The Liquid Kosmos

STP

Okay, here's the thing. I have always loved Stone Temple Pilots. They hit a spot with me years ago and have seemingly remained this cool and relevant band even when you're not really sure if they really are a band.

Five scorching records in the 90's that put them on top of the Rock-n-roll world. They've always sort of been tagged as a Nirvana/Pearl Jam followers, but I don't really see it. They're more L.A. than Seattle and more psychedelic than grunge.

Last night I saw them for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry. It's a bizarre juxtaposition and I fully expected two worlds to collide and the byproduct to be reminiscent of The Doors. For Scott Weiland to channel Jim Morrison and finally perform his last show with STP in a drug induced flurry for the record books.

None of that happened. In fact, Weiland seemed quite lucid (when he wasn't telling stories). He pranced about with the flare of Jim Carey in Mask, making the simplest of moves look very difficult and elegant at once. Calculating his next step as if contemplating a cliff dive, then forging ahead with the confidence of a seasoned rock star.

Weiland's voice and the instruments sounded pretty good, but two things gnawed at me all night. The video screen and the band's tempo.

For some reason they felt like they needed a full-on visual assault behind their performance. It was a combination drug trip meets car chase and neither was needed. The video screen was huge and took up nearly every inch behind the stage, all the while spewing random ink blots, oozing oil, and raging fire. It was hard to focus on the performance.

Secondly, (and I know STP's style is drag the groove a bit) I thought they seemed tired. Most of their songs seemed slower than the recordings, which took away energy. I will acknowledge that part of this may have been because I was tired, but the fact that they made us wait a full hour after the opening act didn't help.

Weiland gushed about playing at the Opry and embraced the "fortunate to be here" position instead of the mysterious angst I expected, but in some ways it was a relief. I can't get enough of touring musicians praising Nashville and its venues, especially the Ryman. But the Grand Ole Opry and Stone Temple Pilots was a first. I never even would have thought that could happen. The Opry? The same place I got my stodgy Uncle tickets for? Maybe that's why STP seemed a little slow to me. Maybe it's impossible to rock too hard at the Opry. Or maybe it was even a subtle tribute the the room.

--------Addendum---------

A guy at work just told me Pink Floyd always slowed down their live set so that people could hear the intricate parts of a song better. This, he says, is because acoustics of large rooms can make things muddy. The important part is that the tempo is consistent, which is was last night, so maybe that's what they were doing. Or maybe I was just tired. Either way, I'm glad I got to see them.

posted by The Oscillator @ 1:08 PM