A rejuvenated Stone Temple Pilots announced they would be hitting the road for a tour with Filter. The tour began September 4th and made a stop on Tuesday the 10th at The Paramount in Huntington NY. What is rather interesting about this tour is that Stone Temple Pilots are sporting a new frontman in Chester Bennington of Linkin Park and their former frontman of Army Of Anyone Richard Patrick. One could say this is a reunion of sorts for the rock n roll friends.
Starting out the evening was the adrelanized attack of Filter. Fresh off the release of their strongest album in a decade, The Sun Comes Out Tonight, Filter came to rock. Richard Patrick and Jonathan Radtke (Killing Hannah) have become a passionate song writing duo. Along with a solid touring line-up including Phil Buckman (bass) and Jeff Fabb (formerly of In This Moment) Filter is ready to rock into the next decade. Patrick has mastered the art of singing with sheer emotion and belting out one of the most distinctive screams in rock n roll. When the band hit the stage with “Welcome To The Fold” the excitement of a full house screamed loudly. Plugging away with a intense set of their classic tracks including “(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do”, “Take A Picture” and “The Best Things” the guys sprinkled in some of their new tracks such as “What Do You Say” and “We Hate It When You Get What You Want”. Closing out their set Filter treated the crowd to one of the most recognizable rock tracks of the 90’s “Hey Man Nice Shot”. One thing is clear, there are not many bands with sound Filter possesses and one can only hope to see them headline their own tour in the near future.
It’s been well documented of the issues Stone Temple Pilots have had with their frontman Scott Weiland for many years. The issues were the reason the band took a 5 year break between 2003 and 2008. When the band came back in 2008 it was a wonder if the band had ironed out their issues with Weiland. The STP ship stayed afloat for 5 years until 2012. Unwilling to call it quiets yet again the band decided to recruit a new frontman. They didn’t just get any frontman but they called upon Chester Bennington of Linkin Park! This came as a shock to their fans and surprisingly was widely accepted to fans after the release of their first single with Bennington “Out Of Time”. Most thought Bennington’s time with the band would be temporary with the massive success of Linkin Park but it seems this more than a 1 night stand with STP. Bennington and STP are set to release a 5 track EP High Rise October 8th. To STP fans Scott Weiland will always be the voice of the band and all still have a great deal of respect for him. With that said Cryptic Rock would like to say we wish you well Scott Weiland and look forward to new music in future.
As the band hit the stage The Paramount was packed with fans ready to hear what the new STP sounded like. Bennington and STP came out on a high note performing the hard hitting track “Down” off their No. 4 (1999) album. The band did not let up with the rock following up with “Big Bang Baby”, “Vasoline” and “Dead And Bloated”. The band was tight, the energy was high and Bennington voice soared. There was a point in the set in which some fans even shouted out “Scott who”?, rather distasteful in our opinion but still quite a statement to STP. Bennington showed the presence of a rock n roll frontman and engaged the crowd as he moved about the stage.
STP kept the set balanced with great tracks from their entire discography. It was rather pleasant for fans to hear a handful of tracks from the Tiny Music..Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop (1996). To many dedicated fans this is a forget gem of the band. Filling out the set were classic tracks “Big Empty”, “Sour Girl”, and “Sex Type Thing”. To a roaring ovation the band came out for a stellar encore including “Wicked Garden” and “Piece Of Pie”. When the DeLeo brothers broke out “Piece Of Pie” Bennington was accompanied on stage by Filter’s Richard Patrick to add a nice dynamic to the track.
Stone Temple Pilots are without a doubt one of the biggest band’s of the 1990’s. These guys can still rock hard and keep a large fan base satisfied. The band seemed relaxed and very happy to be playing with there new frontman. This could be a lasting relationship for many years to come which STP fans can come to love.
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