Velvet Revolver - Chicago, IL

On a bitter cold January night in Chicago, a little bit of heat came to the Riviera Theatre as Velvet Revolver kicked off their latest North American tour. Despite the weather, the Riv was packed and ready for a rock show. On this stop there was no opening act and hitting the stage an hour late the band announced themselves to great applause as, "the band that put the punk in punctuality."

Whether it was from playing to a great rock crowd in a full house or the revitalization of kicking off a new tour after a break, Velvet Revolver brought the energy for the Chicago show. They kicked it off with "Let It Roll" from their latest album, Libertad. From the beginning it was obvious the band was into it and that took the crowd to even higher levels. I saw Velvet Revolver in the fall at a show that was not full at all and the difference in energy was night and day. In particular, Scott Weiland really seems to feed off of the crowd and while he seemed disinterested and distant at the fall show, he was amped up and playing to the fans in Chicago.

All told they played for a solid two hours and hit about 20 songs. One of the great things about a Velvet Revolver show is that they also play a nice mix. The bulk of the show was from Contraband and Libertad, but they also played three songs each from their former Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N’ Roses days. I think it’s great for the fans that the band doesn’t turn their backs on their past lives and they are willing to keep some of those great rock songs going. In fact, I’d venture to say that I like the Velvet Revolver versions of "Patience", "It’s So Easy", and "Mr. Brownstone" better than I do the Guns N’ Roses versions. Maybe it’s just a little Axl backlash, but Weiland’s vocals do work very well in those songs.

While it’s always great to hear songs you like live in an intimate venue, the highlight of these shows for me is when the band goes outside of what you normally hear on their CDs. On this occasion, one of those highlights was Slash’s extended guitar solo bridge as they wrapped up GnR’s "It’s So Easy" and transitioned into Velvet Revolver’s first hit "Set Me Free". Slash went on for several minutes with the crowd in awe and everyone jockeying to get a good look at the guitar god in action. As he wrapped it up and hit that distinctive riff from "Set Me Free" for the last song of the regular set, the crowd exploded.

After a quick break the band emerged for the encore set leading off with a cover of Pink Floyd’s "Wish You Were Here". From there they played GnR’s "Mr. Brownstone" and then went to STP’s "Sex Type Thing". That song led to another highlight as toward the end Scott Weiland climbed into one of the side balcony boxes to finish the song and then go into an extended vocal call-and-answer with the crowd. With his distinctive vocals and then him directing the crowd into the sounds he wanted to hear back, it’s just another example of his high energy level for the show. The crowd loved it and as Weiland climbed back down to floor level the band hit the opening notes of their mega-hit "Slither" to close out the show.

All in all it was a great show from one of the great rock bands. Velvet Revolver is due to begin work on a new album following this tour, so we can look forward to that. In the meantime, if you are near one of the stops on the current tour, I definitely recommend checking them out. Most of the venues seem to be smaller and more intimate like the Riv and I think it makes for a great environment to see their show.