Stone Temple Pilots at Jones Beach

Stone Temple Pilots at Jones Beach Theater on September 4, 2010

images courtesy of audioperv.com

collage by ASH FOX

It was the first day of September cool enough to break out the leather jacket. On a whim, I made the trek out to Jones Beach from Manhattan to see my favorite band Stone Temple Pilots. I linked up with fellow STP devotees and we hung out in the parking lot drinking beers and reminiscing about our favorite STP performances. We were from a few different generations, but all equally hard core about STP. Being a rock fan is similar to being a comic book nerd, except that instead of attending a convention like Comic-con we congregate in parking lots and back doors at rock shows. Some of the diehards were decked out in STP apparel, others had STP tattoos, but they all had a recognizable glimmer in their eye while talking about STP.

It was perfect concert weather. The sensation of the seasons changing reminded me of the quintessential STP song bridge. Even in some of STP’s darkest songs the bridge always provides a welcome reprieve. It uplifts and gives a feeling of renewal like a cool day after thick summer heat. Entering a new season feels simultaneously new and nostalgic. The beginning of a season always makes me think of where I was the year before. Every STP every song is colored with memories, but I still always hear something new.

Our seats were 10th row center with a perfect view of the stage. I’ve found that buying tickets at the very last minute is risky, but often the way to go. After seeing STP in GA the last time it was nice to have a seat. The madness of GA can be exhilarating, but having your own designated area of space to breathe and dance without people crashing into you and spilling beer on your outfit can be just as sweet. At around 8:45 (early for STP) the haunting intro music began and the audience rose up in unison. Scott Weiland strolled out onto the stage followed by drummer Eric Kretz, bassist Rob and guitarist Dean Deleo. They opened with Crackerman, a classic Core era STP song that always gets the crowd roaring. The show’s set list had more variety than some of their past performances. They mixed up the classic hits with a few tracks from their new self-titled album, as well as some lesser-known fan favorites such as Pretty Penny, Still Remains, Silvergun Superman, and Heaven and Hotrods. When they launched into “Heaven and Hotrods” an upbeat, heavier track from the album No. 4, the crowd went wild. There’s a lyric in the bridge “I’m still healing. Coming down. I’m still breathing” which seemed apropos for this era of STP. It’s 2010 and Stone Temple Pilots are going strong. They’re one of the few bands that have survived the 90s with all four members intact and are still writing new music. 80% of the venue was full proving there is still an audience for raw rock n’ roll. The Deleos were smiling, Eric was banging away and Scott’s voice sounded clearer than ever. Scott Weiland has a newfound calm and refinement about him. He’s no longer the feverish, shirtless, whirling dervish, but he’s still ever the showman. The focus seems to be less on stage antics and more on vocal performance. Weiland sounds deliberate in the way he uses his vocal instrument, there is less uninhibited angst. Still, I imagine singing your old songs must be like reading back your childhood diary entries. You read with enlightened eyes, but you can still hear the voice of adolescence in your head.

One of the show highlights was the performance of the love song, “Still Remains”. Scott’s high notes on “if you should die before me ask if you can bring a friend” meld perfectly with the high hum of Dean’s guitar. I interpret the lyrics as a proclamation of selfless love, to give of yourself and leave all your defenses behind. It always makes me swoon. The song, the performance, and the moment itself were so beautiful, that I couldn’t hold back a few salty tears.

I often get e-mails asking, “What do I wear to a rock show?” My answer in short is to go glam, amp up your everyday look and be comfortable. This next little story proves that dressing up for a show has it rewards. Before the concert began, I spotted a woman in a red fedora channeling Scott Weiland's current look. I pointed her out to my friend and couldn’t help but smile. Her look reminded me of the time I wore silver pants to a Velvet Revolver concert intent on channeling Scott Weiland in the “Slither” video. As I could tell, the red fedora lady was one smart cookie. During the encore, Scott motioned to her in the audience and next thing you know he pulls her on stage. They hug and he hands her his megaphone to sing the intro to “Dead and Bloated”. Fortunately someone captured this on video.



It was a magical moment for STP fans and for anyone who has ever dressed up as their favorite artist. If you’re now curious where you can find a red fedora I’ve got the hook up here.

When the band took their bows, the band’s children ran out onstage. Clearly, I’m sentimental when it comes to STP. For those who have been following STP since their beginnings it’s been over a 20-year relationship. Mine has been a bit shorter, but the fact is STP has shaped so many of my experiences. As a kid I wasn’t exposed to contemporary rock so hearing Purple for the first time was like an epiphany. It took 17 years to find music that made perfect sense to me. Is their a band or artist that has captivated you for years? I's love to hear your greatest concert memories.

