A Tale of Two Fuck-Ups; Lil Wayne and Stone Temple Pilots at Virgin Festival

So two days without posting means I'm all sorts of behind, so let's just go ahead and get started.

Sunday afternoon at Virgin Festival 2008 saw a fascinating subplot unfold. On the north stage we saw Taking Back Sunday and on the south, Lil Wayne. Having just seen Paramore (as described in the previous post) at the north stage, I decided to rejoin my comrades Matt, Adam and Brian a bit further away from the stage for Taking Back Sunday. I chose to stick around for TBS. Were any other story than the one I'm about to tell to take place, I'd say I made a wrong call.

There's no two ways about it; TBS were outright terrible live. Their albums are at best decent, albeit clearly heavy on production. With no professional mixing board to fall back on, Adam Lazzara was a horrible wreck on stage. The music was weak and the stage performance was hardly compelling enough to keep me interested. But lucky for TBS, at least they showed up.

[Note: The following paragraph is all taken secondhand from my fellow concertgoers and post-show reports]

Lil Wayne was slated to take the south stage at 3:50. By 4:00. he was a no-show. Shortly thereafter members of Weezy's entourage came out and started to attempt to keep the crowd amused. Finally, around 4:30, a full 40 minutes after his scheduled start time, Lil Wayne arrived on stage. Now, for the whole festival the Powers That Be were being pretty strict about set times (they made The Swell Season do their encore from the pit so the roadies could prep the stage for the next act). So in theory Lil Wayne should have only had a 20 minute set as a result of his tardiness. Not so much. Lil Wayne plays the full hour set that he was originally alotted, including a guest appearance by Kanye West and slightly less important appearances by the members of said entourage. Weezy fans loved the whole thing. But the fans of the Black Keys, who were waiting to see their favorite band take the stage...less so. Especially since the Black Keys were on the receiving end of the fiasco, having to cut their set significantly shorter. Keys fans showed their displeasure in the form of middle fingers and "Fuck Lil Wayne" chants. Perhaps not the most effective way to voice displeasure, but it got their point across.

Fast forward about an hour or so, to arguably the most tense point of the festival. In the week prior to the festival video from a Stone Temple Pilots show of Scott Weiland stumbling into the drummer's kit. At long last, we had visual proof that the STP reunion was coming apart at the seams. So as Iggy ended and Matt and I waited at the barricade for STP's set, everyone was on high alert. Matt told me about a show in Colombus that shows why people liked STP to begin with, so there was hope, but it was iffy. 6:20 rolls around and the roadies are still finishing up. A good sign, but I promise to believe nothing till I see Scott Weiland on stage. 6:25. Nothing. Guess the P in STP isn't for "Punctual". 6:30. We might all just be really early for Nine Inch Nails. The crowd gets a bit restless. 6:35. Cheers from front and center as the DeLeo brothers are seen on stage. Still no Weiland. A little before 6:40 Weiland makes it to the stage to thunderous applause. The band proceeds to plow through a brilliant, albeit abbreviated greatest-hits set. The setlist is below.

STP @ Virgin Festival, 8/10/2008
Vasoline
Wicked Garden
Big Bang Baby
Big Empty
Crackerman
Plush
Interstate Love Song
Down
Sex Type Thing
Dead & Bloated
Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart

So all in all the guy that folks were expecting a great performance from gipped all manner of festival-goers, while the guy that everyone was at Defcon 1 over put on a hell of a show.

That's rock and roll for ya.

Stone Temple Pilots - Trippin On A Hole In A Paper Heart [iTunes]

==TJ==

Weiland Slashed from Velvet Revolver

I was originally going to devote this entry to all the press Chris Cornell has gotten in the last week after a certain American Idol performance, but Idolator and WMMR picked up this story late yesterday and its more relevant. After a very public battle online and in concert between the members of Velvet Revolver/Guns N Roses and singer Scott Weiland, the band and its management yesterday announced that Scott Weiland was no longer a member of the supergroup. So says Slash:

"This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn't 100% committed to either...Among other things, his increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on."

