May 15, 2004 - Minneapolis, MN - Quest Club

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General Information

Date: May 15, 2004
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Venue: Quest Club; 110 N. 5th St.; Minneapolis, MN 55403 [ Venue website ]
Box Office Number: (612) 338-3383
Additional Info: Support Act: Silvertide. This is an all ages concert. A 9:30 pm curfew is enforced. Doors open at 6:00 pm, show starts at 7:00 pm.

Set List

• Sucker Train Blues
• Do It for the Kids
• Headspace
• Crackerman
• Illegal I
• It's So Easy
• Fall To Pieces
• Big Machine
• Set Me Free
• Used to Love Her
• Slither
• Sex Type Thing
• Mr. Brownstone
• Negative Creep

Reviews (14) [ send in your own review/pictures of the Minneapolis show ]

Thanks to Rob Quade: It was unfucking believable!!! During Set Me Free I was arm reach away from Scott, I touched Duff's guitar as he played and everything about the show burnt my brain "in a good way". I will see them again! I also gently threw a cuff key onto the floor of the stage next to Scott's feet, during Set Me Free. All around 10 but I am biased since I am a huge STP freak! and guns?? Come on can you get any better!! Later.

Thanks to Marcus Johansson: We reached around 6:15. Many scalpers were out selling. Long line. Cool line. We entered safe. The Quest was dark. Crowded. Excited. Girls were looking really sexy. Guys were pumped. I was pumped.

There was a very big drunk guy. He was drunk and mean. Very big. Several people pointed out that he was causing trouble. Poor big drunk guy gets kicked out by security. Felt sorry for him but it was self inflicted. Too bad drunko. Anyways, Silvertide came out. A combo of Zeppelin and Matchbox 20. Good band! Very happy looking and very enthusiastic. Loved the audience. We loved them. Lead singer pointed out to some kid in the crowd who was challenging him to jump in the crowd. The dude was cool. So was lead singer. Everyone got along. Silvertide has a graet guitarist. He was like a wild horse on stage. Solo man. He liked to do solos. Very good. Perfect opening act. I loved them. Fans were not so pumped up with them though. Kind of sad.

But Silvertide rocks. Next, the lights went off. Everyone started getting drunk again. Some assholes were passing beer around to get into the crowd. It was really bad and annoying. Some false starts. Then Scott Weiland shows up looking just like we expected him - flamboyant. He was cool. He sang well. Moshpits were insane. The crowd swerved left to right, right to left. I have never seen anything so crazy. It had to be crazy. With Slash, Duffy, Kushner, Sorum and Weiland, what do you expect? Do it for the kids was excellent. I went crazy. Next they played It's so easy. Crowd went berserk. Then they hit us with songs blow by blow. At one point, the Slash the great says 'I love this shit!.' I loved it too. They played Used to love her, Slither, Mr. Brownstone and ended with Negative Creep. Other details are: Scott's big microphone, stopped working and he just threw it on the floor, he used the alarm, he threw his towel to the crowd, some fan threw their Van Halen shirt to Slash, Slash used his talkbox on one song, Dave Kushner played a damn good solo, Duff was turned up too loud, Matt was sleak like a snake. Bottomline, Velvet Revolver rocked. Excuse my english. I'm from Sweden. Thanks. Great website.

Thanks to Dave: Fuckin' awesome. So utterly utterly impressed. I was a huge STP fan and was very afraid that I'd never get to see Mr. Weiland sing again, but I saw him this time in better form than I'd ever see him for STP, I think his style just fits better with GNR than it did the Deleo brothers. I also caught his towel. Fuckin amazing show.

Thanks to Mike: I got to the venue at about 2PM and walked right in the backstage door, down the hallway to the left of the stage and out into the bar area next to the dance floor. Everything seemed cool, I looked at the stage, checked out the soundboard, I put my guitar on a table sat down and had a smoke. My plan was to wait for Adam Day (Slash's guitar tech) finish soundchecking Slash's gear so I could talk to him about new equipment in Slash's rig: new signature Les Paul, any new effects, ect. And maybe, just maybe get to jam with the band.

About five minutes later this guy comes up to me (venue staff/security) and asks who I'm with and if I have a pass. I tell him my story and why I'm there, he gives me the boot and tells be to wait outside the backstage door. I told him to tell Adam I'd like to talk to him, the security guard said he would.

About 20 minutes later I start to realize the security guard probably did not bother saying anything to Adam. But in the meantime the opening band shows up (Silvertide) with their van and trailer to load in their equipment. I had a chance to chat with a few of the members, seemed like cool guys. After there equipment was all in the club another security guard said to me and a few other people who had gathered that we have to wait in the front on the venue or at the end of the alley.

