Stone Temple Pilots—just saying the name out lout reminds me of the glorious times of the early nineties. Nirvana single-handedly killed hair metal, flannel was the new black, and Seattle was ground zero for a new movement that would change rock ‘n’ roll forever.
At the very forefront of this new era was an album named Core that would begin the journey of one of the most commercially successful bands of the coming decade. Stone Temple Pilots were bridging the gap between grunge, hard rock, and psychedelic, and they did it all with their own unique style.
40 million records later, the band would continue to dazzle fans up to the point where original frontman Scott Weiland would be fired and later replaced by Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. While this may seem like an odd combination and strange selection for a frontman, you really have to see and hear it to believe how good of a decision that would actually turn out to be. Now, I’ve never really been the biggest fan of Linkin Park, but after seeing Bennington fronting Stone Temple Pilots last weekend at the legendary Fillmore, it begs the question—why didn’t they do this sooner?
Bennington may have found his true calling in my opinion as he truly plays the part of the enigmatic frontman STP needs to move forward. Along the way, the DeLeo brothers look to be having the time of their lives as the chemistry comes alive on stage between the original three members and Bennington. There are even a few moments where you really don’t miss Weiland at all as you lose yourself in the fact that these guys sound so fucking amazing together.
The setlist that night was a two-hour hits-a-palooza scouring the band’s incredibly deep catalog while also showcasing a few newer songs from their 2013 EP, the first to feature Bennington. Highlights for me included “Big Bang Baby” and “Vaseline,” two of my personal STP favorites that came out all guns a blazing. Another highlight was the band’s encore of the classic “Dead and Bloated” which really blew the roof off the joint that night and left fans walking down the stairs at The Fillmore with their jaws on the floor.
Opening the show that night were Spiralarms and Dreamers. Spiralarms rose from the ashes of Systematic, Forbidden, and Manmade God. That’s one hell of a resume and they delivered the goods. Their 2013 record Freedom is spectacular and falls somewhere between Alice in Chains, Mastodon, and The Doors.
Dreamers on the other hand were really interesting to see on this bill as they seemingly didn’t fit as their sound was a bit more pop and polished. But they had one hell of a big wall of sound for being only a three-piece and their energy and giant hooks quickly won over the crowd. I think these guys could really be on the verge of something big as there were easily one or two summertime anthems in their set.
DREAMERS
SPIRALARMS
Bottom line: Chester Bennington is a welcome addition to the STP family and plays the rock star frontman perfectly. Let’s hope they deliver a full length record this year and keep this tour going. Brilliant show.
Check out hi res photos from the show in the gallery here.
