Went to ASHES Divide / Filter / Stone Temple Pilots last night

TrooperFarva · #1 06-01-2008, 07:53 AM

I saw the show at PNC Bank Arts Center last night. This has long been my favorite venue. It's an outdoor amphitheater. There's a covered seating area, and past that, there is a very large field, for general admission. The sound there is always good, but it's a bit better if you're in the seated area.

The show started at 7. We got to the venue around 6:45. I've never seen this many cars at PNC before. People were parking wherever they could find space, in fields, whatever. Lots of tailgating going on, moreso than I can remember seeing at any recent show.

We got into the venue around 7:15. ASHES Divide was already playing. We had general admission tickets. We rented some lawn chairs ($5, not bad, surprisingly comfortable) because it was scheduled to rain, heavily, and we didn't want to sit in the mud. ASHES Divide finished up their set around 7:45. I like their album, and the music was well executed live, but they didn't really have much of a 'show.' They didn't have the crowds attention at all.

Filter took the stage a little after 8. They played a great set for a little more than an hour. They had the crowd going, lots of energy, definitely one of the better sets I've been to. They wrapped up around 9:15. For around 2 songs of their set, it drizzled. Despite the weather reports claiming thunderstorms, this proved to be the only rain for the evening. We lucked out.

Around 9:30, Opie and Anthony, 2 local radio DJs (I guess they have some national syndication as well) took the stage for a few minutes, because the radio station that put the concert on, 92.3 K-Rock, is the station they work at. Now, I'm not a fan of Opie and Anthony, I don't mind them, they don't offend me, I just don't think they're anywhere near as funny as they used to be. But I gotta say, the animosity the crowd had towards them was surprising. What seemed like the entire crowd was booing them. I can see now why PNC switched to plastic beer bottles, if they still sold beer in glass bottles, they would have been flying. They were only on stage for about 5 minutes. They probably wanted to stick around a little longer, but the crowd just wasn't having it.

This led to my least favorite part of the show. The gear was setup, and soundcheck completed, before Opie and Anthony came out. That was at 9:30. STP didn't take the stage until 10:30. Leaving a restless crowd of thousands with absolutely nothing to do but sit there for an hour just isn't a smart move. The crowd was becoming very restless. Around 10-10:15, more than a few people started leaving. The crowd started booing, louder than for Opie and Anthony.

Finally, they took the stage. Half the crowd cheered, the other half booed. The delay seemed to make sense, as Weiland seemed drugged the eff up. Throughout the set, Weiland missed some cues, and screwed up one song so bad, the Deleos had to stop for half a second, and jump back in. During one break between songs, Weiland started to go on some rambling explanation of how the DeLeos are from New Jersey. It was kind of a wreck, so Rob interrupted him, finished the story, and moved on to the next song. Overall, Weiland was a mess. But he looked ok, and his voice was definitely on. The rest of the band, on the other hand, was amazing. My only complaint about the band was I thought the bass was a little too low in the mix. I don't like bass to dominate the mix, but the bass just wasn't as prominent as it is on the records. Rob sounded good. He used 2 of his signature Schecters. I'm pretty sure one was strung with rounds, and one with flats. Dean sounded great. He used some Gobson Les Pauls, and some PRS'. I though the PRS' sounded tinny, but the Les Pauls sounded great. Kretz sounded great, I always loved his drumming. A very underrated drummer, IMO. Overall, despite Weiland being insanely drugged up, the set was very good. They played until 12:15. Because they're not touring in support of an album, they played all hits, which I liked, because I've never seen them live before.

A lot of people left the show very disappointed, however. I think they were pretty annoyed with Weilands antics. I more or less expected it.

Definitely worth the $30, IMO. It just depends on what you're going to see, and what your expectations are. I've always loved Rob DeLeo as a bass player, so I mainly went to hear the hits, live, and to see him play. I was more than satisfied.

Mon Rominee · #2 06-01-2008, 12:40 PM

Damn. Now ain't that a shame. Shame on Weiland for bilking the fans, yet again. He was disapointing on teh Family Values tour (last time I will ever see STP) and I thought Velvet Revolver was kinda lame and underwhelming live.

I thought Army of Anyone and Filter were amazing live tho...Ricjard, tho also a recovering addict a few years back, surely got his act together, whereas Weiland is a sad sack & hopeless.

A damn shame...sorry you were dissapointed, but at least 30 dollars is a heckuva deal for that bill. I thank you for the review!!!

fenderhutz · #3 06-01-2008, 12:43 PM

Scott Weiland messing up a show due to drugs? Who'd a thunk it.

TheSpook · #4 06-01-2008, 01:04 PM

For some reason, I thought I'd read somewhere that Weiland had sobered up...very obviously, that is very much not the case. Sad...

alec_mcmahon · #5 06-01-2008, 02:48 PM

i was at the show last night as well, over all i thought filter put on a great act, - the opening band i really did not get to see much of, but they sounded alright.

as far as the hour plus wait for STP to come on was completely ridiculous !

And yes, Weiland was real drugged up, Shame, other wise they show was great.

and the bass should of been louder! ( i was in the lawn )

TrooperFarva · #6 06-01-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mon Rominee

Damn. Now ain't that a shame. Shame on Weiland for bilking the fans, yet again. He was disapointing on teh Family Values tour (last time I will ever see STP) and I thought Velvet Revolver was kinda lame and underwhelming live.

I thought Army of Anyone and Filter were amazing live tho...Ricjard, tho also a recovering addict a few years back, surely got his act together, whereas Weiland is a sad sack & hopeless.

A damn shame...sorry you were dissapointed, but at least 30 dollars is a heckuva deal for that bill. I thank you for the review!!!

I don't know that I was disappointed. I liked STPs performance. I had a great time, somewhat because of the people I was with. I just with Weiland had his stuff together better. But I did have a good time overall, definitely worth the time and money.

playinpearls · #7 06-02-2008, 06:11 AM

i saw weiland with revolver. Luckily, that time he wasn't as screwed up as i've heard. Although with slash on the stage, it was kinda hard to pay attention to weiland..

MakiSupaStar · #8 06-02-2008, 09:31 AM

I saw them on Jimmy Kimmel last week. I had never really paid much attention to them, but that bass player was throwing some cool stuff down. I liked it. The songs are just meh to me.