTube video shot at the show, not by me. Trust me, the sound wasn't that bad, and that is not me at on the left-hand side of the shot: