I was there. I posted my review on LPLive, which I will paste here for you guys. I had an absolute blast and it was not a typical show by any means, they definitely weren't going to play any deep cuts or obscure tracks, or likely anything even from High Rise. The band sounded incredible, damn. Eric is really one hell of a drummer and both Robert and Dean were on point. Chester was in excellent shape to me. Yes, Dean said "this is our first show since our brother Scott passed, rest in peace"...Chester bowed and raised his hand in the air.
My review:
[/size]Leading up to this event, I wasn’t truly sure what to expect. I was obviously taken by surprise when Scott Weiland leaked that Chester had quit STP, forcing both STP and Chester to play their hand and reveal the story. Seeing STP just once in the 2013-2015 era, I came away extremely impressed with Chester’s on stage performance, the overall sound by the band members, and most importantly, how natural the whole thing looked. Chester, to me, is a rock singer at heart and it’s quite refreshing to see him on stage all up in the band members’ faces, singing his heart out and dancing all across the stage versus him standing at a mic stand so much with Linkin Park, even on some of their heavier songs.
When this show was announced, it was billed as STP featuring “special guest” Chester Bennington. Running that through my head for weeks, I wondered what that could exactly entitle. It was the first STP show since Scott’s death and the first since Chester quit the band. Would it be a normal show? Would STP even reveal their new singer at the show and Chester would just join for a few songs? How long would they play? And after seeing the extensive list of guests…. will there be an orchestra backing them? The list goes on and on.
I was in L.A. for roughly 36 hours and it was quite frankly one of the most hectic, but fun and exciting trips I have ever been on. Landing Friday afternoon and leaving Sunday, we hit the ground running with Preston showing me a mixture of highlights in the various neighborhoods and cities around L.A., with a little request here or there by me to make an appearance somewhere. Such highlights include a tour of Dodger Stadium, one of the most impressive stadiums in Major League Baseball, a visit to Griffith Observatory, home to likely one of the best views of a city you’ll see in your entire life, a trip to Santa Monica’s beach, pier, promenade, and landmark Lincoln Park (now renamed), and short stops at various studios and landmarks around the area.
On Saturday, we frankly had no intention of arriving to the show before 8:00pm~ or so, as the list of performers was quite extensive and surely, we thought, Stone Temple Pilots wouldn’t go on until 9:00pm. On and on we went…a Dodgers tour, the Observatory, an appearance at NRG where a large selection of Linkin Park’s catalogue was recorded as well as a drive by of Rick Rubin’s Houdini Mansion (referred to as the Laurel House). When a list of the set times was posted with STP listed as playing at 7:40, and we are at least 50+ minutes away from our hotel at 5:35pm, we knew we had an issue.
Unfortunately, we happened to get a flat tire while rushing back to the hotel at probably the most unlikely time ever. Coming after an experience where our car was actually towed the night before, I wondered what else could actually go wrong on this short trip. Needless to say, we handled it in under ten minutes flat and rushed to the hotel to change in Long Beach before the short drive over to Palos Los Verdes. P.L.V. is a beautiful town that seems quite isolated from L.A. due to its mansion-style houses, rolling green hills, and upscale living. Arriving at the theater, we see we are actually in great shape as the show is running a little behind. It’s at this moment we briefly see Lorenzo and shake hands as well.
With the large list of artists, the running order for the show actually went: a classical set for 25 minutes, Gary Wright for 15 minutes, an interlude, STP for 45 minutes, and an artist jam session of rock covers for 35 minutes. All of Stone Temple Pilots (minus Chester) backed Gary Wright for his three songs, something we didn’t observe sadly until his last song when we made our way inside. Robert, Chester, and event organizers appeared on stage after Gary Wright to present the check for the evening and talk about how special of a night it was. Chester joked that he might even auction off his shoes later that night.
At this point I should mention that in all, there were 250~ seats with the show at least 95% full. However, there were only five actual FANS at the show in this number: two of us from Georgia, one from New Jersey, and two locals from California. It was a benefit for the local school district in P.L.V., where we learned Chester and Robert’s kids go to school. Chester joked that for one night he could finally try to outshine his wife as she spends so much time at the school and that he and Robert actually put most of the event together along with Marten Andersson. To understand what type of crowd was on hand, I’ll explain the older women next to me…one of which left to get a glass of wine during “the rock band” and the other who asked what the name of this band was, once they had started. It was almost exclusively just parents, grandparents, local community members and their families, and a few kids from P.L.V. – this was not a typical show by any means.
The curtains pulled up, STP walked out and the show kicked off with Wicked Garden. We immediately noticed that none of the band members sported in ear monitors which surely is the first time they’ve played like that in a very long time. We were surprised to see a few women standing ON their seats rocking out and overall, the crowd was very loud and receptive for that type of performance. The sound was loud, the band was in excellent shape, and the crowd was eating it up, even shouting for certain songs. With $250 and $500 tickets, as well as a few VIP levels, those in attendance were clearly having an excellent Saturday evening.
Big Bang Baby, the third song in the set (after Vasoline), sounded exceptionally well to me. After the track, Chester pointed someone out in the crowd and said “Hey, did you say Crackerman?”, before the band jumped right into the song. It was at this point that things slowed down a bit for Interstate Love Song, Big Empty, and Plush. Robert said it was their first performance since September (note: really October for Aftershock) and Dean took a moment to say that it was their first show since Scott’s passing. Chester talked more in these 45 minutes than he did at all three Linkin Park shows I saw in 2015 combined, even at one point saying he hadn’t met “ANYONE” there he didn’t like…”all day!”
Heavy closers Sex Type Thing and Trippin’ ended the set, which unfortunately came all too soon. It’s incredible to me that the band hadn’t played in five months and sounded so good at this one-off show, sadly the last time they will likely ever play with Chester. All four of them are incredible musicians, all shining at different times throughout the night. Eric especially was on fire, destroying the drums. To me at least, there's something special with the four of them on stage rocking out.
After STP, the crowd chanted for a solid five minutes for an encore, which we actually thought they’d do, but the all star rock band came out instead for a set of rock covers. These tracks included Shook Me All Night Long, Highway to Hell, Edge of Seventeen, and a few others. They called for Chester to come out on the last song, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, but he had already left sadly.
The after party featured a small red carpet to take pictures on, excellent food, a sizeable bar, a live auction, and a small stage for a DJ. After about a half hour, Chester and Robert came out to take pictures with everyone and socialize. The live auction featured signed pieces from the show and donated items by other artists, including Dave Grohl. Later in the evening, Chester took the stage to auction off a few items. He opened a few bags of signed STP drumheads that he gave away for $100 each – they were all gone almost instantly. Other auctioned items by Chester include an STP signed bass that went for over $3,000 and his own shoes that made for a funny interaction with the bidders. At the end of the night, Robert told us that he is watching EVERY STP audition video himself, upwards of 100+ a day with over 1,500 submitted. The event MIGHT happen next year - we will see, but I would say it's unlikely they do it with Chester unless he brings in another artist or even plays solo.
Overall, the trip was definitely worth it to see the last STP with Chester performance. Obviously, we’d all have seen them a few more times if we knew it’d be such a short-lived project. I’ll definitely have to return to L.A. to see LP perform and stay a bit longer.[/color]
