Stone Temple Pilots

It’s four o’clock in the afternoon and it’s raining cats and dogs outside the St. Moritz club in London. As if this wasn’t bad enough, there’s another six hours of waiting to get into the ‘secret’ acoustic show by the Stone Temple Pilots, such is the availability of tickets for tonight’s first show in six years. After this long a wait, they had better be worth it!

Once inside the venue the shock is of the grandest proportions. The venue is tiny, and by tiny we’re talking making your local church hall look like Wembley Stadium. It really is like having Dean DeLeo and Scott Weiland playing in your front room. And come midnight when the not-so forgotten duo arrive on the stage it hits you like a ton of bricks how special this show is. Some gigs are good, others are special, but very few will stay with you for years to come like they happened just yesterday. This definitely falls into the category of the latter. Starting with a spine-tingling rendition of ‘Sour Girl’ it is amazing to watch both Weiland and DeLeo. Weiland’s voice is in the richest of forms and throughout the night we are reminded of the charisma that makes the man such a star. Scott shows no shame in talking about his drug problems and even goes as far as stating that his beer is non-alcoholic to ‘Stop the press from saying he’s fallen off the wagon’. We are also treated to a handful of new tracks including the surprisingly pop-esque tones of first single ‘Days of the week’ and a particularly moving song about Scott’s wife ‘Wonderful’. During the said number someone is caught talking by Weiland, who simply puts his finger to his lips and watches the room fall deathly silent. It’s this crowd reaction that makes tonight so very unique. Through oldies ‘Interstate Love Song’ and ‘Plush’, the congregation even drown out Weiland’s microphone. Speaking of the front-man’s mic there is a moment, during ‘Atlanta’, where his microphone cuts out completely and instead of stopping like a spoilt child, he simply carries on and fills the room with his voice such is the intimacy levels of tonight. After being bullied by the insistant front row of the crowd (Your DiS reporter included) into a rendition of 1992’s ‘Creep’, which the band reveal they haven’t played for three years, the evening is complete with full audience backing vocals during the chorus.

Tonight wasn’t just a gig, it was an event. Tonight STP gave the 140 people crammed inside the St. Moritz something they will never forget. Absolutely Breathtaking.