It was well past 9pm as the now filled Riviera Theater started to show signs of concern for the whereabouts of the headliners. Rumors surfaced that the lead singer had missed his flight as chants for the band rose and fell a few times with the impatient crowd. GNR and STP t-shirts were filtered throughout the crowd anxious to see what a $53 ticket would get them.
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Velvet Revolver
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 Entertainment
Art
Riviera Theater
Chicago, Ill.
May 10, 2007
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As we waited a buzz was in the air with questions of everything from how many songs they would play of their former band, to how the new material would hold up and flow with the success of their first release, “Contraband”?
Just as the crowd was about to break, the lights drop as Slash and the whole gang storm the stage at about 9:30. All frustration disappear as the venue erupts with lights and sounds reminding us that good rock n’ roll is never on a schedule. Yes, Velvet Revolver is back hitting the road for an 11 date US club tour to warm up and give us a taste of their sophomoric release, “Libertad”.
Full of energy and on top of their game, Velvet Revolver started out the night with something new entitled “Let It Roll”. The response was well received from fans as Scott Weiland kept the momentum with upbeat “Contraband” tracks like “Sucker Train Blues” and “Superhuman”. The new material seemed an extension of the original sound with perhaps a little more rough and tough attitude thrown in. The six tracks VR previewed from tonight mixed in well and left everyone excited to hear the rest when it drops on July 3rd.
For good or for bad the need to play GNR/STP material grows less and less necessary now that the band has two albums of original material. Although many fans, including myself, would love a plethora of the old, it is time to accept VR for a new entity and allow them to shed their super group skins. We were given just one song each of GNR/STP songs perhaps letting us know that next time its VR all the way. Still, an explosion of joy came from the Riv as friends high-fived and sang along to STP’s “Vasoline”.
The night came down to showmanship, talent, and good ol’ rock n roll. Slash spent most of the evening toeing the edge of the stage so fans could get a closer look at his ripping guitar solos. Scott Weiland flew back and forth dancing to the music balancing his vocals with megaphone distortion in perfect harmony. While Matt tossed drumsticks to the crowd, Duff provided killer backing vocals, with Dave hammering out riffs from his beautiful hollow body guitars.
Velvet Revolver closed things out with not one, but two encores. The first was a stellar rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” followed up with an electric version of GNR’s “Used to Lover Her”. If that wasn’t enough the final encore began with another cover of Talking Head’s “Psycho Killer” and ended with Velvet Revolver’s Grammy winning hit “Slither”.
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The Pimp
Written by Guest on 2007-05-15 09:22:23
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Written by Guest on 2007-05-15 09:30:56
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Wish I was There
Written by Guest on 2007-05-15 10:28:37
Great article and pics! |
SLASH!!!
Written by Guest on 2007-05-23 10:11:12
Great pictures as usual, but we need more photos! |
Billy
Written by Guest on 2007-09-18 22:03:28
Nice read. I agree with you about Duff, his backing vocals are killer. I own all of his solo stuff and on his later releases his vocals shine. He is a great singer. |
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