Velvet Revolver – Mullins Center – Tuesday May 3rd

About one year ago, for all anyone knew, Velvet Revolver was just a new, hyped supergroup that would probably self-destruct within in a manner of months. With oft-troubled former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland and the also oft-troubled backing band of Guns ‘n’ Roses (guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagen, and drummer Matt Sorum) making up the majority of the line-up (guitarist Dave Kushner is the only one with no highly-notable prior experience) Velvet Revolver looked like a recipe for disaster. While the band enjoyed some success when they debuted their first original song, “Set Me Free”, as part of the “Hulk” soundtrack it wasn’t until their debut album, “Contraband”, that people started to take them more seriously.

With a combination that is neither the full-throttle and occasionally epic, post-hair metal of Guns ‘n’ Roses nor STP’s original, if critically underrated, mix of era-defining grunge and hazy Beatles-esque pop, the band seemed like a something that would divide more people then it would unite. After all, it would make sense that diehard Guns n’ Roses fans wouldn’t want to see Slash shred without Axl Rose’s trademark voice and talent for writing songs that complement the players perfectly. As STP moved farther away from grunge and into a more experimental, almost psychedelic sound it surely must’ve scared those who wanted to see Weiland progress more as a songwriter, rather than mindlessly rocking.

At first throwing all the ingredients into the melting pot seemed scary. “Slither,” the first big single from the album, seemed more like a mish-mash of the styles. It was an exciting, hard-rocking song but it missed the grandeur of Guns ‘n’ Roses and was not nearly as experimental or progressive as Weiland has proven himself to be. When the “Contraband” album came out, occurring alongside the band’s first national tour, Velvet Revolver proved themselves to be worth a listen, if not many.

From forceful adrenaline rushes like “Suckertrain Blues” and “Big Machine” to quieter, more spacey tracks like “You Got No Right” and “Loving The Alien” the band proved that the “supergroup” title wasn’t necessary for them to sell records. They didn’t have all of Guns n’ Roses and they didn’t have all of STP, but that was part of the charm.

While some tracks, like the aforementioned “Slither” and the made-for-stadiums ballad “Fall To Pieces,” are not incredibly intriguing, most of the album surprisingly takes multiple listens to fully digest. Slash’s guitar parts are obvious, expected stand-outs, but the subtleties of the rest of the band really fills the music out, rather than relying on impressive solos and then coasting through the song.

Weiland’s lyrics are actually the real stand-out of the album. Ranting and raving like he’s been dying to be in a punk band his whole life, Weiland, with his trademark voice, is no less intense or passionate than expected by STP fans. While it’s his energy that carries the hard-rockers, it’s the fact that Weiland is delivering some of the best hooks in his life on tracks like “Spectacle” and “Do It For The Kids” that really moves the album. He takes each and every song and transforms it into something special, something worth thinking about.

With a surprisingly original and stable debut on the market the band started to tour, and has proved that the stage is where they thrive the most. Velvet Revolver hasn’t taken advantage of their past histories; in fact it seems they are working twice as hard to make sure people view them as a legitimate band and not a cash-in.

However, the band also knows how to pay tribute to their past. On their first tours, the band covered classics by STP (including “Sex Type Thing” and “Crackerman”) and Guns n’ Roses (including “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone”) along with Nirvana’s “Negative Creep” and The Sex Pistols’ “Bodies”.

As the band only has one album to draw material from, concertgoers can expect to hear at least some of these songs, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that aside from being a nice treat the STP and Guns n’ Roses songs sound great.

With only “Contraband” to their name, it is hard to tell the direction that Velvet Revolver is headed in, but it’s a good sign that the band is still together and still a touring powerhouse. After all, the odds against them lasting more then a month were pretty slim. Right now, Velvet Revolver is a hard-rocking, surprisingly well-thought out band that wants to fit in at a grimy dive bar but is probably more at home in an arena. And, as the band will surely prove at the Mullins Center on Tuesday: there’s nothing wrong with that.

Tickets are still available for the show, and if you purchase at the box office with your student ID, there is $10 off the standard price.