June 22, 2004 - Portland, OR - Roseland Ballroom

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General Information

Date: June 22, 2004
Location: Portland, OR
Venue: Roseland Ballroom; 8 NW 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97209 [ Venue website ]
Box Office Number: 503-219-9929
Additional Info: Support Act: Living Things

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 (18) [ send in your own review/pictures of the Portland show ]

Thanks to pless: There could've not of been a better concert and I went to Aerosmith the month before. As music goes amazing and as a live show fucking amazing.

Thanks to Michelle: Ohh my god. Velvet Revolver kicked ass, this was the best concert I have been to in years, the energy was so good, I have been a fan of both STP and GNR since early 90ties. So to see these guys rock out together is like a match made in heaven, I know that it probably is the last time they will play in a small place like the Roseland, I know that it would be somthing special, I can't believe that I actually got so close to Duff, Slash and Scott, it was great, last time I saw GNR was in 92 in Denmark on a stadium with 28,000 other people. So I appreciate the small space, it is sooooooo much better. I can't wait to see them again. And ohh my god they were in good shape, I felt like a teenager again, screaming. Rock has been reborn!

Thanks to Pete B.: Wow!!! What can I say? I heard that Velvet Revolver was coming to the Pacific NW and told my little sister in Texas that if she was ever coming to visit me now was the time!! I purchased tickets on eBay for the Seattle show and we drove up there (with the unpredicability of Scott I figured we might be lucky to see him in Portland so the sooner the better!). Call it intuition but the show in Portland was cancelled!! Well, comparing the 2 shows- I like them both equally well. The Seattle show was really good, with everyone behaving and enjoying the spectacle. I was right in front of Scott and got some great shots of him in all his splendor! My only complaint was I was unfamiliar with the material as the album was to be released in 4 days. I did recognize some songs of course by their earlier respective bands. The Portland show was wild and agressive. I guess after the album came out people knew what this band was capable of and knew we were attending history in the making. It was loud and sweaty and crude and rude. In Seattle I had no problem getting within 3 ft of Scott and Slash. In Portland I had to prode and kick and threaten and sweat to get to the front row. I was hit, cursed at, threatened and nearly crushed to death. But, I made it. What a show. This time I knew every lick and lyric. This band is going to snowball into the future of music. Let's get rid of this so called music that is stagnating the current music scene. Velvet Revolver will be big. F*** Axl for letting these guys get away from him and bless Scott for his showmanship and vigor!! Long live R 'n' R!!

Thanks to Chelsea: Oh my God! I can not believe I just saw Slash! I have been absolutely in love with him since I was like 4 years old! I remember seeing the video for 'November Rain' and just thinking, "Wow". Me and my friend drove down from Olympia because the Seattle show sold out before we could get tickets. I skipped my senior prom the first time around only to find out it was cancelled. I was disappointed but I was happy they rescheduled it! I can't even begin to describe how fucking incredible the show was! There were so many people packed into that theatre. I have never sweat so much in my entire life! I wasn't really paying attention to the opening band, I was too anxious to see Slash and the rest of Velvet Revolver! As soon as the lights dimmed and the first silhouette appeared the crowd just surged forward trying to get as close as they could! I fought my way to the front and stayed there for the entire show. As soon as they played the opening notes of "Sucker Train Blues" the crowd lost it and damn near drowned out the band! Every song they played tore it up and with each song the crowd got hotter and hotter. I had a shirt made for the show proclaiming my love for Slash, and at one point I got too hot and took my shirt off and threw it onstage! I went half the show topless and it felt a helluva lot better than having a shirt sticking to my back! After the lights dimmed the crowd was stomping and clapping for an encore, and then out comes Slash with his top hat on and cigarette ine his mouth. I could have died happy at that moment. He introduced "Used to Love Her" as a love song but not really because it has death in it. That was a perfect choice of a GNR song for Scott to sing, he definitely did it justice! It was surreal to actually be seeing them play together, espescially Duff and Slash, when they played back to back it was like they became Gods! After they covered "Negative Creep" Slash smashed his guitar in a true rock star moment and threw the neck into the crowd where an out and out brawl erupted! Matt Sorum threw his drumsticks into the crowd and one came near me. I had two hands on that fucker and literally, me and some guy went to the ground fighting for it. I wanted it so bad, but he was stronger than I was. There's always next time!

Thanks to Bryan Gardner: What an amazing show, the chemistry onstage within the band was unbelievable. I think that these guys really have a chance to bring rock n roll back to something that we can all appreciate. Music needs more substance right now and who better to bring it than a group of guys with such amazing backgrounds. I would advise anyone who is considering seeing Velvet Revolver or even buying there album to do so, I don't think that you will be dissapointed.