Click below for my other Stone Temple Pilots related posts...

Just a Fan: My STP Concert Saga

Rock N' Roll Style Guide: Stone Temple Pilots

Scott Weiland's Hybrid Style

Just a Fan: My Stone Temple Pilots Concert Saga

Without fail, whenever I have a concert to attend, it rains. However, having to bear the elements always sets the mood of the story. "We stuck it out in 5 inch heels in the dead of winter for 6 hours straight" is a line that shows up in almost all of my concert re-tellings. Fro-ed out, frizzy hair is pretty much a guarantee, no matter how smooth it was when getting ready. When the band hits the stage you're too caught up in the magic of experience, transfixed by the music to give a crap about what you look like. Rain storms, other than emphasizing what I'll withstand for rock, and making my hair a frizzy mess, have made me superstitious. If it rains on a show date I'm pretty sure that night will be a magical rock n' roll experience. I've never been wrong.

As I made my way downtown to meet my friend at the Gramercy theater, I recounted my crazed, groupie fan girl days. In the past, I'd arrive an embarrassing number of hours before the show to secure my front row spot - now I was cool with showing up only an hour in advance. Over the course of my fandom, I went from buying tickets on Ticketmaster and Craigslist, to prearranged comped tickets, VIP passes, and band's guest list. I went from having my ribs slammed into the barricade by drunk, sweaty beer stenched men, to watching the show backstage with plenty of room to dance and breathe, standing next to Tommy Lee. After a few years out of the scene, spoiled by the rock-star treatment I was back to Craigslist.. compulsively checking for overpriced scalper's tickets. The trade off of being an insider is having to be on your A game at all times. You're not going to let on how much of a crazed, screaming fan girl you really are while standing next to Tommy. The trade off for being just a fan is having to deal with the travesty of acquiring tickets through Ticketmaster, Craigslist or the scalping agency fronts for Ticketmaster.

At 4 pm on the day of the sold-out show, after a week with no ticket options other than a $400 ticket from a scalping agency...I got a call from someone willing to sell me his tickets. Apparently, he and his girlfriend got into a fight and weren't going to the show. My adrenaline was rushing at the thought of tickets, so I ignored all of the "too good to be true" signs. I absolutely believe there is no dream too good to be true, but when something in reality seems too good to be true, run. When the guy showed up to deliver my ticket I asked him a few questions, gave him the money and jumped for joy inside that I’d be finally realizing my dream of seeing STP in a teeny tiny venue. Stone Temple Pilots are a stadium band and they rarely if ever play theaters. This small show was a special exception, a taping for Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The idea of being scammed didn’t even enter my consciousness until the dude online next to me told me he bought his ticket on the street from a scalper and had a feeling it was fake. He asked to see my ticket and mine was just as dull, thick, and blue as his. The couple to my left had purchased their red, thin, shiny tickets at the venue. My heart stopped and all the tell tale signs came flooding through me.. how overly eager the seller was to come to my location, the lack of perforation on the ticket, the fact that he sold them to me for only 20% over face value, and most obviously... his thinking that Stone Temple Pilots was a punk band. It's humbling to write this. Around 10:30 pm they started letting us into the venue. The moment of truth. The group of guys in front of me who purchased tickets from the street scalper were scanned first. "Fake, Fake, Fake, and Fake" the scanner girl said. "Sorry, you have to be careful when you buy tickets from scalpers.” I was shaking hard as I handed over my ticket to the scanner. “FAKE!” She ripped up my heart and my tickets. I was too numb to feel my friend tugging on me to leave. "You need a drink" he said. "There’s no point in standing here torturing yourself.” I turned to him and said, "No, I need to punish myself and feel this." I was naive and deserved my fake tickets. My adrenaline rush had overpowered my sixth sense. I stood on the other side of the barricade watching grinning STP fans, with authentic tickets in hand make their way into the venue screaming "woo hoo." How far I'd fallen. I was standing behind the barricade holding back tears, telling myself I deserved my humilation, what a chump I was buying tickets from a dude who thought STP was a punk band. I deserved my fate. Suddenly, a woman with a staff badge came outside and started calling out for the guests of the band to come up front. I was the farthest thing at this point, a peon. Her eyes caught mine. She said "Are you waiting to go inside?" "No, I bought tickets from a scalper on craigslist and they turned out to be fake. My tickets were ripped up." I said. "You look devastated. I can tell you're a real fan. You know what?" She reached into her VIP staff badge pocket. "Is this better?" She held up two hard-tickets. "These are for you, enjoy the show." I was in utter shock. All I could do was hug and kiss this angel sent from the hard rock heavens.

