Dean and Robert DeLeo were always my favorite part about Stone Temple Pilots—good songwriters who could rock out and be really grungy, while still having a very strong pop sensibility. They still have it, but in their new band, Army Of Anyone, you have to listen a little harder for it. I've slightly warmed up to the band's debut album, but other than a couple standouts, the songs haven't really stuck with me. I was hoping that would change after seeing them live, and in a way it did—kind of.
The band opened the show with the first song from the album and one of the stronger tracks, "It Doesn't Seem To Matter." The first Stone Temple Pilots song to make it's way into the set was "Vasoline" from 1994's Purple album. Three Stone Temple Pilots songs were included tonight, as well as three songs by lead vocalist Richard Patrick's former band, Filter.
The high point of the show came midway through the evening when bassist Robert DeLeo picked up an acoustic guitar, and Patrick strapped on the bass for the 1999 Filter hit "Take A Picture," followed by a beautiful guitar instrumental by Dean DeLeo, entitled "Used To Know Her," which morphed into a bit of Led Zeppelin's " The Rain Song." A blistering version of the great Stone Temple Pilots song "Big Bang Baby" wrapped up the trifecta.
As the show continued, I was struck by two things: One, that the Army Of Anyone songs were rather well written, even though some of them still weren't really grabbing me. This may be due to the fact that I'm not really a fan of Richard Patrick. I don't have anything against him, but I don't really have anything for him either. The second thing I noticed (and had noticed on the album as well), is that Ray Luzier is an extremely good drummer. However, I think he can be a little overbearing. There were times when I felt like I was listening to a drum solo with a song in the background. It seems silly to fault someone for being a great musician and showman, but at times I felt his playing was a distraction from being able to actually listen to the songs.
The audience, surprisingly smaller and younger than I had expected, did seem to enjoy the show. The evening ended with Filter's "Hey Man Nice Shot," before an encore of Army Of Anyone's first single, "Goodbye," which is my favorite song on the album. It was great to see the DeLeo brothers on stage again, and it will be interesting to see if Army Of Anyone will be a one-album and tour experiment, or if it will lead to more music in the future.
Setlist
It Doesn't Seem To Matter
Father Figure
Vasoline (Stone Temple Pilots)
Generation
Disappear
Take A Picture (Filter)
Used To Know Her Big Bang Baby (Stone Temple Pilots)
