Stone Temple Pilots have always been a huge favourite for me although they do go under a fair few people’s radar. I’d never really seen or heard them live so was eager to pick up the live DVD when I finally noticed it was out.
The 78 minute concert features some of their best known tracks like “Vasoline”, “Interstate Love Song”, “Plush” and “Sex Type Thing” and if I’m honest, they don’t sound terribly different from their studio counterparts. This is a testament to the playing of the entire band. The guitar, bass and percussion hit the spot on every track and you’d barely notice the different if it weren’t for a few drum roll endings. Possibly the only song that sounds different is “Lounge Fly” with added vocals although having the keyboard loop in the background means it doesn’t stray too far from the original.
One place where things are different are the vocals. Scott uses some different inflections to some of the tracks and really pubs it up on others. There’s a slightly distracting effect of the microphone where it almost sounds that on a couple of the tracks there’s a duelling singer behind him. That effect seems to fade away for the second half.
For their excellent playing skills, they can also hold a crowd captive and are interesting to watch but as the performance doesn’t push much from the studio albums, this is a real fan concert and not for people who like things different from studio to live performance. The fan already knows that these songs are amazing – so only buy if you want to turn off all the lights and go nuts.