we're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl

i'll just say this straight: velvet revolver is FUCKING AWESOME! the thing is that, you take some of the best performers in rock and put them in a band, you get magic. it was probably the single loudest concert i've ever been to, and my ears are still ringing. how do i even start describing how awesome the concert was...

let's talk setlist. they went with a couple of songs from the new album (opened with 'let it roll' i think... so hard to remember amidst all the other great songs), and i think one from the first album. a moment silence, and they play some vintage stone temple pilots. break for a moment of introspection in the form of 'the last fight', then follow it up with 'interstate love song' (OMG favorite STP song ever!). top with a couple of classic rock covers, then move on to play the hardest rocking songs on the new album to cap off the set proper ('get out the door' is a sonic explosion).

and throughout the set, pump out the rock band archetypes. you've got the rhythm guitarist, somewhat of an outsider, but high energy, running around the stage. wearing a cap is optional, but much appreciated. you've got the drummer, hidden behind the drum set and looking the calmest of the lot. you've got the bassist, with his amazing 80's hairstyle and leather jacket, with a look of cultivated aloofness. you've got a guitar god. in fact, you pretty much got THE guitar god. and then you top it off with a flamboyant lead singer, shedding his elaborate outfit as the show progresses and running off-stage at precisely the right moment for shenanigans.

throw in some great lighting and acoustic power that just won't let up. good choice placing the speakers right there. nothing too elaborate for the set, just need space for the good stuff. keep the volume turned up all night. who cares if the balance is a little off. if you can't hear it, you can still feel it.

but then talk about the mother of all encores. slash comes on stage and starts playing on his double neck guitar. your ears are ringing, but you can just make out what he's playing. it's pink floyd's 'wish you were here'. the crowd goes wild. and how do you end the set? you do STP's 'sex type thing', a hard rocking, relentless piece. then you kill the audience dead with your greatest weapon - 'slither'. play the intro just a few bars longer than the album version, just to build up the additional tension before the guitar comes in with that familiar riff. then just pound it home. amazing.

scott weiland said something during the concert that they will always play rock and roll. as long as velvet revolver keeps playing, rock is not dead.