Thanks to Tom Walsh: As a hardcore fan of both bands that spawned Velvet Revolver, I was extremely excited to see the show and it did not disappoint. The band looked great and sounded better. Scott looked like a cross between early Axl, Stardust era Bowie and Icabod Crane. He looked painfully thin but put on one hell of a performance. The new album was the crux of material that was played and from Big Machine to Fall to Pieces this band was tight. Scott had the megaphone working and was flailing around the stage in his usual maniacal, whirling dervish style. Slash played his leads flawlessly. This band was in shape and the Portland crowd went apeshit for Velvet Revolver. Duff McKagan was all swaggering, hold down the rhythm section cool. He was perfectly in sync with Matt all night. Negative Creep was the final encore, preceded by many great songs, including 'Mr. Brownstone', 'Crackerman',' Used to Love Her', 'It's So Easy', etc. This music does not sound derivative or crawling on the back of Guns nor STP. It is fresh and this is a band on its own. The new material sounded amazing. Peel the skin off your face intense! The crowd was full of guys my age (early thirties) to teenagers and forty and fifty somethings. I looked at some of these kids and this to them was like me going to see Metallica in '85 or Van Halen in 1984. This band will be huge! Scott seemed a bit gunshy with interaction with the crowd, which is understandable the way the media dissects him. The performance was heavy and beautiful. Fall to Pieces was introduced by Scott as a time when he was not doing so well. Touching, beautiful performance. I personally thought that I was seeing history made again. Weiland held the crowd in his hand and he knew it! He made gestures to get the crowd quiet (both hands going to the ground indicating be quiet, then lift them up exuberantly and the crowd would go ballistic!) He did this several times and you could see the satisfaction and mania in his eyes. Seems to me the band put down the bottle and spoon and picked up barbells. These guys were all in excellent shape. Great show, I was just disappointed that it was over and I had to go home. I wanted them to play for another hour at least. Which is an indicator that they kicked major ass! Return to Portland needs to be scheduled soon!

Thanks to Jacekymstuff: WOW, the show was amazing. Set list seemed the same as previous shows, except no Sex Pistols song ending. They ended with an incredible version of Nirvana / Negative Creep. Slash was soloing at the end of the song there was a pole in the middle of the stage (holding up the roof of this 1,000 seat packed club)...right at the end of song he looked at the pole and swung his black Les Paul guitar at it, smashing it to pieces. He then threw the pieces to the crowd, which in turn started a fight for the guitar parts. Probably why no last encore song. Hands down the best guitar smash I've seen since cobain. Way too cool.

Thanks to Dustin: It had to be by far the best I have ever been to. I have never seen Slash live before. The tickets were only 20 bucks and I would have paid 100!! I got to hear some Rose's and Stone's to. Like going to three concerts. At the end of the show Slash broke his guitar on the stage and threw the neck out into the crowd they about killed each other for it.

Thanks to Josh: I just got back from the show and all I can say is wow! Velvet Revolver absolutely rocked. Me and my friend got to the theatre around 8:00 and the started at 9. Living Things went on stage about 9:10-ish. They were okay but extremely loud, painful at times when the singer was using some sort of tremelo effect. They finished their set around 9:45. And we waited for about 30 minutes while the stage crew ran through a sound check. Then around 10:15 the lights dimmed and Velevet Revolver took the stage. I think Scott said something about the having to be rescheduled from its orginal June 5th date but it was somewhat hard to hear what he was saying. Anyways they kicked into Sucker Train Blues and the crowd went nuts. I think they played the same set that they've played for the other dates on the tour. Anyways some highlights were the crowd singing along to almost every song, all of the STP and Guns N' Roses songs, Slash busting out the top hat, Scott raising and lowering his hands to make the crowd quiet and then raising them up to get the crowd to scream. (his expression during this was amazing, I swear he didn't blink for 10 mins). People busting out their lighters during Fall to Pieces, Slash introducing the song Used to Love Her by saying and I quote "this is kind of a love song, but its not because it has death in it" and finally Slash smashing his black Les Paul at the end of Negative Creep and throwing the neck into the crowd. (a full-out brawl almost broke out from people fighting over it) Anyway they were awsome these guys are amazing to see live.

