I just got back home, I live about 4 or so hours from the venue, and stayed the night with a friend in Paso Robles:
First off, this was my 7th STP show. It was also the first one I'd ever drank at (only the 2nd concert ever I have had a pretty good sized buzz going).
I had an interesting perspective on this concert. I have been on the barricade 3 times, a few rows back once, and crappy seats twice. This concert, there were 3 price levels, and we got the cheapest. BUT, the way the venue set up the granstands, there were grandstands starting at the literal SIDE of the stage, wrapped around. So I was about 12 rows up, but my vantage point was the side of Rob's face, if that makes sense. The cool thing about it was, the entry and exit point of the stage was RIGHT below us.
The guys walked to the stage at the same time, but not together. Scott was with a woman, I couldnt' see if it were Mary, but it didn't look like her. She took him by the hand as he exited down the stairs at the end of the main set, and they led the band plus the woman to a room RIGHT beneath where I was standing. The stayed there for a few minutes, then the band walked to the stage. Scott and the woman held hands til the stage, then she went back behind the drumset, and then after D&B, the met at the stairs again, grasped hands, and walked back towards the buses.
I saw 2 buses, but the band didn't get on or off of either of them. I am not sure why that is, or if there are 3 buses...I don't know.
About the show: The band sounded great, really tight. Scott sounded really good too. He was the rockstar, but he is much less frenetic than the No. 4 or SLDD tours. He poses a lot, dances a bit, and goes out towards the crowd, but he's not the mad man this tour, as we all now.
The question of the hour: What's up with Scott? He seemed fine. He was able to perform, and did it very well. Is he dugged or drinking? No clue. If I hadn't KNOWN the rumors, I probably would've taken him as still sober-ish (meaning not on DRUGS), but wouldn't have ever thought twice, or worried about him. I would have definitely noticed he wasn't very active, but that wouldn't sound the warning bells for me.
All in all, I didn't expect to see them this tour, but my ticket was free, so I can't complain. They played one song I'd never heard live before, Lady Picture Show, and that was enough to make this concert memorable. If I had to rank this concert, it would probably be the BEST of the shows I WASN'T REALLY close for, like the Vegas show after the domestic violence arrest, the San Diego Street Scene show with +Live+ and Violet Femmes, the acoustic show/meet and greet in San Diego, or the Del Mar Fair in 2000 which was a month into the No. 4 Tour.
NOTHING can compare to being RIGHT there with the band as they played those 2 tours. Of the remaining two shows, this is about on par with the ROTR tour with Godsmack, and head and shoulders above opening night of the No. 4 tour in Vegas.
*Edit--BTW, Scott did flub up a few lines here and there, but it wasn't too noticable and I couldn't even tell you if he did it at the best shows I've been to, considering how loud I was singing. Also, he does have a teleprompter with the words--and so does Robert.
