Stone Temple Pilots - Walking Papers

The first performance came from Walking Papers. Their mix of blues rock and ballads went down well with the audience. This was also down to the extremely energetic performances from all of the band. The moment when front man Jeff Angell jumped down into the audience with his microphone during the set comes to mind. The vocals and keyboard sat well in the mix and the bass was very punchy throughout. I would have liked the guitar and saxophone to be turned up in the mix slightly but they were still audible. Special mention has to go to the drum sound. In terms of live music, it was one of the best drum sounds I had ever heard at a gig, with every single drum and cymbal sounding very clear. The highlight of the set for me was an amazing performance of ‘Leave Me In The Dark’. This band were a pleasure to watch and are worth checking out in the future.

Next, we had the main event, Stone Temple Pilots. The moment they took the stage the crowd erupted into cheers as they played ‘Wicked Garden’. What followed was a well-paced set highlighting just how many good songs the band have in their extensive catalogue of releases. The sound was really good, drums, bass and guitar all had their own place in the mix and they never felt like they were washing each other out. Furthermore, Jeff Gutt’s vocals were brilliant. I was very impressed by how tight the band were during performances of ‘Creep’ and ‘Vaseline’. He absolutely nailed the songs he recorded with the band and the Scott Weiland era songs. After the first couple of songs, the band seemed warmed up and that is when the magic began. The ease with which the band transitioned from slow mellow songs to heavy anthems was effortless and a joy to watch. The band also played songs form their recent releases, treating the audience to a fantastic version of ‘Meadow’. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Stone Temple Pilots gig without more of the hits and they played brilliant versions of ‘Interstate Love Song’ and ‘Sex & Violence’ back to back. Their rendition of newer song ‘Roll Me Under’ was one of the highlights of the set with an infectiously catchy chorus and Gutt showing off his vocal range. For the encore the band played ‘Dead & Bloated’ followed by ‘Sex Type Thing’. These were great choices to close with because they managed to keep the crowd’s attention until the very last note.

Overall Stone Temple Pilots put on a brilliant show with performances of ‘Creep’ and ‘Roll me Under’ standing out as my personal favourites of the night. It is definitely worth going to see them if they come near you on tour or if you’re going to Download Festival this weekend.