Arts & Entertainment
 

Weiland returns to Houston with a legendary lineup

By Dixie Ann Dalton
The Daily Cougar

What an experience it was to see members of two legendary bands come together into one awesome quintet. One week after Velvet Revolver's debut release, Contraband, hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, there was an enthusiastic crowd waiting to see what this new band had to offer during its sold-out live performance at the Verizon Wireless Theater on Saturday night. 

Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland and former Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum teamed up for a perfectly balanced and blended performance. 

Guitarist Dave Kushner, previously of Suicidal Tendencies and Wasted Youth, brought great energy to allow Slash to maintain his guitar-god status with his infamous solos. Slash's riffs brought smiles to the faces of audience members and his bandmates, and his long guitar leads and bushy hair forced fans to appreciate classic rock while mourning it at the same time. Velvet Revolver's sound was truly the result of the STP-meets-GNR dynamic.

All of the musicians in Velvet Revolver complimented Weiland as much as the frontman complimented them. The band combined the musical qualities that made classic rock successful with the alternative sounds of the past decade. The five men not only displayed their skills, but they had a blast doing it. 

While Weiland showed off his trademark dance moves, the other members went out of their way to satisfy Houston. They hand-delivered their guitar picks and drumsticks to the intended recipients, as opposed to just throwing them. 

After Weiland announced Contraband's No.1 status, he jumped into a diatribe, saying, "Two years ago I wouldn't have cared." As he drank Gatorade, Weiland reminisced of a "Texas music tradition" that struck him that evening. He said that being at the Verizon Wireless Theater on Saturday night reminded him of the last time he was at the venue for an STP tour stop 18 months ago. "In that very dressing room, a year and a half ago, was the ending of my former band. So really, this place gave birth to this band, and you're all a part of it. So we have a celebration."

Weiland's words of enlightenment were followed by VR's rendition of STP's "Sex Type Thing." The crowd went wild for GNR tunes "It's So Easy" and "I Used To Love Her."

During the second encore, the crowd sang along with GNR's "Mr. Brownstone," and the show ended with the band performing Nirvana's "Negative Creep." By then, the members were shirtless and soaking wet as they made their final departure from the stage, with police sirens ringing loudly in the background. 

The show was intense and impressive. The talent of Velvet Revolver's members reigned throughout, and the die-hard GNR fans, the stuck-in-the-'80s 40-year-olds and the teenage Buzz listeners were all happy in the end.

Velvet Revolver

Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas Ave.

The verdict: Catch them when you can.

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