Photos and Review by Max Stewart
It is not widely-known, but the seminal 90s alt-rock legends Stone Temple Pilots actually recorded a lot of their catalog in the Atlanta-area. Lured by the production genius of Brendan O’Brien, who was living in Atlanta at the time and working at the recently-demolished Southern Tracks Recording Studio, the band worked on the albums Purple and No. 4 in Atlanta and mixed some other songs in town as well. And now for the ultimate STP-ATL fun fact: “Interstate Love Song” was written by bassist Robert DeLeo while on the I-85 interstate right near the Southern Tracks studio.
So when the band rolled into Alpharetta, GA‘s Ameris Bank Amphitheatre on their Purple 30th Anniversary tour alongside 90s contemporaries Live and Soul Asylum, it felt like a special show. Soul Asylum’s front-man / guitarist Dave Pirner and the Minnesota four-piece brought their punk meets Alt-rock meets Americana sound for a captivating opening slot. Pennsylvania’s Live paid tribute to their Throwing Copper album and performed some of their FM chart toppers for the summer crowd, led by Ed Kowalczyk.
When STP took the stage, they went right into the iconic 1994 album and played all 11 tracks sequentially. This was such a rare opportunity for die-hard fans to see some of the ‘deep cuts’ like “Pretty Penny”, “Still Remains”, and “Lounge Fly” amongst the more widely-known tunes like “Vasoline”, “Big Empty”, and “Interstate Love Song”.
It is no doubt bittersweet seeing the band without the founding singer Scott Weiland, but what a wonderful opportunity for the fans to see these songs performed by all of the remaining original members, who wrote the music and iconic riffs. Brothers Robert DeLeo (bass) and Dean DeLeo (guitar) have produced some of the most recognizable riffs of the modern rock era, and they have clearly gotten even better with age. Drummer Eric Kretz has such a signature sound and hooky drum grooves (ex. the fill before the chorus in “Big Empty”), and he remains the backbone of STP. Vocalist Jeff Gutt has a way of honoring Weiland but not ‘overdoing it’ in terms of replicating his style; it is honestly a perfect compliment to the natural musicianship of the other three members.
The band even brought out another top tier musician, Trey Hensley, to play a quick bluegrass jam with DeLeo brothers before adding some twangy flavors to “Plush.” It felt like a unique touch for a show in the heart of the South, and Hensley is a mind-blowing guitarist with lightning-fast pickin’ acumen. Robert and Dean DeLeo clearly have appreciation for all genres in the musical realm, and Robert goes into great detail about his musical background in an interview with the fantastic Rick Beato on his YouTube channel (turns out local Atlanta resident Beato was in attendance for the show). The band capped things off with tunes like “Dead & Bloated” and “Sex Type Thing”, leaving the crowd craving more and all on their feet. As someone who bought these albums in my teens, I was completely floored by the performance and cannot wait to see them on the road again.
Catch Stone Temple Pilots on the road!
Stone Temple Pilots Setlist – Alpharetta, GA – 9/1/24:
Purple
Meatplow
Vasoline
Lounge Fly
Interstate Love Song
Still Remains
Pretty Penny
Silvergun Superman
Big Empty
Unglued
Army Ants
Kitchenware & Candybars (Trey Hensley joined at end of song for a quick bluegrass jam)
Plush (featuring Trey Hensley on guitar)
Dead & Bloated
Sex Type Thing
Photos of Stone Temple Pilots and Live:
