Slash & Burn
The Velvet Revolver road show rolls into Manchester to what is surprisingly the only date of the tour not to sell out, not that it can be far off as the venue is full and the crowd is tightly packed in front of the stage.
This is the third time I’ve seen Velvet Revolver and I’ve never been particularly impressed with them in the past, they just don’t have really catchy tunes (that all the bands that the members of VR came from had) and the stage show has always been exceedingly pretentious. Admittedly much of this impression has been formed by the style and actions of vocalist Scott Weiland and tonight he goes some way to redressing the balance. Fresh out of rehab he looks lean and fit and does a fine job as front man, despite the fact that his vocals are way too quiet. For many fans though VR is all about bassist Duff and guitarist Slash, both of whom turn in solid performances in front of a hugely partisan crowd; quite simply they can do no wrong tonight. They come across as a tight band that are just enjoying playing live, there are no frills in the stage set and it’s refreshing to see them laid bare, the overall effect being much more appealing.
The set is largely made up of tracks from the debut album although they do air a couple of new songs and the obligatory cover versions. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging your legacy it perhaps speaks volumes that the G&R cover ‘Mr Brownstone’ gets the biggest cheer of the night.