by Justin Smith

Funny hat. Check. Marshall stacks. Check. Three bands in one. Checkity Check.

I don't know why it didn't occur to me before. It should have been obvious. Maybe it's because artists tend to gravitate away from playing songs they wrote years ago, despite a nostalgic audience aching to hear them again. Whatever the reason, it simply did not occur to me that seeing a Velvet Revolver show might also mean seeing a Stone Temple Pilots show and a Guns N' Roses show. Luckily for those who made it out to the House of Blues on Wednesday night...

Unfortunately we arrived after the fourth song, so I don't know how Scott, Slash, and the rest started out. I can, however, report the following: from the fifth song on, this concert was one hit after the next from all three bands.

From the Stone Temple Pilots cadre we got Vaseline, Interstate Love Song, and Sex Type Thing. They sounded as tight and professional as any version by the previous lineup (I saw STP back in 1993). They also managed an aggressive GN'R set, rocking out with Patience, Mr. Brownstone, and the most intense version of It's So Easy by far. One could actually feel the anger and the contempt from the lyrics as frontman Scott Weiland glared at the audience, substituting "Suck my dick!" for the original "Fuck off!"

The Velvet Revolver originals were good. However, I must admit that the "covers" were the high points of the evening, including the encore opener, Wish You Were Here.

All the requisite rock star characteristics were in play. The three stringers replaced their instruments as much as Elizabeth Taylor switched husbands. Weiland was characteristic enough for us to forgive his inability to remember lyrics and entrances. And finally, Slash's precision in soloing was, is, and will always be, unparalleled in the field of blues/rock.

Next time they roll through this city, or any city you live near for that matter, do yourself a favor. Go. And get ready to rock.