STONE TEMPLE PILOTS ROCK THE AESC MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012
BY PAUL FITZGERALD, photos by Paul Fitzgerald
Monday, September 17th’s show at Abbotsford’s Entertainment and Sports Centre had everyone wondering, ” are the Stone Temple Pilots going to play??” Yes they will and they did. I kept very optimistic. I had deja vu, it was GNR all over again. They were there, they played and it was fabulous !
Scott Weiland and the Stone Temple Pilots put on a fantastic show. His voice ROCKED !
The Stone Temple Pilots were to be on stage at 9:15. The audience is used to possible short delays and in some instances things do happen. I was informed that they were there and they were just getting ready. No announcements were being made and many people, having worked all day and going to work on the Tuesday, were not prepared for a late start. Unfortunately many people had to leave. But at minutes to 11pm, STP took the stage.
The crowd was great, the band INTENSE !
The show was intense, tight and the sound was incredible. Well done to the sound crew. The set started with SIN, then Vasoline, Crackerman and Hollywood Bitch. Great music.
STP is Scott Weiland on Vocals , Eric Kretz on Drums, Dean Deleo on Guitar and Robert Deleo on Bass. Their great catalogue of hits was mostly played. They were on the stage for approximately an hour and twenty minutes. Not bad, with the three acts altogether it was a very entertaining and adventurous night. Their music is extreme Rock, which kind of reflects in the extreme controversy they seem to be in occasionally. Scott Weiland has had a colourful career. He fronted Velvet Revolver with Slash and some other members of GNR. One of those Super Groups. Great music there too. Like GNR, with STP you have to expect sometimes things don’t happen as they should or there will be some excitement. I think that is what people come to expect from these intense artists and the artists deliver. That’s what makes enertainment. It also make for gossip and publicity. Good or bad, it’s still publicity. STP has won a Grammy for PLUSH, other awards and 3 other Grammy nominations that I know of. We were excited that the band reunited in 2008 and has toured since. They still have a huge fan following.
It’s unfortunate that these things do happen and it reflects badly on the band. No reason was given for the delay and many speculate to why. Was it Scott? Were they late? Their next show for Tuesday, Sept. 18 was canceled in Lethbridge Alberta citing Scott’s vocal Cords were strained. I hope there was no serious problems. All I can say is The Staff at The Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre did an amazing job keeping everyone pretty much calm. A little chanting now and then but for the most part the atmosphere was good. Everyone wanted to see STP !
The Crash Kings opened for STP. Their set was powerful and entertaining.
The Crash Kings had an equally stellar set. This trio was amazing! All I kept thinking was these guys reminded me so much of RUSH but with a little different set up. They are lead Guitarless. Antonio Beliveau, the lead singer plays keyboards and VOX and his vocals are fantastic ! Michael Beliveau is bass player and Jason Morris, the Drummer , were equally amazing. I always try to compare singers and guitar players, etc, to my Rock heroes from the 70’s or 80’s. Antonio’s voice ROCKED !
Celestial Ruin. Symphonic Metal at it’s best !They warmed up the street party goers. It was a party.
The night started with a Local Vancouver Indie band, Celestial Ruin. Getting the crowd started at The Street Party. At 6:25pm CR was Rocking everyone out Front. It was so good people were glued to the spots where they stood. The doors opened to let people into the arena and no one moved.
What a great set Celestial Ruin had. Larissa Dawn was amazing. She mesmerized the crowd with her angelic power vocals, Mike on the bass while Adam pounded the drums and as usual broke another and another drum stick. Nathan stroked the keys of his keyboards like caressing a beautiful woman and Yakir blew everyone away with his great guitar riffs. Everything was perfect for the opening band out at The AESC Street Party.
The night was truly entertaining. Not everyone has the same experience and at this show there definitely were some disappointed fans. I think if it was a weekend it might have been less controversial.
That’s Rock and Roll !
STP Setlist
SIN
Vasoline
Crackerman
Hollywood Bitch
Hickory Dichotomy
Meatplow
Still Remains
Big Empty
Between The Lines
PLUSH
Tumble In The Rough
Big Bang Baby
Trippin On A Hole In A Paper Heart ( Trippin)
ENCORE
Sex Type Thing
This article could not be further from the truth, the only truthful part here is when STP came on stage, the rest is a complete fabrication. By the time STP came on almost half the audience had left, and those that stayed were getting more pissed off by the minute. Once STP finally did take the stage they sounded like Weiland had stuck the mic halfway down his throat and tried to sing, the band played magnificently but Weiland dragged the music quality right through the dirt. They cut their set short by approximately half an hour, leaving those who were optimistic enough to stay wondering why the hell they paid $60+ dollars for something this pathetic. Lastly, the AESC staff may have done their job well, but the management team should be on the unemployment line for how they handled things, during that two hour delay not once did anyone from the band or the venue come on stage to inform everyone what was happening and when/if the concert would begin.
That being said Celestial Ruin and Crash Kings both sounded amazing and set the night up right for what should have been a great concert.
Hey Josh;
You are so allowed your opinion. I was there, And it’s as as I saw, and observed everyone, Yes there were disappointed fans. Your one of them. From where I was and that was everywhere. It was a party atmosphere on the floor. At least what I saw on the floor and when the show started everyone was stoked. I saw people chanting, Booing, but no fights.I moved around to check the sound. It wasn’t perfect everywhere. STP’s distinctive sound is unique and I found it very good for AESC. If it was the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Yeah, It would have been like your living room. I feel that, just like GNR, a lot of fans were miffed and left and no refunds to be had as I know of there either.
STP only planned 16 songs, they played 15. I was exhausted myself. They did play almost their whole set and compared to other shows this one compared well except the lateness. As I said it reflects badly on the band. Staff could only do what they could. STP gave no excuse so management could not. I saw no fights and that reflects well on staff. The one thing that surprized me is they kept the bars open until almost 11. At GNR the bars closed at 9 and GNR didn’t hit the stage until 11. Did you know 11pm was cerfew? I had to laugh, maybe they purposely came late because of that. Disclaimer on the tickets is no refunds or exchanges. They showed up. AESC is not a stellar venue for sound. I know I have seen 4 shows there and unless your on the floor , The sound crew did a stellar job for what they had to work with.
Not everyone has the same experience. Thanks for sharing your views.
Yes Josh.
They Did. It made the show that much better. As a fan of STP I was happy to see them with CR and CK opening. I always treat every show like it’s my last. I’m just happy to be there, STP reunited. Next year it could be Velvet Revolver ? I can’t give the show 5 stars and thats too bad. CR and CK deserve it ! Yeah Baby !
Thanks Paul for the review, Thanks Josh for the support