So I went to check out how big the line was, about 15-20 people had gathered.

About 4PM I saw a tour bus coming down the street so I grabbed my guitar and headed back to the alley, the bus stopped and member of Velvet Revolver started walking off the bus. First Matt stepped off, I took a picture, shook his hand and introduced myself. Next Duff stepped off, I shook his hand, introduced myself and took his picture. At the same time this was happening Dave and Scott came off the bus, I did not really have a chance the meet them. Then I had my picture taken with Duff before he went into the club. (I also remember seeing a few of the Duff Girls as Erica had mentioned above) After a short pause Slash came off the bus talking on his phone, he chatted with a few people and I had my picture taken with him, shook his hand and said have a good show. The band was rush by security/management at this point, you could tell the band would have liked to stay and talk to people for a bit.

We (maybe 10 of us) went back to our places in line in front of the venue, doors opened at 6PM and we all rushed in.

I ended up standing 2nd row in front of Slash's amps, Silvertide took the stage and played for about 30mins and were pretty good, then there was a wait that seemed like an eternity. Velvet Revolver took the stage and everybody pushed forward, it became very cramped and hot. People were getting pulled out left and right, it was hard to breath, just trying to move my arm up to get a picture was a struggle.

About 3/4's through the show I had to get out, I was exhausted and drenched in sweat from head to toe. I stumbled upstairs to the balcony for a while to watched the band, looking down at the crowd, it looked brutal and you could feel the heat coming off of the sweaty mob. I went back downstairs for the last few songs, took a couple more pictures and the show was over. Awesome.

Velvet Revolver rocks! These guys will bring back Rock-N-Roll. The Quest security are pricks.

Thanks to Erica: This was seriously the best weekend ever. The concert was completely phenomenal - or what I caught of it. I got so crushed by 3rd song I was the first of many to be carried out of the crowd and then in back to sip some water and get back out in there to fight for your life again. It was truly awesome being so close to the band, my friend touched Scott and Slash and Duff was also always very nearby and close to us in the front. Dave I have to say was awesome. Of course not too many people know about him, but my friends and I met both Dave and Duff before and after the show... and Dave was very happy to sign autographs and talk to the fans. He was also the one who was always on the side of the stage trying to interact with those who couldn't see so well.

Now, I think Silvertide was totally awesome. They were much more than I expected. We met the band before the show in the alley and talked to them for about half hour - 45 minutes. We didn't know that they were the opening band for a little bit so it was odd to see that these guys were just very cool and very laidback. They signed lots of autographs for us and took lots of pictures. That was pretty fun, but nothing compared to when Duff stepped off the bus and talked to my friend and I. We had shirts that spelled "Duff" and he noticed it right away. He asked how and when we made them and told us that they were very cool. He signed our shirts and took tons of pictures with and for us. We had our cameras in his face the whole damn time and all he did was smile and talk to us. He truly is the nicest guy ever. I had the "D" on my shirt, my friend Janet had the "FF" s on hers (the ff's were backward of course, how he writes his name on his amps) but we were missing the "U". She was out in front holding our place in line and when we saw the tour bus pull up, she had little hope that they would be in there, and even less, that we would ever meet them. But he did notice that the "U" was missing and said he'd sign hers later.

Of course we laughed it off... there was 1600 people crammed in that little joint and there was no way we'd ever see him again. But lo and behold, as we waited outside after the show for about an hour and a half, he came out to sign autographs and when he saw we had the "U" he lined us all up and had people take pictures. Which means none of us have those pictures on our cameras, so if by any chance anyone sees those pictures floating anywhere.. please please try to contact me. :) But I do have tons of pics before, during and after the concert that I'll try to get posted here. I'll be damned, he said he'd get the "U" and he did. He's seriously the greatest guy and the whole night rocked. They've got a ton of renewed fame ahead of them, and well damn deserved. Rock on, boys! You're awesome!

Thanks to Pinkbuzz: We parked and got in line at about 5:45. The line started moving shortly after 6:00. Scalpers on every corner, not having too much luck it seemed (suckers). Got to the entrance, security asking for I.D.'s for ones interested in tippin the bottle. He slapped a wristband on us and we went in. They patted us down (unless you were on the guest list then you were given free clearance) and scanned our tickets. There were 'No Cameras' signs posted everywhere that were covered up with 'Disposable Cameras Only' signs... I of course brought my digital with the intention of using it anyway.

We went into the club, went directly to the bar and started a tab. We stuck to MGD bottles so we knew what we were paying for. We went upstairs to check the place out. The stairs we used were to the left of the stage. There were two dressing room doors on the stageside wall of the stairway. One door was labeled for Silvertide - which only left you to assume the other was for Velvet Revolver. Upstairs there were people leaning over the rails waiting for the show to start while others were kickin back at tables conversating. The Ascot room (a really cool room with a fountain and decorated with lit up vegatation) was blocked off by security for the special ones on the guest list. We headed back down and claimed our rail space right in front of the amplifiers (which explains why my ears are still ringing 2 days later) and we waited there for about 15 minutes until Matt Sorum gets on the PA and lays down the 'Rules of Conduct'- there are 2 security gaurds right in front of us, one who does resemble Vin Deisel (as stated in a previous review )-- these security guys are really funny, they communicate with flash lights -they have a system. One pegs the perpetrator with the flashlight and another goes and aprehends, it was quite funny to watch.

We are standing there in anticipation waiting for Silvertide. Everyone around us has empty beer bottles, wants to get rid of them but doesn't want to leave there spot, so they try handing their disposables to the security gaurds who reluctantly take it - sorry but I found that to be rather funny. The stage lights dim and Silvertide takes the stage. This is where I lost my hearing and I really couldn't make out any of the lyrics but it sounded pretty good. The guys are all pretty young looking - very skinny and kinda girly looking. I felt kind of bad for the band though, the crowd really wasn't into it - they were paying attention and kinda nodding their heads, but you could see it on the frontman's face that he was feeling the coldness. Each bandmate had their own solo, which was good. The crowd didn't start responding to the band until the frontman offered them some guided assistance, getting the crowd involved in the chorus of one of their tunes (for the life of me I can't remember what it was, sorry) and revving us up for Velvet Revolver.

They left the stage and then the pushing and shoving kicked in. Everyone fighting for the rail. It was about a 20 minute intermission with a few false starts. The roadies started setting up the mics and equipment. The mic on our side of the stage had about 6 extra guitar pics stuck onto it. Velvet Revolver's drumset was set up behind Silvertides which open up a lot more space on stage. A couple of bigger guys pushed their way in to the right of me, I could feel the energy, everyone was antsy. Velvet Revolver didn't just come on stage, they blew it up, it was great. Very loud. I didn't pay that close attention to wardrobe, however I did notice what Scott was wearing-almost the exact same thing as the Roxy show, the Nazi/army/policeman(?) hat, black pants accesorized with a studded belt. That sleeveless black diner shirt with a black vest which were both eventually removed. Slash - black leather pants - he saved the top hat and the cigarette in mouth until 'Mr. Brownstone'. Dave had on a blue stocking cap. I couldn't see Matt from where I was standing, Duff had on a sleeveless shirt of some kind, that's all I recall as far as that goes. Duff was right in front of us. He seemed to be enjoying himself - he paid close attention to the crowd. Dave would approach our end of the stage here and there and crouch in and nod his head-looking all into it... Slash stayed mainly to the left of Scott (my right) but did come over by us a few times.

Scott really didn't have much to say -- his first words were their explanation to the meaning of Velvet Revolver-- A big ______' with some good hip action if you get my drift. I was so deaf during the show I had a hard time keeping track of the songs they were playing, at least the ones I didn't recognize. He started off the next song by saying 'this is a song the girls like to f*ck to'--from the previous reviews it must have been 'Do it for the kids'. The crowd was very intense upfront - the guys next to me were spilling their beer down my leg and stepping on me (I am not very big) my fiance was acting as my personal bouncer, which was very nice. The security guards kept spotting people with cameras and doing their flashlight thing and confiscating them. They would set them on the edge of the stage in front of us. They would scan through the pictures and chuckle here and there - so hopefully no one had some pics in there they didn't want anyone to see. Everyone was asking them for some earplugs -you could get them at the bar for a buck - but no one was willing to lose their spot in front - including myself, but eventually it got to be too much with the larger guys pushing and shoving and my fiance had to relieve himself after all the beers we drank, so we asked the security guard to let us out through the gate--which sucked because I knew we wouldn't get our spot back. We went back upstairs to the restrooms, and walked around up there a bit, trying to find a safe place to whip out my camera to take a few pictures--I took a few good ones and then we headed back down.

Passing by the dressing room doors again, I noticed a large platic container sitting on a stool outside Velvet Revolver's dressing room that was filled with Hershey chocolate bars (the little ones) and Hershey kisses --knowing the connection between chocolate and heroin cravings I could only assume they were Scott's. We saw no way of getting our spot back so we lingered on the edge by the rail - you know, where all the bailers from the center crowd exit after too much excitement -- we had to keep making room for people getting hawled out by security to the exit - they were either hurt or severly wasted, some big guy from made his way past security from the side of the stage and leaped, with no warning, into the center crowd -- some poor girl swaggered her way out with some assistance, she didn't look too good, it was kinda nice though because it was letting in a nice draft of fresh air from outside-it was hotter than hell in there. Scott was pushing his face right into the crowd, stepping onto the rail and leaning in--the STP sets, 'Crackerman' and 'Sex Type Thing' were classic with the loud speaker-totally brought back memories of the STP shows I've been to. Scott was emaculate for the GNR songs-perfect.

