Full Bethlehem Sands Show On YouTube!

[Chris Pepper]

They played a lot of those obscure tunes with Scott over the past few years. Last years tour they constantly played Sin, Hollywood Bitch, Hickory Dichotomy, Still Remains, Meatplow, Black Again, and Tumble in the Rough. So it was not like Scott and the boys failed to dig into the deep cuts.

It tended to be the same deep cuts, though. How often is it Naked Sunday, Where the River Goes, Army Ants, Pop's Love Suicide, And So I Know, Art School Girl, Adhesive, Ride the Cliche, Seven Caged Tigers, Pruno, Church on Tuesday, No Way Out, Glide, I Got You, MC5, Dumb Love, Coma, Wonderful, Hello It's Late, Regeneration, Bi-Polar Bear, A Song For Sleeping, Long Way Home, Take A Load Off, Hazy Days, First Kiss On Mars, etc...?

I agree they threw in some deep cuts each tour, but they never went too deep. It was always the same handful. I'd like to see them be able to play half of those at any given time on a tour.

I'm sure Chester does an admirable job of covering STP.  But he's no S Weiland.  There's just a cool factor that Scott has that no one can replicate.  I can't imagine paying to see karaoke STP. 

Its obvious that the Deleos are looking to punch that clock.  No wonder Scott doesn't want to be around them.  They're LAZY.  No drive,ambition,not willing to push that envelope.  Just mooching off of Scott and the songs he created. 

Here's the thing--I think the first part used to be true. But performing poorly with a 2nd-rate band is no longer cool. I though Scott was the epitome of cool in the No. 4 era. When I was in high school (Core/Purple/Tiny Music) I was obsessed with how cool he was, By 2000, a sober Scott was at the top of his game. It was less so, but still true during SLDD era.

Now, I don't find anything cool about his performances. They just aren't that good. He hasn't sounded inspired in a long time. The Christmas album was the single biggest STP-related embarrassment I can think of. Happy in Galoshes, while good, is nowhere near 12 Bar Blues.

I don't see how the last part is true. What envelope is Scott pushing? A "Purple to the Core" tour? Adding keyboards to "Do It For the Kids?" Remember, one or both of the DeLeos deserve as much credit for the hits as Scott does. There are a lot of memorable riffs, but more than that Scott writes the melodies to the music--the music inspires them. This doesn't take anything away from him. But the rest of the band is great too. I have a feeling 3 of the EP songs will find rotation once it drops (pretty common now for bands to wait and avoid bootleg recordings of new stuff). Add some deep cuts that have never been played, some hits, and you have a rock show, not a factory job you clock in for.

My experiences do not match.  I saw STP last summer and Scott again last month.  Both solid, if not great, shows.  Very cool. 

I think comparing Scott now vs. No.4 era is really unfair.  I'm not sure anyone should be compared to that level and it being fair.  And I continue to argue that comparing STP and Scott solo is apples and oranges.  I supposed we're reduced to this, but you're talking about an arena rock band and him playing 500-1000 capacity bars.  I cringe at the comparison.  Do we compare STP to AOA/Talk Show?  I do not, because its ridiculous.   

Xmas album was a misfire without question.  But Vedder and his ukelele and Cornell w/ Timbaland were equally embarassing.

Scott has said a couple of times he was concerned about the direction of STP, punching the clock, playing same set list over and over.  Let's get Brenden O Brien in and do this thing right, get inspired.  The Deleos riffs are solid but Scott's magic is what makes them special.  Look at AOA and Talk Show, solid riffs but not quite there.  I predict the same w/ Chester..............More AOA than STP.       

[Chris Pepper]

I'm sure Chester does an admirable job of covering STP.  But he's no S Weiland.  There's just a cool factor that Scott has that no one can replicate. 

Of course Chester can't replicate Scott. No one can. And I don't think anyone here will argue with you about that (well, except maybe "Scott=douche" guy, who I see has returned to this forum  ). Anyway, to me, Scott is the whole package, and no one could ever come close to replacing him.

That said, I think Chester is very talented. I haven't watched all of the clips yet (I'm about to), but in the ones I've seen, I think Chester sounds great. I prefer Scott's voice, but I like Chester's sound, too. It's great to hear all of these songs that I love, and I can't wait to see them performed live. The best part is seeing how animated and alive Dean, Robert and Eric look. I love those guys.

Would I like to turn the clock back and have STP the way it was? Absolutely. But I can't. And even though STP with Chester will never replace that, I can still enjoy it -- as something new.

Nothing wrong with this take at all.  I like Chester, always have.  Just super disappointed in the path the Deleos have chosen.  Enough so, that I can't enjoy it............

[hahninator]

Thanks for those notes. I will add them. If anyone spots any other changes to the songs from their studio versions let me know. (Even if the band has already been playing something different than the studio version for years, I'd like to note it).


It's funny that you mention the Christmas album because that's literally the only thing I listen to from STP, VR or Weiland haha. It's got the only cover of "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" that I've heard that I enjoy.

[lovemachine97]

They played a lot of those obscure tunes with Scott over the past few years. Last years tour they constantly played Sin, Hollywood Bitch, Hickory Dichotomy, Still Remains, Meatplow, Black Again, and Tumble in the Rough. So it was not like Scott and the boys failed to dig into the deep cuts.

It tended to be the same deep cuts, though. How often is it Naked Sunday, Where the River Goes, Army Ants, Pop's Love Suicide, And So I Know, Art School Girl, Adhesive, Ride the Cliche, Seven Caged Tigers, Pruno, Church on Tuesday, No Way Out, Glide, I Got You, MC5, Dumb Love, Coma, Wonderful, Hello It's Late, Regeneration, Bi-Polar Bear, A Song For Sleeping, Long Way Home, Take A Load Off, Hazy Days, First Kiss On Mars, etc...?

I agree they threw in some deep cuts each tour, but they never went too deep. It was always the same handful. I'd like to see them be able to play half of those at any given time on a tour.

I'm sure Chester does an admirable job of covering STP.  But he's no S Weiland.  There's just a cool factor that Scott has that no one can replicate.  I can't imagine paying to see karaoke STP. 

Its obvious that the Deleos are looking to punch that clock.  No wonder Scott doesn't want to be around them.  They're LAZY.  No drive,ambition,not willing to push that envelope.  Just mooching off of Scott and the songs he created. 

Here's the thing--I think the first part used to be true. But performing poorly with a 2nd-rate band is no longer cool. I though Scott was the epitome of cool in the No. 4 era. When I was in high school (Core/Purple/Tiny Music) I was obsessed with how cool he was, By 2000, a sober Scott was at the top of his game. It was less so, but still true during SLDD era.

Now, I don't find anything cool about his performances. They just aren't that good. He hasn't sounded inspired in a long time. The Christmas album was the single biggest STP-related embarrassment I can think of. Happy in Galoshes, while good, is nowhere near 12 Bar Blues.

I don't see how the last part is true. What envelope is Scott pushing? A "Purple to the Core" tour? Adding keyboards to "Do It For the Kids?" Remember, one or both of the DeLeos deserve as much credit for the hits as Scott does. There are a lot of memorable riffs, but more than that Scott writes the melodies to the music--the music inspires them. This doesn't take anything away from him. But the rest of the band is great too. I have a feeling 3 of the EP songs will find rotation once it drops (pretty common now for bands to wait and avoid bootleg recordings of new stuff). Add some deep cuts that have never been played, some hits, and you have a rock show, not a factory job you clock in for.

My experiences do not match.  I saw STP last summer and Scott again last month.  Both solid, if not great, shows.  Very cool. 

I think comparing Scott now vs. No.4 era is really unfair.  I'm not sure anyone should be compared to that level and it being fair.  And I continue to argue that comparing STP and Scott solo is apples and oranges.  I supposed we're reduced to this, but you're talking about an arena rock band and him playing 500-1000 capacity bars.  I cringe at the comparison.  Do we compare STP to AOA/Talk Show?  I do not, because its ridiculous.   

Xmas album was a misfire without question.  But Vedder and his ukelele and Cornell w/ Timbaland were equally embarassing.

Scott has said a couple of times he was concerned about the direction of STP, punching the clock, playing same set list over and over.  Let's get Brenden O Brien in and do this thing right, get inspired.  The Deleos riffs are solid but Scott's magic is what makes them special.  Look at AOA and Talk Show, solid riffs but not quite there.  I predict the same w/ Chester..............More AOA than STP.       

I saw Scott in 2009, which is also the last time I saw STP. But I have paid attention to the way the bands have sounded and what they are playing. STP near the end were going through the motions. Scott's band may have an energy about them, but they are not great players, nor do they sound great together or have chemistry. Scott has sounded more lucid recently, but according to the poster on here (not Vaporized) that has a connection to them band, Scott's drinking/drugging is worse than ever. He's hit and miss at best.

My point wasn't to necessarily compare them but to say if the argument is punching the clock and not pushing the envelope, you could lob that insult at both Scott and the STP w/CB.

I thought Vedder's uke album was boring as hell, but I don't think Cornell's Scream was near the abortion many think it is, and I have had some people listen to it not knowing it is him and they like it too. I also like that genre of music, so that probably helps. But the reason the Christmas album was embarrassing has nothing to do with it being Christmas music. I'll explain below in my reply to the next poster.

