What a bill!!! Two great bands in one night. Although, I guess it wasn't all that great for ticket sales because they had the lawn section closed off, first time I've ever seen that. After seeing A in C open the show, the headliner really could have been interchangeable. They busted out all the great hits starting off with "Again" and "Grind," from their self-titled album. William Duvall is as good as a replacement as you will ever find for the late great Layne Staley. His similar vocals could not have been more on key throughout the night, although his difference of appearance couldn't fool a blind man, him being a tall, lanky, black guy, as opposed to Layne's small, frail, pale, blond haired presence. They couldn't play all the hits, but they sure tried. "No Excuses," "Angry Chair," "Them Bones," and "Would?," among others, all made the set list. It would have been nice to see and hear "Shame in You" but, hey, I don't want to be greedy, after all, they only had an hour time slot. They also included "Man in the Box" which Jerry Cantrell nailed the solo flawlessly. Before retiring for the night, they ended with "Rooster" and had the music video playing on the screens behind and to either side of them. After they left the stage and house lights came back on, I felt like I should be on my way home. But luckily, the experience had just begun.
The VR boys were not looking to be outdone, even though the sound didn't seem as sharp and Weiland does like to shriek a lot, with or without his signature bullhorn. Thankfully, Slash digs on whippin ass and takin names later. They burst on the seen behind a huge black curtain with lights illuminating their silhouettes with the first song from their sophomore album, Libertad, entitled "Let it Roll." After playing a handful from the debut album, Contraband, it was time to rock out with an old Guns N' Roses favorite, "Nightrain." Then, it was time to slow it down a little. So, they brought out some stools and a smaller drum set to groove on tunes such as their second radio hit from Libertad, "The Last Fight," and a few covers from the super-groups' former bands (the a fore mentioned GN'R and of course Stone Temple Pilots) with "Patience" and "Interstate Love Song," which was written by STP while riding along on Georgia's own highway 85. After that, Scott sped things back up with his stage presence (which has been described as homo-erotic by some; erratically, elastically, reptilian by myself) and singing another GN'R hard-charged great, "Mr. Brownstone." Slash began the next song with an impressive and familiar solo which evolved into "Set Me Free." During this tune, they decided to show a montage of serial killers, including Charley Manson and Ted Bundy, along with a few pics of their victims scattered in the mix on the mighty screens around the band. Gutsy move fellas, ... ballsy. When they came back from the encore break, "Sex Type Thing" and then some more from the current album were smashed through with intangible aggressiveness. They saved "Slither," the groups' first hit, for the fare thee well end. Going in bit of a different direction from the mass murderer theme from the earlier background, it was thought to be more appropriate to have beautiful half nude models adorn the gigantic screens. How does the old saying go? Always leave 'em wanting more?
Well done, boys.
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