They left the stage leaving us all hanging-the crowd was chanting 'Slash, Slash, Slash...' the re-entered and continued to rip it up. While I was in the crowd enjoying Scott belt out 'Sex Type Thing' and how the crowd was going nuts to it, I was thinking to myself, I wouldn't doubt it if after the show, Scott, Slash, Duff, and those guys probably have bets going on who's tunes get the crowd going the most (STP or GNR)-- I'd have to say that 'Sex Type Thing' and 'Mr. Brownstone' were a tie-- they both got a huge reaction-definately something to be proud of. I took the last attempt to take a picture with my camera when Slash came out with his top hat on for 'Mr. Brownstone.'.. we were close to the stage by the side of the rail, trying to snap it quick when security wasn't looking... I wasn't fast enough though and the damn Vin Deisel security guard flashed us and the big guy next to him took my camera! I was so pissed! Not only because of the camera, but that I was pre-occupied the rest of the show by thinking of ways to get my camera back...it's a $400 camera.

The show ends with 'Negative Creep', it was great. I keep hearing Scott singing 'daddy's little girl ain't a girl no more' in my head still, as I'm typing this. The show ends with that. Everyone looking dazed. The announce on the PA that anyone under 21 must leave due to curfew (lame), I approach the security gaurd that took my camera and I had to beg like a dog to get it back. He argued with me a bit, but he compromised with me by taking my memory stick and giving me my camera back. So, I have no lovely pictures to share and I'm sorry. We tried going back upstairs and security blocked it off saying it was closed. So we left. It was a great show, I won't forget it. It seemed a little impersonal for such an intimate show though, the band didn't mingle at all, which was a little disappointing being that that was what I was hoping for, especially since it was a small show. I do have to say Scott's temperament was different than the previous STP shows I had been to, he was cool headed - it especially showed when he "politely" asked no bottles to be thrown on stage. We didn't hang around afterwards, we had to pick up our kids from the baby-sitter. But it was great, I feel bad for those that couldn't be there. It will probably be the last opportunity to see them play a small venue, they are going to be huge!

Thanks to Jim Meyer from Star Tribune: The members of Velvet Revolver strongly deny that they are a preconceived supergroup, but there's no denying that the combined star power of Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland and Guns N' Roses guitar god Slash made for an unusually charged debut Saturday at Quest in Minneapolis. (Was there ever this much buzz about Slash's Snakepit?)

Velvet Revolver (including GNR bassist Duff McKagen and drummer Matt Sorum) is on a short, small-club tour promoting their debut CD, due out June 8. Their 45-minute set plus an encore of oldies was more energetic than innovative, but there is at least one reason for high expectations this year.

Velvet Revolver auditioned numerous vocalists, but made a wise (albeit risky) choice in the much-troubled, now-sober Weiland, who looked sharp in reflective shades, an airman's cap, tight jeans, Velvet Revolver vest and scarf. He resembled Judas Priest singer Rob Halford prancing and posing like a cabaret dominatrix. He was half-naked before long, revealing a severely short haircut and a skeletal frame, and he darted around the stage like he was auditioning for Spider Man.

Despite the band having three members from GNR, the first three songs carried more STP trademarks. Before playing "Headspace," Weiland blasted negative rock critics and boasted about the new song's positive lyrics before turning the song into a classic Scott Weiland vocal showcase.

Perhaps fearful of losing the audience with unfamiliar material, Velvet Revolver broke into STP's "Crackerman" and one song later bashed out the GNR crowd-pleaser "It's So Easy." Playing a GNR classic revealed how Velvet Revolver's own material lacks similar hook appeal, but it also set the stage for the evening's centerpiece, "Fall to Pieces."

Introducing the song, Weiland praised a melody that Slash brought to the band, to which Weiland added the lyric about how drugs destroyed his happy home. The song, already slated as the band's next single, features the unmistakable Slash guitar tone and a melody heavily borrowed from "Sweet Child O' Mine." Obviously, they hope the song will do for Velvet Revolver what "Sweet Child" did for GNR: make them huge. It better, because Velvet Revolver's lighter songs impressed more than their thudding rockers, such as the dumb "Big Machine" and the banal "Set Me Free."

