SCOTT WEILAND: STILL A WINNER
Given that I once witnessed Scott Weiland struggle for an entire song to remove his coat after arriving on stage ninety minutes late, I am genuinely surprised that a) the dude is still alive, and b) people still pay to see Stone Temple Pilots knowing full well that the show could be a train wreck. Maybe that’s part of the appeal for some fans, the same way Axl Rose’s antics are part of the appeal for his admirers? If that’s so, then apparently STP fans in Canada got the show of a lifetime this week. From Classic Rock:
“Supporters in Abbotsford, British Columbia, were upset on Monday after Scott Weiland and co left them waiting for 105 minutes. Some fans, believing rumours that the band weren’t even in the building, decided to leave. Eruptions of booing were heard on several occasions.
“When STP did appear, frontman Weiland offered a brief apology but didn’t try to explain why the delay had occurred. Fan reports suggest they played a shorter set than usual before bowing out.”
Fans who stuck around also report that “Weiland was never really present” and “He sang a mumbled mix of inaudible moans;” the band then cancelled last night’s show in Lethbridge, Alberta, allegedly because Weiland “has been put on 48 hours complete vocal rest due to strained vocal chords.”
You’d think if Weiland kept people waiting for so long, he’d have said something like, “Sorry I’m late, I appreciate you waiting, my voice is fucked up,” or one of the DeLeo brothers would take the mic and announce that Scott was performing despite an injury, and the fact that that never happened makes the entire thing suspect.
But the fact that the evidence suggests the band may be being less-than-truthful about what’s really going on behind the scenes isn’t what makes me cranky; what makes me cranky is that we could have had who knows how many more goddamn Army of Anyone albums by now, but that album sold like two copies (one to me, one to Vince) and now we have to put up with this shit. It just wasn’t enough for Scott Weiland to basically be the second vocalist to ruin Guns N’ Roses, he had to go ahead and ruin this, too. I guess he’s just more ambitious than most assholes.
-AR
