Stone Temple Pilots at Charlotte's Verizon Wireless Amphithetre

We got there as soon as the gates opened and with pit tickts we made it to the front immediately and took our place front and center at the rail. I was able to grab one beer on the way and still secure a spot right at the front. The opening act was called Tab the band. I had never heard of them before but they have a CD out and played a pretty respectable 5 song set. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club followed with a set similar to the one they did at Virgin Mobile Fest last week. They are always a pleasure to catch. Stone Temple Pilots came on a good half hour late and finally hit the stage at 9:35 or so. People were complaining about the wait and we heard from a security guy that the set list had to be shortened due to an 11:00 curfew for outdoor events in Charlotte. Nevertheless when STP hit the stage, they blew everyone away. The show was loud, intense and filled with amazing visuals. Most of the songs came from the first three albums but they played a couple (Down and Sour Girl) from the 4th album as well. They played nothing from their final (5th) release: Shangri-La Dee Da which was the least commercially succesful CDs prior to their reunion this year. The set list went something like this: Big Empty, Wicked Garden, Big Bang Baby, Vasoline, Lounge Fly, Lady Picture Show, Crackerman, Sour Girl, Creep/Jam, Plush, Interstate Love Song, Down, Sin, Sex Type Thing, Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart and encore Dead And Bloated. Scott mingled with the audience quite a bit and held hands for a minute or so with a girl standing next to us and she practically melted. The barely squeezed the encore in inside the curfew. Next week we see them with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club again in Alpharetta, GA. I can't wait!