The group returned for some encore fun, starting with a faithful rendition of GNR's "Used To Love Her" and "Mr. Brownstone" and ending with Nirvana's "Negative Creep." It was a familiar, high-volume finale to a short preview that was part steamroller, part roller coaster.

Thanks to Jason: I thought Silvertide was trying too hard to being the band thay will never be. Their sound reminded me of Buckcherry, yuck.

On to a better note, Velvet Revolver was phenomenal. They were loud, clear and the rocked! I've read other people's reviews about not being able to hear Slash's leads and Weiland's voice, I'll give you guys one hint, don't stand right up front against the stage and the speakers. I stood by the sound board and everything sounded excellent. V.R. was full of energy and character, Scott was showing off his signature moves and Duff and Slash brought back memories from 13 years ago with their GN'R styles of Duff playing his bass against the blowing fan and Slash with his guitar neck in a vertical position and his infamous top hat.

The crowd really charged up once they started to play "It's So Easy" and everyone went crazy when they played "Sex Type Thing". I personally was extremely thankful for the guys playing "Negative Creep", a nice tribute to Mr. Cobain. All in all the show was sensational and I can't wait to see Velvet Revolver Revoler for a second and third time.

Thanks to Kenny: So getting to the show 15 min before the doors opened I found myself waiting around the block to get it. There were ticket scalpers everywhere and selling tickets for 65 bucks, which I would have paid if I didn't have a ticket.

After getting in the doors of the Quest I found many peeps surrounding the center stage. I staked out my territory on the right side of stage (left if your in the crowd). The athmosphere in the Quest was great, somewhat like the "Slither" video with the pillar columns.

7 rolled around and the place was packed and Silvertide or whatever came on, and I have to say they were really good. The guitarist was crazy good and very energetic. Both the guitarist and drummer did solos with the bassist doing one also. The drum solo was part of a old Zepp song so that was cool. They also had a very 70's Led Zeppelin feel to them.

Once off the stage it was about an hour and a half or so and the sound checks where all done. When they took stage the crowd went wild. Then the movement started. It wasn't a mosh really but more of a surging wave that was really powerful. I really can't say exactly what songs they played but they did do the GNR songs and STP ones. It was very cool when the did the GNR ones cuz everyone was singing along. I also couldn't tell you the quality of some of the songs due to the insane sound that was coming out of the speakers 3 feet from me. All I know is that it rawked.

Well it stated out with Duff and Dave by us and Dave looked like was so into or not feelin well. Duff just started to smile evertime he came by us cuz we were going nutz. Once Slash came over to our side there was a huge surge of people in our direction. It was great. Scott was movin around like a snake on stage a lot and he looked like he just got out of a village peoples video when he first got on stage, it was cool in a Scott sort of way. Slash rawked out the top hat for 'Mr. Brownstone' and another song along with changing out guitars every so often.

Then what was this, the band got off stage. I thought wow that was a short set and now the encore. Nope then came back on stage and Scott said "technical difficulties, what can ya do.." so they started back up. Now about when that bottle was tossed on stage... the guy was right next to me and then they took his buddy out because they thought it was him. Haha oopps. By me, I think like 3 peep got kicked out with several getting pulled out of the front because of the crowd surges. There were a couple of crowd surfers and one guy got up on stage then jumped off. One of the guards looked like Vin Disel and he didn't like it to much when some guys called him that. So he drenched them with water.

The music sounded good when I shut my ears cuz then I could hear it clearer, it was so loud. The crowd really did dwarf Scott on the GNR songs and Slither, but it still sounder good. Overall the record should be awsome and I can't wait. I have to say after seeing this show and havin it be small venue like this, I liked it a lot more than the GNR reincarnation I saw at the Target Center(arena)!!!!! Rawk on Velvet Revolver!!!

Thanks to Jimmy: All I have to say is that the show was a blast even though I found myself fighting for my life in the pit at times. These guys play rock like it's supposed to be, loud as hell and fun as hell. As for the set list, the new stuff kicked ass as well as the older ones. I thought the place was gonna come down when they encored with 'Mr. Brownstone'. Slither' and 'Set Me Free' were great and I can't wait to hear the rest of the new record. The only thing I would say is that the PA was a little rough at times. Scott was tough to hear on a few songs, but overall a great show. This band will be on top of the rock world in no time.

Thanks to Deez Nuts: Got there at about 5:00 pm and there was already quite a line down the block to get in. Lots of old school GNR and STP shirts so that was cool to see. The house music played the entire Audioslave cd I think. Shirts were all going for 25 a piece, not really any shirt that stood out IMO.

