Well, as someone here pointed out, this might have been our last chance to see STP live for quite a while. Otherwise—and no offense to anyone who lives in Oklahoma—I definitely would not have traveled there for a show (it just wouldn’t have been my top choice in travel destinations, if you know what I mean).
Anyway—even though getting there was a huge pain in the ass—I went. And I’m going to agree with VC that this was one strange gig. First of all, the Lucky Star Casino is in the middle of nowhere. My GPS couldn’t even find it (nor could it find the city of Concho, OK). I ended up stopping in at Sid’s Diner to ask for directions. While I was there, I sampled one of Sid’s famous onion burgers. Awesome.
Even more awesome: the casino was only five miles away. I got there mid-afternoon, when the roadies were doing the sound check. The venue itself is just a big tent-thing constructed over a parking lot, although I believe the structure is permanent (?). A staff member told me that it actually blew over and collapsed a few years ago. As luck would have it, Oklahoma was experiencing extremely high winds that day. Oh boy.
As I walked around to check out the set up, I noticed a small, barricaded area on the left side of the stage. I had a VIP ticket, so I assumed that was the VIP area. Nope. The staff member told me it was the “Platinum VIP Area,” which was reserved for “tribal officials.” OK, guess that counts me out. He told me my best shot at getting a good spot would be to arrive promptly when the doors opened at 7:00.
Well, I came back a little before 7:00, and the place was already a zoo. Lines of people snaked throughout the smoke-filled casino, and there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the lines. When I asked, I was told it didn’t matter—“just get in a line.” The staff was more concerned with people blocking access to the casino. Don’t get me wrong, this is a valid concern, but they could have eliminated the entire problem by opening the doors at 7:00, WHEN THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO.
The doors didn’t actually open until sometime after 8:00. While I was waiting, I compared tickets with the people around me. My ticket said “Doors Open at 7:00, Show Starts at 8:00.” The guy next me had a ticket that said “Doors Open at 7:30, Show Starts at 9:00.” Interesting, especially given that we both purchased tickets after the show was postponed and the date was changed. Complete and utter disorganization, to say the least.
Needless to say, by the time I got inside, there were already hundreds of people milling about. The closest I was able to get was about ten people back from the stage. So I settled in and resigned myself that the night was going to suck.
Ironically, Scott’s lateness worked in my favor. As PJ mentioned, the show didn’t start until sometime after 10:00 because “they were waiting for Scott’s luggage to arrive from Las Vegas” (at least that was the “official word”). There was no opening act (why?), and the crowd became increasingly irritated and impatient. People kept drinking. And drinking. And drinking some more. Eventually, all of the people standing in front of me left to go get another beer, to go to the bathroom, to have a smoke, etc. I slowly inched my way forward, and by the time STP came on, I was on the rail, right smack in front of Scott. Brilliant! So I’d like to thank the airline that lost Scott’s luggage, and all of my fellow concert-goers who find it impossible to stand in one spot for an hour. PJ—I was probably 10-15 people down on your left.
In my opinion, the performance itself was excellent. Given the tent situation, I didn’t have high hopes for the sound quality, but it really wasn’t that bad. Scott danced more than I remember him doing at any recent show. He was really loose and into it with his whole body. As you’ll see from the pictures, he was also impeccably dressed, so I guess the wait for the luggage was worth it. To me, his singing voice was strong and clear, and there was no evidence of any recent problem.
Scott spoke a lot during this show and, well…I really don’t know what to make of it. It was almost like watching two different people onstage— “Singing Scott” and “Speaking Scott.” Singing Scott delivered an excellent performance. Speaking Scott…not so much. Honestly, to me he sounded extremely drunk. So much so that I expected to see him staggering across the stage. And this is the enigma that is Scott—he didn’t. But his speech was so garbled that, with only a very few exceptions, I could not understand a single word he said. Seriously, the man needs a translator! And I really do wish I could’ve understood what he was saying, because I think he was being really funny. At one point, he was joking with Eric and said something that had Robert practically rolling on the floor.
As PJ mentioned, I did catch the comment about him having to “come out in his underpants.” I think he said he had to wait for his luggage or he would’ve had to come out onstage “in a tie and [his] underpants.” And I’m thinking: You had THAT option, and you made us wait???
The other thing I caught was at the end of the show (before the encore). The rest of the band had walked off and Scott stopped to take a drink. Then he turned around and said: “Ladies and Gentlemen [looks toward the ceiling]. We’re in a big tent.” Then he looked to his left and to his right and I guess he realized the other guys had left, so he quickly went “Well, g’nite everybody,” and scurried off the stage. It was pretty hilarious. Again, I really wish I could’ve understood what he was saying all night, because I think he was being really funny.
During Big Empty, I locked eyes with Dean and we had “a moment.” Ah, I LOVE when that happens. He finished up the first part with the slide, held it up, nodded at me, and tossed it…and it clattered to the ground in the no man’s land of the security pit. So pissed! There was a huge, self-important security guard standing right in front of me, so I said, “Excuse me, sir, would you please please PLEASE hand that to me?” He refused. Asshole.
Dean saw what happened. The second time he finished up with the slide, he did the exact same thing. And again, the slide fell short. So now there were two slides lying on the ground in the security pit. And Dean is thinking, “OMG this loser CANNOT CATCH!!!”
I think I sensed some discord between Scott and Dean. It seemed like Scott tried to engage Dean several times during the show, but Dean just blew him off. Toward the end, they did go back-to-back in a classic Jagger-Richards move. Perhaps just going through the motions? Maybe I’m wrong. I hope so.
One other interesting note: during the show, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake hit. Kind of scary and exciting. I never felt a thing, but of course STP was rocking really hard.
I’ve no idea what goes into venue selection, but this was a really odd choice. I wonder, too, why they kept their commitment to this show, and not the shows in Cincinnati and Louisville. Maybe it was because they had already screwed Oklahoma 2-3 times in the past? Don’t know. But I do know that it’s only been two days and I am already needing my next STP fix! To all of you fans going to the upcoming shows in Mexico and South America: Have a great time! I’ll be with you in spirit.
I took some photos which I will go through later and, if any are halfway decent, I’ll post them. This time, I did manage to get one of Scott that I like. PJ and VC, thanks for the videos. And VC, you’ve got my vote for the Cornell gig. Good luck!