The on-stage behavior in question is Weiland's statement at a recent concert that this would be the band's last tour. Those remarks sparked a battle between Weiland, Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, as well as some nasty statements about ego and jealousy from drummer Matt Sorum. Slash has promised that Velvet Revolver will continue with a new lead singer, preferably one that doesn't go into rehab every 14 months.

Anyone worried about where Weiland will get his next meal/heroin fix can rest easy. A short time ago Weiland's original band Stone Temple Pilots announced it was reuniting and will be playing a number of dates this year. Based on the number of canceled VR dates because of Weilands problems, all tickets for all STP shows will not go on sale until one hour before the show so as to verify Weiland will actually be there.

Memo to American Idol contestant David Cook; VLM humbly recommends tanking this season and auditioning for the Velvet Revolver vacancy.

(Video below is Cook's performance of Chris Cornell's take on "Billie Jean"...more on Cornell later today)

Velvet Revolver - The Last Fight [iTunes]

==TJ==

Artists I Should Have Been Raving About A LONG Time Ago...

In my ongoing quest to be the universe's most educated music listener, I've recently come across a bunch of artists that I find I should have known some time ago, but only just now loving. I now present my recent musical discoveries to you.

Paramore
With Britney Spears going batshit crazy at every corner, Avril Lavigne making people want to gouge their ears out, and Amy Lee on the road to becoming the next Axl Rose, rock music needs another "nice girl" for the reviewers to adore and the rocker dudes to drool over. That's where Paramore, fronted by 18-year-old Hayley Williams, come in. Their second album Riot! is climbing the iTunes charts, and singles "Misery Business" and "Crushcrushcrush" are making bloggers and DJs alike go crazy. The lyrics are totally true to William's 18-year-old girl demeanor, and the band delivers them with all the pop-punk fury that was absent from recent efforts from Good Charlotte and Yellowcard, and Hayler Williams has a set of pipes that put the likes of Amy Lee and Avril to shame. And oh yeah, have you seen Hayley Williams?




Yeah, I said it.

Paramore - Crushcrushcrush
Paramore on iTunes

Oh, and as long as I mentioned her, I might as well issue my (and by default, this blog's) official position on the perpetual media event that is the "artist" formerly known as Britney Spears. Seriously, who gives a fuck anymore? On one level, she's more fun when she's batshit crazy, because you honestly don't know what the hell she's gonna do next. And her album? Psh. Yeah its getting decent reviews, but you know that's all the work of the bazillion producers and stuff who are writing her music and making it sound good amidst her drunken escapades and attempts at singing the way she did 10 years ago. And with that, I hope to never have to utter her name ever again on this blog.

Chris Brown
Like I've said, the more I listen to Top 40 R&B, the more I like it. My first real experience with Chris Brown was in the "Umbrella" remix I posted last week (I had heard "Run It!" in the past at high school dances and the like, but didn't recognize it as him/didn't care enough to really listen). After hearing his awesome contribution to that track, I downloaded "Run It!" and his new one "Kiss Kiss". Both are fun, upbeat, and all the things I want out of Hip-Hop and R&B. And in case you somehow didn't know this, Chris Brown is 18 years old. Watch the clip of "Run It!" and listen to "Kiss Kiss" and maybe you'll see why I'm impressed.

Chris Brown - Kiss Kiss (feat. T-Pain)
Chris Brown - Run It! [Youtube]
Chris Brown on iTunes

I think that's it for now. The radio show is most likely going on an indefinite hiatus due to some personal stuff (mostly just I don't have time), but keep your eyes peeled in case that changes.

==TJ==

PS Oh and in honor of Guy Fawkes Day, I know I posted the original version of this song last time out, but it seems appropriate to hand you a cover, given the occasion.

Stone Temple Pilots - Revolution (Beatles Cover)
STP on iTunes