Thanks for those notes. I will add them. If anyone spots any other changes to the songs from their studio versions let me know. (Even if the band has already been playing something different than the studio version for years, I'd like to note it).

It's funny that you mention the Christmas album because that's literally the only thing I listen to from STP, VR or Weiland haha. It's got the only cover of "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" that I've heard that I enjoy.

The thing about Scott's Christmas album being embarrassing has nothing to do with it being Christmas, and there are actually some good performances on there. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is actually pretty good. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" isn't bad either. In fact, several of the arrangements are nice (not "Silent Night," that's for sure). But you can totally tell some tracks were recorded at different times. HYAMLC is so much better than anything else on there, vocally. His voice is fuller, and he hits almost every note with ease. He hadn't yet fallen into that crutch over-exaggerated vibrato (the song was released as a single much earlier than the rest of the record).

But my God does he sound terrible on "I'll Be Home for Christmas." He misses so many notes, he slurs his words, and he just sounds awful.

He really should have worked harder at the vocals. He just doesn't bring it. He can croon--he does it on HYAMLC. And some songs come so close--"Winter Wonderland," for one--but his vibrato and the pitches he misses just ruin it for me. The thing about this type of classical singing is that you have to be right on pitch, and he isn't. The original song on there is also terrible. If he'd released a few songs only, I'd love it. But his vocals waste a few really nice arrangements of the songs.

[Blue]

Thanks for those notes. I will add them. If anyone spots any other changes to the songs from their studio versions let me know. (Even if the band has already been playing something different than the studio version for years, I'd like to note it).

In that case, the solo in Sour Girl isn't in the studio version. It's something they've been doing in the live versions since '08.

[megafonemaniac]

As far as the "not enough deep cuts" argument, I think that's bullshit. They played Pop's Love Suicide, Sex & Violence, Silvergun Superman, Church on Tuesday, Piece of Pie, and Hollywood Bitch. So they dove pretty deep into the obscurities.

Right but half the argument for why they split with Scott was because they wanted to play more deep cuts and he didn't want to rehearse them. I think I've seen them perform each and every one of those songs live with Scott since the reunion except S&V and Church on Tuesday. I expected more considering they made such a big deal out of the fact Scott wouldn't rehearse the deeper cuts with them.

No Glide, Transmissions, Pruno, Ride the Cliche, Wonderful (which Chester actually once performed with Scott btw), And so I Know, Long Way Home....

The list goes on. I guess I just expected more. Of course they're still going to play the hits and it's only been one "official" show, so there's plenty of time to dig deeper. We'll see what happens, but not a very diverse setlist.

True, but you've got to remember that unlike Scott, Chester has to learn the hits AND the deep cuts. Big Empty, Sour Girl and Down are all songs Chester's never sang live with this band before. I think their priority is on getting the hits "down" before trying to be more divers with the deep cuts.

But let's just look at it this way, their smaller shows over the summer consisted of Vasoline, Wicked Garden, Interstate, Big Bang Baby (which while a single, is actually a song STP has seldom played regularly through a tour), Dead and Bloated, Trippin, STT, and Out of Time.

Last nights set added six rarities and only three hits on top of that core set. I think that's pretty impressive for a start, but that's just me...

Now, if they're playing this exact set in two weeks then I'll start bitching.

Presidente Blue....I agree

[STEAK]

Not bad for a cover band.

I actually always liked Chester, actually more so when I first saw him sing with Scott & STP on the Family Values Tour live, years ago.  The rehearsal videos made me skeptical of Chester singing some of these songs, but he did sound much better on some of these videos.  Obviously, he's no Scott, but this didn't seem like a bad performance at all... albeit a cover show.

'Out of Time' sounded good, but a bit one dimensional mixed in with STP's other hits.  I'm definitely curious to hear more of their original work though.  I think it could actually be good, but since they aren't playing it, I'll have to wait and see.

[Blue]

Not bad for a cover band.

Don't you mean not bad for the actual band with a cover singer?

[DeadAndNotForSale]

Thanks for those notes. I will add them. If anyone spots any other changes to the songs from their studio versions let me know. (Even if the band has already been playing something different than the studio version for years, I'd like to note it).


It's funny that you mention the Christmas album because that's literally the only thing I listen to from STP, VR or Weiland haha. It's got the only cover of "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" that I've heard that I enjoy.

[STEAK]

Not bad for a cover band.

Don't you mean not bad for the actual band with a cover singer?

Well, it's all semantics really.  I'm just exaggerating the point a bit.
BUT, "Cover bands play songs written and recorded by other artists." Since the songs (lyrics) were written AND recorded by Scott, that makes anyone else singing them a cover.  So, whether they're a cover band or an actual band with a cover singer, it's all the same to me. 