Silvertide was giving away a 4 song demo that the drummer gave me and signed later on. Silvertide came on and I thought the mix was horrible. With that being said their music absolutely rocked. They only played like 6 songs but there wasn't a weak one. They opened with Mary Jane (which I love) and ended with Ain't Coming Home. For all you guitarists out there you gotta see Nick Perri rip it up on guitar, freakin awesome. They were boozin at the bar in between acts so my buddies and I were talking to them a bit. Their album is coming out June 8th too.

Velvet Revolver came on after quite a wait and opened with Sucker Train Blues. I thought this song was one of the best off of Contraband, really cool intro and then explodes. The songs are pretty well described in previous reviews. They played the exact same setlist as they've had so I could pretty much tell what was coming next. I must say Fall to Pieces is classic and for those of you that haven't heard it yet, it is simply amazing IMO. I think Slash started the song with that little riff that is posted in the tab section, but the riff he used for the rest of the song's hook was down on the neck farther, like around the fifth fret or so.

Scott talked the most before this song, talking about how it's going to be their next single in a couple months and how Slash had wrote the hook and then he wrote the lyrics when he was going through a tough time with his wife, but things are different now he said. You can really feel the emotion during this song. They did an extended outro for Set Me Free which really made the song for me. Slither had a really long intro that rocked too. Some of the Contraband songs sounded just like loud noise with the mix being pretty bad so it was tough to judge them.

As far as clothing goes, Slash had on a faded black 'bootleg' shirt, Scott came out with a cop hat on and is sporting a new buzz cut that looks really different after watching the Slither video so much. Dave on a stocking hat the whole time and Matt and Duff both started with black vests. They have a huge gong that Matt ends Negative Creep with. I waited around afterwards and I think Matt's family was all at the show cause they got in a limo and his mom and dad look exactly like him.

Scott was the first one to head for the bus, he had about 7 security guards around him and didn't stop to talk to anyone. He was wearing a russian style hat. That was about 10:45 pm and then a half hour later Duff and Dave came out and signed a bunch of stuff and took pictures. They were really cool. I told Duff I loved his bass line in Sucker Train Blues and goes "thanks man, thanks for hanging out".

Then after about 15 more minutes the fuzzy haired one scooted out the back ally and went into the Urban Wildlife bar which is just like a block north of the Quest. They blocked everyone from going in there so I decided to go to Champs and continue drinking.

All in all a truly amazing show, with both Silvertide and Velvet Revolver. It is definitely worth getting there to see Silvertide, they are going to huge, maybe not commercially but definitely musically. Contraband is going to be a smash also and I think the sales will pick up quite a bit after Fall to Pieces comes out as a single. The only dissapointment of the night was there was no You Got No Right, but it probably would have been out of place in such a high energy show.

Thanks to Pfunk: Alright, Minneapolis show. First of all, Silvertide was awesome. They are definitely going to become the next huge thing in rock music. Even though they only played a half hour set, they included everything you could ever want. Guitar solo, drum solo, bass solo, they got the crowd singing along, excellent showmanship.

After Silvertide there was a very long wait. There were several false starts where the lights would go down, and then nothing would happen. Then they came on and it was amazing. Same setlist you've been hearing about. A lot of Contraband songs and 'Crackman', 'Sex Type Thing', 'Used to Love Her', 'Mr.Brownstone', 'It's so Easy'. 'Mr. Brownstone' and 'Negative Creep' were the final encores and Slash wore the top hat for those. At one point Scott tried to make clear the distinction between "rock music" and "rock and roll music". For the most part, they didn't talk to the audience too much, other than telling people not to throw bottles.

Highlights: Slash had an amazing presence. All he had to do was raise his hand in the air between songs and everyone would go crazy. Some dude ran up on stage and jumped into the crowd before security could get to him. Some other guy threw his Van Halen shirt on stage, and Slash threw it back into the audience and a few guys were fighting over it for a long time. "Fall to Pieces" they said would be the next single, and it should be. I think its going to become a huge song for them, I thought it had kind of a SCOM feel to it, especially with Slash's riff. Scott's singing on the GNR tunes was dead on, he sounded perfect on 'It's So Easy' and 'Mr. Brownstone'.

If you're interested in shirts, they have a bunch of different kinds, all $25. Well, my ears are still ringing and they will be for a while. Great show, Velvet Revolver is going to take over the rock music world, with Silvertide right behind them.

Thanks to STPJOE: Opening band was impressive... they had a Zepplin jam quality to their sound with a touch of Black Crowes IMO.

I sat up on the top on the left side of the stage where Slash usually was. It appeared like the same setlist from the previous dates.

'Sucker Train Blues'- very cool musically, but I thought Scott was alittle weak with the chorus....Second song-was not sure of it.... I did not like this one.'Headspace'- third song was very cool, very powerful bass drums rhythm section and vocal melodies flawless and hook laden....'Fall to Pieces'- It does sound like a out-of-place power ballad. With that said, it was awesome. It stood out for pretty much everything else they did. The solo was not performed IMO like anything close to "November Rain"... it matter-of-fact... was fairly short.