The show was magical.

Post show, I was in a state of euphoria. We hung out at the Gramercy Hotel for a bit enjoying our post show high and then took a little walk. We walked past the theater and noticed a few diehards waiting for the band. We saw our fellow scammed friends. They ran over and hugged and kissed me. As it turned out my admittance of defeat had helped four other scammed people get into the show. The hard rock angel took pity on them too. Suddenly out walked Eric Kretz, STP's drummer, who posed for a pic and gave me a huge hug. Minutes later, Dean Deleo came out in an amazing denim buttondown with red rhinestone buttons, and gave me a massive hug and kiss and told me "beautiful women like you are the reason I love my job." I guess I stood out as one of the few women amongst STP's grizzly, sweat-soaked, male fan base. Robert Deleo came out and we chatted about the new album. He looked and smelled amazing and was very friendly. Scott Weiland had left the venue earlier. With all I'd experienced, how could I be disappointed?

Sometimes it's great to just be a fan.

Rock N' Roll Style Guide: Stone Temple Pilots

Images courtesy of belowempty.com's incredible STP picture archive.

Stone Temple Pilots, (Scott Weiland, Dean Deleo, Robert Deleo, and Eric Kretz) have evolved together musically and visually. I've been blasting my Twitter this month with the BIG news (at least for a hardcore fan like me) that Stone Temple Pilots are releasing their first single in 9 years on March 31st. You can stream the new single "Between The Lines" here. I'll have to listen to it about 100 times before I can form a solid opinion, but STP can really do no wrong by me.

The images above are from a spring concert during the The Shangri-la-dee-da tour in 2001, courtesy of belowempty.com.

At a concert, I find what the band is wearing to be as important as what they're playing. Concerts become memories, so it's great when musicians take pride in their appearance and mix it up for the audience. I find nothing more boring than seeing shots of a band from a four month tour with the same jeans and t-shirt ensemble repeated over and over. It's also refreshing to see a rock n' roll band age gracefully. The greasy long hair, heavy eye makeup, leather-busting-at-the-seams look doesn't work for anyone especially in your mid 40s.

Style breakdown: Elements from the best decades of rock, streamlined and aged to perfection.

The Essentials

• Subtle accessories: A little "heavy metal" as in delicate and eclectic chains, rings and earrings toughen up skinny pants, and floral tops. Accessories on the hand draw your eyes to the guitar work.
  

• Unexpected Prints: It's rare to see a man in a floral print unless it's an Hawaiian shirt paired with a beer belly. You have to have a little swagger to make it work. Floral works great on men as an accent element as long as the print is simple and the colors are muted. Dean's is dusty blue with a simple stencil flower print.
  

• Skin: It's all about keeping things in proportion. I was never a fan of the baggy shorts/shirtless look a la Chris Cornell circa 1992. Scott Weiland is the king of shirtless-ness. He pairs high-waisted tuxedo pants with a bare chest, but his lean frame and tattoos keep him from looking like a Chippendale dancer. Dean Deleo and Eric Kretz have mastered the buttoned down-button down. Tank tops are cool on younger rockers, but button-downs look sophisticated on STP. Notice it's not a standard dress shirt. Theirs are of the thinner, sheer variety which let's your skin breath as you play. Striking colors work well on stage. You'll never see STP in "corporate blue".
  

• Sweat: When you're rocking out, sweat is inevitable, but there is an art to making it look good. Notice, no stringy wet hair or pit stained tees.

Fluff

Collage using screen shots from STP's "Interstate Love Song" directed by Kevin Kerslake

As you can see..I'm still on my 90's binge. So, in order to complete my full 90's look I need a fluffy, shaggy, feathery, downright over-the-top coat. There was a bit of a glam revival in the 90's, but it wasn't like 70's glam.. it had more grit. The feathery 90's jacket was dirty. I've been searching for 90's music videos that feature the crazy fluffster, but all I could find was Shirley's shaggy one in the "Vow" video and Scott's pink feather one in "Interstate Love Song". I am aware of the abundance of fluffy, shaggy and feathery vests this season, but they're not the same. If you are gonna go for the look..you gotta go full on.

You can thank me for finding several affordable options. I want one in every color.

reddish pink 90's blue multi purple (each color is a link to a coat)

Try to ignore the cheesiness of the smiling model in the links above. I have a strong feeling that the jackets will look dope on anyone else. Oh.. and if you are thinking.."What do I need a coat for? I'm already thinking about spring". Well, we have two more months of winter to go, and I'll be wearing mine throughout the summer.