Don't get me wrong... I actually like Chester, but my nostalgia for "what once was" isn't going to delude me into seeing this performance as anything more than a bunch of cover songs (and one original). 

[Slither]

[size=78%]Wonderful (which Chester actually once performed with Scott btw)[/size]

From all the research we did on this song, it appears Wonderful from 2001 was a studio recording they did with Chester and added in "crowd noise" while editing it. It was advertised as being from a radio performance or something but it's not. There actually was going to be a music video for this released, Scott said it at a FVT 2001 near the end of the tour, but it didn't end up coming out for some reason.


But yes as LP fans we are surprised they aren't playing Wonderful. Or Pretty Penny, which Chester sang acoustic with STP in June.

Wow, really? What a mindfuck. Always loved that little duet.

Anyway, finally got a chance to actually sit down and absorb this set. Still think they should include more rarities as that was a big reason they ditched Scott but I guess we'll see with time what they do. Chester does a pretty good job, I'll definitely give him that. It's still so weird to see someone else singing Scott's lyrics. I'm trying to keep an open mind, and Chester's performances have done the songs enough justice (for the most part), but this is going to take time...

[Ride the Cliche]

I haven't had a chance to watch the whole show from last night, but the songs I watched gave me mixed emotions/reactions.

You would think I've had time to digest everything, even with watching STP w/Chester in May, but still have to say it's kinda weird without Scott.  (Then again, 30 STP shows might do that to a gal!)  With that being said, I *absolutely adore* the DeLeos and to see the complete elation on Dean's face was awesome. 

So far, I've watched Down, Church on Tuesday, ILS, Hollywood Bitch, Piece of Pie, and Pop's Love Suicide.  What most impressed me was Pop's and what made me kind of uncomfortable was ILS.  From what I've heard live with Trippin' and on video with Pop's, I'm going to go on a limb and say that Tiny Music might suit Chester's vocal range the best.  To me, Down and PoP were alright, but that's also my personal bias of seeing these songs with an on point Scott live a lot.  I'm all for hearing rarities along the lines of CoT because musically, these need to be heard.  I'm not going to lie, but I was more than pleasantly surprised with Pop's.  I've noticed that I somewhat tense up waiting for Chester and when he started on this, I pretty much relaxed and liked it.

Someone else pointed this out, but Chester is being more himself and I appreciate it.  I like some of LP's earlier stuff, don't mind some of his vocals, and being a huge fan of STP himself helps a lot.  (Doesn't hurt that he's been totally cool when I've met him haha.)

From what I've read, it sounds like a lot of people have a bit of a gripe with Sour Girl so I'll definitely give it a listen.  To be honest, I don't think it can be much worse than the last time I heard STP w/Scott play it.  (Off key, slurred words, you name it.) 

I can't wait for the EP to drop because I think we'll get a better sense of everything once October 8 rolls around.  I'm hoping that they'll play all 5 of the new tracks, have a vinyl pressing, and come back to LA (HINT HINT STP media people who are reading the board.)  Oh yeah, please have the VIP meet and greets too!

[Blue]

Not bad for a cover band.

Don't you mean not bad for the actual band with a cover singer?

Well, it's all semantics really.  I'm just exaggerating the point a bit.
BUT, "Cover bands play songs written and recorded by other artists." Since the songs (lyrics) were written AND recorded by Scott, that makes anyone else singing them a cover.  So, whether they're a cover band or an actual band with a cover singer, it's all the same to me. 

Don't get me wrong... I actually like Chester, but my nostalgia for "what once was" isn't going to delude me into seeing this performance as anything more than a bunch of cover songs (and one original).

By that same token, Scott's out there doing cover songs too then, right? Because Scott didn't write and record those guitar, bass, and drum lines.

If 3/4 of the people who wrote and recorded these songs playing with a different singer is a cover band, then 1/4 of the people who wrote and recorded it playing with a different bassist, drummer, and guitarist(s) is a cover band too.

[Casual]

For the record, I am pretty unbiased. But after listening to Down I think Chester sounds too whiney as others have said also. I still think he is a solid singer just don't think it is quite the same. Still, more power to them and I'm glad they were able to get a singer of this caliber. I guess I will still keep an open mind.

[Virgojams]

Watched the whole concert minus Sex Type Thing since it wasn't posted. To make a long story short, loved the whole performance from A-Z!! Big Chester supporter. If this is what the vibe will be like for the rest of the tour, more power to them!


One thing I found amusing though was during Dead & Bloated around 3:40, the ending was kind of awkward. Wonder if that was the way it was suppose to end?? Felt like an OOPS moment. lol  Anyone else see that? Anywho it's their first concert for the tour. Things should smooth out just right! Everyone is riding on all cylinders!