'Crackerman' - was great. 'Used to Love Her'- was brillant. 'Set Me Free' was good live... the crowd drowned out Scott on this song and 'Slither', because they knew the words. There was a extended end part to this song where Slash and Dave both solo...'Slither'- had an extended "oh ohh ohhh" part in it. 'Negative Creep'- someone threw a bottle up on the stage and Scott made a remark about us being "friends" not to do that. 'Big Machine'- was not so good... I did not like any part of this song... Scott's melodies and choice of lyrics left it feeling dull. I did not like Duff singing some parts of the chorus on his own either. Easily the worst song they played in my view. 'It's so Easy' -crowd sang along to this one as well...'Sex Type Thing' - the song the crowd got into the most out of all the songs... It was not even close.

People were getting seriously crushed towards the stage more so than I have seen in a long time. The crowds were swaying like 10-15 feet forward. Slash wore his top hat for "Mr. Brownstone" and "Negative Creep". He looked right at me before they started 'Brownstone' and I snapped a picture... I notice I did not have the flash on, so we will see if it turned out.... Slash also threw his hankerchief up by us and the guy next to me caught it and that was very cool.

I got plenty of decent shots from my elevated postition. My girlfriend did not want to be in the front row even though we were in line with the first 100 or so people- In hindsight a very smart decision.The mix was favoring bass drums and bass guitars from my angle... Some songs, I could barely hear Scott sing... Other songs, like 'Slither', I could barely hear Slash's leads... If we don't know the words to the songs and can't hear them, please Velvet Revolver turn up the guitars and vocals alittle bit!!

Thanks to Ratpac12000 from cazawa.com: As the clock got closer to 9:00 pm the anticipation in the, packed to the rafters, club seemed to be turning to an uneasy concern. These people had been awaiting this moment, anxiously for a very long time. One mishap after another had been plaguing this band and delaying this much anticipated show for what seemed to be an eternity. If you give people too much time to think and dissapoint them time and time again their feelings will begin to change.

So here it is, the time has finally come, and these people who had been ecstatic over the announcement that front man extraordinaire, Scott Weilland, was hooking up with the majority of their one time demi-gods, Guns and Roses to form the pseudo super group that would become Velvet Revolver. And these onetime euphoric fans had been disappointed for one reason or another for well over a year and they had become a bit leary that they would be disappointed again.

At 9:10 the lights go off, the crowd erupts and is going berserk, the time is finally here, wait, the lights come back up? A collective groan vibrates through the hall. 9:20, lights go off, ok here we go, again the crowd blows up all the waiting is about to be over. Four minutes of dark, lights go back up. The groan now is more of a growl, they are not happy at this point. 9:32 Dark, finally the payoff for their loyalty is here the eruption this time is noticeably less feverish. Four minutes, lights up once again! This time, however no groan of a tricky false start, no growl of pissed off 'cmon already” this reaction was clearly oh my god something has happened with these troubled rockers and the show is going to be cancelled. The buzz is immediate and spreading like a wild fire. Is Scott alright? Are Duff and Slash to shitfaced to play? What is happening? Not again! The club and the road crew were no help to these people with not a single word of what was going on uttered. One false start, fine, but three with over ten minutes in between each one something has got to be wrong.

The apprehension that had quickly overcome these people disappeared just as quickly, at 9:47 lights go down and within 10 seconds the unmistakable sound of Slash's purposely out of tune Gibson rips through the room and Weilland comes jetting out from behind the drum kit, wearing what looked to be a cross between a 50s era police hat and a marine cap, with the opening lyric of Suckertrain Blues and while the screaming was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think you could actually feel a sigh of relief come over these loyal fans.

The apprehension of will they still play like we expect after all this time off was completely gone before the first chorus was over. The band which were always a bit loose do what feels right kind of unit, were so tight it was unbelievable. Scott was also at the very best I have ever heard him he looked healthy and that incredible voice was completely restored to its original form.

The band ripped through the first five songs, that were all Velvet Revolver songs, seamlessly like they had been playing them for 10 years. The sound was clean and crisp but yet if you closed your eyes there would be no question as to who you were hearing. The 'gunners' had evolved from a bit sloppy and fantastic to an extremely tight band without losing any of the grit and power.

