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Velvet Revolver
May 20, 2004, State Theatre, Detroit

     Velvet Revolver must be the one band that the world wants to see this year.  Over the last decade bands have come and gone, including several artists carving a distinct impression into our minds.  These artists have classified an era of rock, and others broke through in the early 1990s, molding rock into a new genre known as grunge. 

Guns N'Roses were one of the top rock acts to top the charts, proving to be more than adequate competition to bands like Motley Crue in their day.  When rock was no longer the flavor of the month to America's youth, bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Nirvana brought grunge into existence, taking a totally different approach to rock'n'roll. 

For those unable to experience these bands in their heyday, Velvet Revolver proved to be not only an amazing performance, but a band line-up consisting of some of the most famous talents from both scenes.
   

Velvet Revolver formed in 2002, and three out of five members have al played in Guns N'Roses at some point in their musical careers, while others are original members.  Slash [lead guitar], Duff McKagen [bass], Matt Sorum [drums], and Dave Kushner [ex-Wasted Youth, Zilch; guitar] provide an outstanding musical backdrop to vocalist Scott Weiland's [ex-Stone Temple Pilots] utterly hypnotic stage presence. 

Some bands, despite a famous line-up, fade into obscurity because big names simply cannot back up their musical endeavors.  However, Velvet Revolver has not only contributed t several major motion picture soundtracks such as 'The Hulk' and 'The Italian
Job', but has also shown that rock is far from dead. 
Despite rocky stints in rehab for vocalist Weiland, live performances show a very solid connection between all members, and keep the audiences begging for more.
      

VR's State Theatre performance was a spectacular event, bringing old die-hard rock fans out of the woodwork and into central Detroit.  Opening for the band that night was Pennsylvania's Silvertide, who were the perfect band to wet the audience's respective palates for the madness that was to ensue. 

Classic rock riffs were updated with a 21st Century twist, and despite being a much lesser-known band, the audience was quick to respond to their energetic performance.
       

Of course, most of those who came had come to see only one band: Velvet Revolver.  I personally had heard about them only recently, but being a massive Duff fan, I felt it was my duty to go.  How could one not go?  It's not often that one has the chance to see musicians as notorious as Slash, Duff McKagen, and Scott Weiland onstage.  It's like a dream-come-true to those who never had the opportunity to see Guns N'Roses or Stone Temple Pilots, and even to those who had. 

The performance alone could suck anyone in, and it did with explosive energy.
 Scott Weiland emerged in a military cap, brandishing a megaphone he'd famously used throughout his days in Stone Temple Pilots.  Regardless of any negative connotations his history may have, he commands the stage and the audience with an expertise I've never seen before.  His movements were calculated and reptilian, and his vocals were the perfect match to the grinding of the music.  It was a completely mesmerizing show.  Even if the music wasn't necessarily to someone's taste, watching the performance alone would be enough to convert one into a fan.
     

 Musically the band was extremely solid.  Slash ground his way through guitar solos with the same confidence and skill he had since the Guns N'Roses days, and Duff McKagen supplied the bass lines that drove the songs straight to the core of the theatre.  I don't think any other musicians could pull this off in the way that Velvet Revolver managed to.

The show opened with 'Sucker Train Blues', and many other tracks from their upcoming Contraband album, due for release on June 8th.  Songs like Slither' brought the audience to full attention, and the Stone Temple Pilots hit 'Sex Type Thing' even managed to make a cameo appearance in the set. 
While some of the songs had a tendency to blend into an extremely high-tension-yet-forgettable blur, many still managed to stand out.
    

The night came to a halt with 'Brownstone' and 'Negative Creep', but the audience wanted more.  Alas, they have since moved on, continuing with their U.S. tour, but I deeply believe that Detroit, the city where rock was born, needed a rush that only a band like Velvet Revolver could provide.
   

 Rock is a very difficult business.  It can be hard to form a band without running into the typical clichés, or to be able to last long enough without fading into obscurity. 

Musical projects with the best of intentions can sometimes be hastily swept under the carpet before they have a chance to prove themselves to the world, but Velvet Revolver left a lasting impression not only on Detroit, but soon the rest of the world.

kaytea