Thanks to Dan Murphy: After being put on hold for a couple of weeks, the rockers in Portland were more than ready for the Velvet Revolver onslaught. During the first couple of songs I could only think of how lucky the few of us are to see them on this "small club" tour. You can be guaranteed these guys will not be playing 800 seat venues much longer. The concert can be summed up this way-Superstar rockers-straight-doing what they do best-blowing peoples faces off. All the tunes were great but a very inspired "Sex Type Thing" and the cover of Nirvana's "Negative Creep" were the highlights in my opinion. Scott twirled and writhed his way thru the set, shooting steelyeyed glances toward the audience at random. Slash, Duff and Dave were all over the stage and at one point Slash and Duff damn near ran into each other. Rockin', tight and professional. AWESOME!!

Thanks to Jim LeFever: First of all I have to say thanks for putting up this site and allowing guys like me to put their .02 in regarding this band. The opening band (Living Things) began the at about 9:05pm and kicked off the for about 25 minutes. Not a long set, but the songs were pretty cool and the energy of the music was not bad. Overall 7 out of 10. Then of course the band with the number one album in the country according to soundscan hit the stage, at about 10:05pm, I must say from beginning to end it was absoloutely awesome. The energy of Scott and Slash was unreal. One of the coolest things was how Slash and Dave Kushner worked together they had great transitions and really highlighted each other. They rocked. During the beggining of 'It's So easy' Duff dedicated the song to Axl, not sure what that was about, but I found it humorous. At the end of the concert Slash smashed his guitar against the cement pole and threw the neck into the crowd and of course a brawl insued for the neck and security had to keep a close eye on the situation. I really believe that if this band keeps it together they will have continued success. Thanks Velvet Revolver for the great!!!!

Thanks to RockFan: From 10pm to 11:30pm Portland was hit by a hurricane. THE RETURN OF ROCK- Velvet Revolver!!!! The guys lived up to the hype, thrashing through kick ass songs from Velvet Revolver, GNR, STP and Nirvana. Slash, Duff, and Matt proved why GNR dominanted the late 80s and early 90s. And how good would Dave have been in the rhythm spot!! Raw Power. I dare anyone to find a better lead guitarist in the world. And don't forget Weiland - he proved that the driving force of STP came from his vocals, his energy, and manship. He owned the stage, screaming, singing, and posing like a madman to the pleasure of the crowd. MTV and VH1 should be scared of this band....as more people "discover" Velvet Revolver it will mean the end of bands like Linkin Park, Hoobastank, and the other no talent acts whom dominate the current sick market.

Velvet Revolver - return to Portland soon!

Thanks to Kelly Smith: OK guys gals....I can't rattle off verbatum the songlist.....but I will say that from right-stage, front row these guys have far from forgotten how to rock. They did begin with "Sucker Train Blues" I think....but quite frankly I got lost in a sea of rock royalty. And at such the great vantage point how can you blame me? Put it this way...I walked away with a guitar-pick Duff tossed me...and I wiped the sweat from his shoulders...as he jumped off the stage and came right up to us. And do NOT listen to what the press says about Scott, he has more energy and passion for playing live than ever!!! He seemed healthy, and not at all the drug-addicted mess he's portrayed in the media. In fact, I haven't seen that many shirtless, ripped-abs in quite sometime...those guys are all in fabulous shape....and very obviously still love what they do for a living. The highlight song for me was hearing "Sex-Type Thing".....albeit, it was a bit strange watching Slash and Duff playing it....but none-the-less very cool. No one in this audience got hostile about Axl and no chantingarose regarding that topic. Although I must say, Portland had wayyy too many guys in the audience, and even Scott made mention of that fact....the overabundance of men to women was a bit odd. The girls didn't know what they were missing is all I got to say....."Fall to Pieces" sounded beautiful and most-assuredly will be an up and coming single for them. All and all, it was one of the most memorable gigs I've ever seen....I mean how often do you get that close to rock gods? I left with Duff's pick, a bit of his sweat on my hands and the total inability to hear a thing......sure hope my hearing returns......but it was well-worth a few days of deafness. There are not many groups out there, with the experience, talent, and sheer unadulterated love for the music......with Velvet Revolver.....it's as if they are serving you up....a big,fat,tray.....of RockN'Roll!!! And in a sea of musical mediocrity at present, that is one plate of food I wanna' devour!!!

