The Stone Temple Pilots / Rival Sons Tour made its Metro Detroit area stop last night and fans went home extremely satisfied and didn’t let a little rain come in between them and a killer rock show.

The weather forecast called for rain and the weatherman delivered on that prediction.  The concert forecast called for a night of rock and roll, a variety of hit songs and a hometown return for a certain lead singer.  That concert forecast was a little off.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, it delivered on its promise, but this show was much more than just a few “hit songs” and a couple of – Hello, Detroit’s!

This night was filled with the roar of an energetic crowd, bitchin’ guitar riffs, melodic bass guitars, heart stopping drums and an up close and personal greeting from the bands singer, Jeff Gutt.  Gutt, native to Marine City, Michigan, left the stage to climb onto the barrier that separates the crowd from the stage and interact with the audience that was excited to have him so close.  It was a great moment in the show seeing Gutt receive so much love and admiration from fans in his home state.

This was a vintage STP performance that began with huge songs for the band – Down, Wicked Garden and Vasoline.  The people in attendance sang along to every word.  What I didn’t expect was hearing songs like Pruno, Glide and Piece of Pie.  These songs were a treat for any fan that has followed the band all of these years.  I can say from personal experience that those goose bumps, that are saved for special moments only, were in full effect last night.  Pruno probably made me think of late singer Scott Weiland more than anytime last night, but these were nothing but grateful and revered feelings.  That’s the kind of show it was.

Another treat was hearing songs off of their 2018 eponymous album, Meadow and Roll Me Under.  The crowd was very receptive when the band started each song.  Both tracks could easily find their way as permanent fixtures in the set list.  

But let’s be honest, I knew going in that the some of the biggest pops from the crowd would be from the mammoth hits Plush, Dead and Bloated and Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart.  The sound was even more deafening than I thought it was going to be for each.  The band ended its encore with a powerful version of Sex Type Thing and the crowd wasn’t the only ones showing their appreciation.  It was evident from the look on each member of the groups faces that they were just as blown away by the crowd as the nearly 7,000 people in attendance.  The band clearly loves doing this night in and night out.  There were even moments where I swear I saw bassist Rob DeLeo smile as the crowd swelled when he would do one of his famous bass guitar runs up the fret board.  Or the way drummer Eric Kretz stood up after Vasoline and sort of looked out into the crowd.  Maybe it was something else, but you could get the sense that the band was on a rock and roll high. 

I don’t know.. this concert just had an old school rock show vibe.  Guitarist Dean DeLeo not only has those old school chops in his repertoire, he has the classic lead guitarist, Jack Black – School of Rock, take over the world, Jimmy Page kind of rock and roll stance that commands your attention. I’m glad to have been there and if your city is on the schedule for an upcoming show, make sure you grab a ticket and take it all in no matter what the weather forecast looks like.  You will not be disappointed.

-Tommy Marz

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