Stone Temple Pilots STILL kick-ass. (Now with 51% less heroin! I think.)

Well.

I’m beginning to get a little bit concerned that I’m becoming one of “those” music fans. The kind I used to make fun of for being to old, to stubborn and to locked into their own era of music, uninterested in expanding their listening experiences to anything beyond the music they know – the music they grew up with. People who still listen to “the Eagles” or “the Doobie Brothers” even though so much music has come out since then, and neither band was very good to begin with anyways. I was always confidant that this then would never be me. I’m young! I’m hip! I’m in the “know!” I keep up with whatever’s young and hip and in the “know!” Right? RIGHT?

Not quite. And Tuesday night proved that when I shelled out actual money to see Stone Temple Pilots at the Kool Haus in Toronto.

That’s right. Stone Temple Pilots. A band that hasn’t had a hit single, or even an album, in god knows how long. A band who’s lead singer I’m sure we all assumed was either dead or arrested. A band that hit it big over fifteen years ago, and who would recieve a collective “who?” from anybody under the age of sixteen today.

THAT band.

And they absolutely rocked. Seriously.

Vindication!

And, while some people would see the complete lack of any new material as a depressing reminder of just how irrelevant a band might be, all it meant for us was an hour and a half of SINGING ALONG TO EVERY DAMN WORD.

Which is always a good time.

The band kicked it into high gear right off the bat, opening with “Silvergun Superman” and then tore threw fan favorites like “Wicked Garden,” “Vasoline” and “Big Empty.” In fact,

during the show they played songs mostly off of their first two records, “Core” (1992) and “Purple” (1994) – which of course, is exactly what the majority of the audience (mostly males under thirty) wanted to hear (myself included).

The band was tight and professional, which was a little surprising to be honest. It was also the band’s only real weakness. At times they were a little “too tight” and “too professional.” I know that sounds horribly nitpicky (had they been sloppy and falling apart, I’m sure I would have bitched about that too) but the fact is that they were clearly just going through the motions at times – and looked it.

Still, when they launched into such crowd favorites as “Crackerman,” “Interstate Love Song” and their signature tune “Plush,” it was hard not to get caught up in the vibe, and be momentarily transported back to 1994. Which is, apparently, exactly where I want to be.

And I’m totally cool with that.

Here’s the full set list:

Main Set –

1. Silvergun Superman

2. Wicked Garden

3. Vasoline

4. Big Empty

5. Lounge Fly

6. Army Ants

7. Sour Girl

8. Creep

9. Crackerman

10. Plush

11. Interstate Love Song

12. Down

13. Sex Type Thing

14. Sin

15. Unglued

Encore –

16. Dead and Bloated

17. Trippin’ On a Hole in a Paper Heart