Thanks to IronRob: This rocked! Exceeded my expectations. I was really disappointed when Velvet Revolver cancelled the original, but they more than made up for it. Sound, lighting, energy were all fantastic. Slash shredded his leads, sounded amazing. He played 5 different Gibson Les Paul's. Smashed the last one against a pole on the stage at the end of "Negative Creep". Scott borrowed a hat from a fan a few rows back, wore it for the encore, and then made sure he got the hat back to the correct fan in the crowd. He was very patient with the crowd surfers that ended up at the front of the stage kicking and screaming. Duff was on fire, playing power bass. Anyone who plays bass would love the raw energy Duff had in his playing. Matt was solid on drums and looked like he was having a great time. Dave kept solid rhythm and impressed Wade in the crowd as a solid edition to the band.

Overall, I waited a long time for this and it kicked solid ass. I was very happy with the GnR tunes and STP tunes. The crowd was into it. Only complaint was that there was no alcohol sold on the floor. All ages and I didn't see a single person under 21 in the crowd. What a waste of revenue that the Roseland could have made if they sold drinks downstairs. I know that the next Velvet Revolver will be in a larger venue next time, so this was something special.

Thanks to Chris: I went and saw Velvet Revolver last night at the Roseland(June 22). I had been waiting since this band first formed to see them in concert. And finally, last night I got to see Slash. The setlist was the same as previous, and the highlights were 'Slither', 'Sex Type Thing' and 'Mr. Brownstone'. The prolonged intro to 'Slither' really sent the crowd into a frenzy when the guitars finally kicked in. And it's always good to see the old GnR and STP songs. Weiland really knows how to dominate a stage, I would say he's the best "entertainer" I've ever seen in concert. And to see Slash play guitar live, with the hat on, was unbelievable. He can solo like no other. I knew this was gonna kick ass, and I wasn't let down one bit. Sorum beat the shit out of the drums and Duff was all over the bass. All in all, 9.510. Best I've ever seen besides Pearl Jam.

Thanks to JJ Binx: Approached Roseland Theater and quickly breathed a sigh of relief to see tour trucks already there. Having survived 1 Guns cancellation, was a little nervous there. Went in around 8:30, joint was packed up to the rafters. Opening act Living Things went on just after 9 and rocked fairly well. They could do real well with a few breaks.

Band was in fine form. They looked great. Very loud. Slash introduced 'Headspace' as one of the heavier songs on CD. People went apeshit when they played Slither. Slash put on the famed tophat for last encore. Weiland proclaimed "for all you people from the Pacific Northwest" before jumping into 'Negative Creep' at the end - we liked that.

As an aside for GnR die-hards

Buckethead played here on Friday at a small place a few blocks from Roseland. Maybe a hundred or so people. Bucket even had BRAIN on drums! Great.

Final note

Saw the old Guns in 9293 with Metallica and on Skin & Bones tour. Saw the New Guns 2 years ago in Vegas with Bucket and Finck on guitar. They were all great. Can't knock anyone of them really.

Thanks to Joe Albaugh: That was amazing. The boys came out just after 10:10pm and didn't let up for a solid 90 minutes (except for a little problem Scott had with his earpiece). The set list resembled their recent.

The energy was the best I have ever seen, from both the Crowd and the Band. No-one ever wanted it to end. Scott's use of the Megaphone was right on and Slash on the talk box was epic. Matt, Duff and Dave were friggin' something. Duff looks so strong...

I can't give a more positive review. If you have a chance to see this band and you don't, you will really regret it.

Living Things were good. I am gonna look for their EP...

Thanks to Matt Koontz: Where do I begin. I got to the plenty early to secure a spot front row in the middle of the stage. Velvet Revolver came out to the sold out audience at about 10:10 to start out with 'Sucker Train Blues', they finished with 'Negative Creep' and you can fill in the rest from the others. The crowd was into it from the start but it was manageable for the first 2 songs. After that all hell broke loose at least up front where I was. The whole floor managed to just pack it in to the stage as much as possible with people doing whatever they could to get to the front. The guy next to me said he was at 4 of Velvet Revolver's other west coast's but said this one was by far the most out of control. The crowd sang along to every song and all of the guys were so over. The two songs that seemed to tear the place down were 'Sex Type Thing' and 'It's So Easy' but they were into all of it. I managed to stay in the front (which you were an arm length away from Scott and the other guys when they came to the center) for the first 10 songs. Man my shirt and pants were just drenched with sweat and water, it was so hot up front. Then I had to get out as I was about to get taken down by the whole crowd. The energy was unbelievable and you could tell Velvet Revolver knew it. Slash made a comment about how he heard Portland was a pot town which got a big ovation but you couldn't hear much when they spoke into the mic the crowd was too loud but Scott sounded great. Simply put it was probably the best anyone there has or will ever see.