Stone Temple Pilots is having another go at it, and have reunited once again by enlisting the services of a new singer, Jeff Gutt (ex-X Factor). This is the third lineup change for a band credited with being one of the originators of 90s grunge music. And although the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park seemed like an odd choice at the time (at least to me), they’ve struck grunge gold with Gutt.
Not only does he sound like Weiland, he looks a little like him and has really perfected the late legend’s moves and overall swagger to a T. But the singer isn’t looking to replace anyone. In a Blabbermouth article, he was quoted as saying, ”No one will ever fill Scott’s shoes and I’m not trying to — he’s a legend,” Gutt said. “But these songs deserve to be performed and people want to hear them. I’m just honored that the guys chose me to help them continue to build this band’s legacy.”
Last night they did just that by performing a flawless set of songs from an impressive seven-album discography. They kicked things off with a powerful version of “Wicked Garden” then dove right into crowd-favorite “Vasoline,” at which point the crowd was hanging on every note. From that point forward it was just one hit song after the next throughout the entire show.
The highlight for me was an original rendition of “Big Empty,” which started out as a soft acoustic number accompanied by some fancy finger work from guitarist Dean DeLeo. It built little by little and crescendoed into an opus of heavy distorted guitars and drums and formed into the iconic grunge song we all know and love.
Stone Temple Pilots played the Fillmore last night. It was a memorable show and we got to meet their new singer, Jeff Gutt. Check out some video from the event below.#StoneTemplePilots #stp #grunge #musicinsf #livemusic #thefillmore #sanfrancisco #bayarea #scottweiland pic.twitter.com/6jNn9xRaPd
— ⚡⚡ MUSICinSF ⚡⚡ (@musicinsfdotcom) March 14, 2018
Halfway through the set STP announced that they’d be coming out with a new album at the end of the week. They previewed it with a new single entitled “Meadow,” a catchy little number reminiscent of their old sound but with a strong chorus that showcased Gutt’s much wider range than Weiland.
All in all, it was a solid show. You have to hand to these guys for not relying solely on the nostalgia factor and being brave enough to release some new material. Whether or not this will be a comeback tour for them is yet to be seen. But if last night was any indication of what’s to come, there’s still some hope for grunge after all.
Set List
Wicked Garden
Vasoline
Lounge Fly
Coma
Big Bang Baby
Regeneration
Glide
Big Empty
Atlanta
Plush
Meadow
Interstate Love Song
Army Ants
Piece of Pie
Roll Me Under
Dead & Bloated
Sex Type Thing
Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Encore:
Creep
Down
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