After they blasted through the first five songs without giving anyone, including themselves, a second to catch their breath they stopped for a much needed break. Scott strutted to the front as the rest of the band tucked back by Sorums drum kit I’m assuming to rehydrate after the blistering first first twenty minutes non stop. Scott did obligatory 'it's great to be in Minneapolis bit” but in true Weilland form he added his cocky swagger to his love fest making jokes about himself and his 'issues'. He was genuinely very happy to be doing what he loved again after so long not being able to. At that moment every single one of the thousand fans that had been pissed off because they had to wait for this tour for so long instantly forgave everything because just watching him and hearing his words it was obvious it was 100% more difficult for him not being allowed to do what he loves than for us to just go to a rock show.

After the much needed five minute cool down Slash slowly appeared from the back, as his shadow started to come into the light his Les Paul started screaming the intro to It's So Easy, the crowd absolutely exploded. This was the first non revolver song and arguably one of GnRs best, a majority of the audience were unfamiliar with the revolver songs and were expecting a GnR STP greatest hits show could finally belt out the words with Scott and they made the most of it it seemed every single person knew every word and sang it completely beginning to end with Scott. And this was also the first point of the show where all the die hard rockers could look at their friends and say what they had been waiting almost two years to say, Axl who?? Scott took that song and made it his belting it out like the now facially reconstructed dreadlock wearing one time rock god could have never even came close to doing. I along with the majority of the people here knew Scott was a much better vocalist than Axl but this was one of a few songs of GnR that I wasn’t quite sure if it would work without Axl's snarl. I stand corrected!! The guys went right into Fall To Pieces before we got to see the other side of the coin, how would the gunners do with a STP tune. Well again from the start of Big Machine until the end the band played with a rejuvenated spirit and drive that I haven’t seen from them since their hungry Appetite days and pulled it off without a hitch. Then came Set Me Free, perhaps the low part of the show but considering how good it had been even the low point was still pretty damn good. Then another brief catch our breath moment as our tour guide Weiland threw a few more little stories at us, and then came the surprise of the night, they pulled out Used to Love Her, I for one would never had guessed that song to be on this play list for one that was pretty much Axl’s scribblings to vent frustration and not so much a GnR thing, and secondly its not a very good song it’s more of a joke. It was no joke this night with Scott spewing the venom and the band speeding up the song and making it a legitimate heavy metal song. It was fantastic and I had never liked that song before. Then they pulled out their first single off the album called Slither, now I loved this song from the moment I heard it, but they attacked this song with such ferocity it was mind blowing and much heavier then on the album, Scott pulled out the cop megaphone and did the strutting and posing. About ¾ of the way through the song it hit me that the way they were attacking this song and the lights were going berserk and all the picks that were being tossed in the crowd that somehow over an hour had gone by and this was the last song before the obligatory encore. A sudden feeling came over me like 'I can’t believe this is it. The song ended and sure enough Matt stands up behind the drum kit and starts banging on the gong it goes dark as they walk off giving the half wave because you all know as well as us we’re coming back.

After about five minutes I hear it the opening riff of the one song I was truly hoping to hear screams though the building, the crowd again explodes but this time at a much higher decibal than any previous roars. Weilland leaps to the front of the stage with the opening lines of Sex Type Thing, in my opinion the best STP song ever written. Once again every member attacked this song like their life depended on it. The absolute highlight of the night and although I didn’t want the show to end I was feeling much better about it ending now that the song I was hoping for was just completely shredded unlike I had ever heard it before, I was content. The perfect ending to an incredible, a bit surprisingly so, show. It couldn’t have ended any better. Lights go down, but wait there was no bow, that wasn’t the perfect ending, how in the hell are they going to top that? My answer came five minutes later in a very explosive way, as they reached into the bag of rockers and pulled out an extremely, almost Slayer like, version of Mr. Brownstone that was absolutely amazing. The only flaw of the night, even though a very minor one, came now. The show should have ended with that ravenous version of Brownstone but they went right into Negative Creep, which is a great song but the way they did Brownstone the two should have been switched. Lights came up the bows then dark.

It was over, the long wait, the doubts all comfortably put to rest, the questions answered unmistakably. While most so called super groups never live up to the title this is one that surely does. After the show I questioned a bunch of fans and got the same answer from all, amazing! Well almost everyone, one woman said that while the band sounded good she wanted more STP and GNR to which the still hopped up on adrenaline swarm around me started verbally attacking the woman that she was at a Velvet Revolver show so that’s what she should expect. Just as the crowd was getting into this heated discussion a commotion stirs behind us, I turn to see what was going on and out of the alley walks Weilland flanked on each side by security and gets on the tour bus parked out front. The mood completely changes, frowns turn to smiles and laughter and name calling turns into great show Scott, well worth the wait Scott, good luck Scott. And as he steps on the bus just as the door is beginning to close behind him a loud bellow booms out above the commotion it screams, Axl who??????