This was my second STP show. The first time I saw them at Summerfest in 2008 at the Marcus Ampitheater on July 4.
To preface, the Summerfest show was pretty surreal. First of all, I was in elementary school during the real heyday of bands like STP, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc., so I wasn't able to experience them in their height nor before some burned out and faded away. I grew to discover the music of the early 90s when I was in high school (so appropriate; teenage angst and grunge music go together so well!) - and I loved it. Of course, half the bands I discovered had either disbanded or their lead singer had OD'd at that point so I never expected to see them live.
That being said, STP at Summerfest a few years ago was like a dream. Scott came out in an American flag, the band played a ton of familiar songs as well as a few lesser-rotated selections, and the energy in the place was incredible. Lots of crowd members singing along, plenty of passion from the stage, and great sound in the venue. I left pretty satisfied, feeling that I had been transported back in time to that era when most music wasn't auto-tuned and synthesized.
Flash forward to the Eagles Ballroom on Friday night. This show was definitely different in comparison. I definitely don't think it was as horrible as some are reporting. For the majority of the night, I thought the performance was wonderful. Vocals sounded great from where I was at, and Dean played flawlessly right in front of me for most of the concert. (I was on the rail off to the right, which probably explains why my ear is still ringing as I type this!) Scott was his typically animated and entertaining frontman - coming down off the stage to sing next to the fans, climbing on speakers, and doing that shuffle-dance that many have come to love.
That being said, Scott was obviously affected by something - he was slurring and mumbling quite a bit at times when he talked to the crowd, and admittedly he was on painkillers for his broken heel. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but in front of the drumset there were two bottles - one clearly labeled "apple" and I am -pretty- sure the other one said "scotch." Now, those labels might not have even been accurate, but that would have explained a lot...
Something obviously went wrong at the end, after Dean ripped out Scott's earpiece and yelled something in his ear, then walked off the stage a few minutes later. When Dean came back out on stage, his attitude was the most markedly different: he stood back farther from the crowd and his face was stuck in a very sullen expression. The whole ending of the concert left me, as a fan, feeling very uncomfortable. The roadies wouldn't even throw down the set lists after the concert - everyone related to the band seemed very unhappy after the concert ended. Scott seemed to be the only person who was oblivious to it all, and maybe for a reason.
In summation, I don't think that this concert is signaling the downfall of STP... I just think it was a good night that took a turn for the worse, and after 20 years of working around the ups and downs of a very eccentric and passionate lead singer, the band is probably lacking in patience when they see anything less than his best. As a fan, I do feel that I got what I paid for - the energy for most of the night was fantastic, and when the band was together, their sound was spot on.
Here are some of the pictures I took; for a few more feel free to visit
my photo set on flickr.
