March 28, 2005 - Calgary, Canada - Pengrowth Saddledome

[ back to Concert Chronology 2005 ]

General Information

Date: March 28, 2005
Location: Calgary, Canada
Venue: Pengrowth Saddledome; 555 Saddledome Rise S.E., Calgary, AB T2G 2W1 [ Venue website ]
Box Office Number: (403) 777-4636
Additional Info: Special Guests were Three Days Grace.

Thanks to Andrew for the set list!

Set List

• Sucker Train Blues
• Do it for the Kids
• Headspace
• Superhuman
• Crackerman
• Illegal I
• Fall to Pieces
• Dirty Little Thing
• Big Machine
• It's So Easy
• Sex Type Thing
• Set Me Free
• You Got No Right
• Used to Love Her
• Mr. Brownstone
• Slither

Reviews (20) [ send in your own review/pictures of the Calgary show ]

Thanks to Jeff: I have been thinking the past 2 days about where this show ranked with others that I have seen and I would have to say it was tied for the best. (with seeing Ozzy) And I gained a whole new respect for Scott, he is by far the best performer I have ever seen. I really hope they come back, cause this show was awesome. I took a few too many shrooms, so I was feelin realllllly good, but I was disappointed not to hear more STP or GNR songs. The highlite by far was "Sex Type Thing" dude, I still have that first riff in my head. I found this site about a week before the concert and was looking at all the setlists, dude they NEVER change their set. But anyways, dude, my ears are still ringin and i'm not gay, but dude, Scott is fuckin hot, I'd do him.

Thanks to Ricardo: Needless to say, the boys lived up to expectations. The one disappointment was having to wait over an hour between bands. I will never understand why we need to wait so long - at least they showed (Axl you idiot - I'm still pissed about Vancouver).

The show started a bit slow and I thought I was headed for a boring evening (especially after TDG). After the first two songs, they came on like gangbusters. The adrenalin must have kicked in because Scott started kicking ass as did the rest of the band. Slash and Duff awesome as always - both in great shape compared to when I saw them in the Illusion tour - both bloated then, especially Duff. Kudos to Dave - this guy is a great addition and rocked as hard if not harder than anyone else. I'm a new fan of Weiland, as I didn't know what to expect. Not sure of the sex appeal to women though. He strutted around like a jacked-up chicken - very cool in his own way. You would never know this band was in their 40s.

As for the music, everyone knew the set list from the web beforehand so no surprises there. Sound was not great but not bad either (hey, I saw GNR at The House of Blues in Vegas (awesome sound) and at the Tacoma Dome (worst sound ever). Too bad they didn't have a larger repotoire of songs to choose from. A few Velvet Revolver songs were marginal but great to hear some old STP and GNR.

Finally to the idiots in the crowd - we are there to watch the band, not you! If you were neglected as a kid and are in desperate need of attention, don't try to make up for it at a concert!

Thanks to Teresa: This is the second time I have seen Velvet Revolver. I saw them last June in Seattle, they were pretty much just starting their tour and they were amazing. This concert.....they rocked us! They came back for two encores, Matt did an awesome drum solo, and Scott......as usual never disappoints. His vocals and lyrics are so f...ing amazing it blows me away. Thanks Velvet Revolver for the STP and G n'R memories, and finally, to Scott: Any gig you do is never "just another gig" to me. I want your heart and soul, cause that's what saves me!

Thanks to Dylan Beach: The concert was awesome. I have a new respect for them, they played like gods, and I'd see the show over and over. The best part was when they played the ballad "You Got No Right" and Slash brought out his double neck guitar. Their the best rockers out their and they know how to keep a crowd going. You got love Scott Weiland he's like the Mick Jagger of our generation!!!

Thanks to Joel Cameron: By far one of the best shows I've ever seen, wicked stage and lights, good crowd and Velvet Revolver was fanfucking tastic. I have to say as amazing as Slash was last night, Scott stole the show, that guy had more energy than I've ever seen in any performer and his vocals through the megaphone into the microphone were insane, he didn't miss very many notes and he can scream like hell too. Slash's solos were priceless I was hoping to see him play a lot longer but I was pretty satisfied with what I got to see. It was good to see a lot of the younger fans out last night, I'm 26 I've been a fan of both STP and GNR, and I bet most of the kids out last night weren't listening to music while either of these bands were in their prime. It was great to hear a bit of the old stuff but the Velvet Revolver material was prime. I was the most impressed with You Got No Right and Slither.

Awesome show, hope to see Velvet Revolver in Calgary again.

Thanks to keeween: Holy fuck, that was the most amazing show ever! Slash is so awesome and ahhh, I'm lost for words!

Thanks to Kort: The show can be summed up in three words, simply fuckin amazing! Not that anything else was expected. I figured I'd write in because you can't trust know nothing journalists to give a proper review.

Thanks to Ken Blake: It was my first concert with my boyfriend Danny and it was amazing!!!! We held each other during Fall To Pieces and I shed a tear. Scott is beautiful!!

Thanks to Mike Wilson: Awesome concert from start to finish. Three Days Grace did a good job of warming up the crowd but when Velvet Revolver took the stage the roof almost blew off the Saddledome. From reading past reviews it sounds like the attendance hasn't been great but the Saddledome was packed, even Slash said "Calgary, you have exceeded our expectations, this is why we do this" Highlights were: Fall to Pieces, Sex Type Thing, and Mr. Brownstone. All in all a great night had by all!!

Thanks to Kretr: DAMN MAN.....this Concert blew me out the fuckin door. I was at Metallica and that was great. But Velvet Revolver was just fuckin into it. I have to thank Slash and Duff for reaching out and shaking my hand. This show was un-fukin-real. To sum this up in 2 words....Velvet Revolver!!

Thanks to Alyc: This was the best rock show I have ever seen! Amazing! They played everything I wanted to hear and more! Although I don't understand why they never play "Loving the Alien"? Slash put on a clinic and they were loud! Nice work..

Thanks to Kelsey Roach: The concert was fucking amazing!!! Everyone was screaming and singing along. Everyone was going crazy! It was soo cool!! When they played Fall To Pieces, people had their lighters out and it was pretty cool. I'd say about 50% of the crowd had their Velvet Revolver merchandise on. It was awesome.

Thanks to Sarah: It rocked. The entire set was incredible. Scott Weiland sounded amazing, very raw and just great. Slash as always sounded exactly like the cd's. His solo's were right on. Duff has such a stage presence, he just works it.

The whole show put me in awe. It was the best day of my life. I was front centre until I couldn't breathe anymore.

Thanks to Matt: Slash has been my favorite guitar player forever. And that was amazing!! Slash was playing damn fast, compared to on DVD's and live vids. But that was fucking awesome. I think the setlist was the same as all the other R n F n R across Canada. That was great because I knew most of it which makes it more fun! Velvet Revolver ROCKS!! They had like a mini guitar dual with him and Kushner, and those video screens were awesome because you can see up close and stuff. Best concert ever, which I knew all along before it even happened. I hope they come back!!!!!

Thanks to Ray: Good show. I am a HUGE fan or the old GNR and Heavy Rock in general. This show showed me that there is still a glimmer of hope out there for rock music to be what it needs to be - HARD, HEAVY AND FULL OF ENERGY! Slash completed my guitarist trio that I had to see before I died! (Slash, Zakk, and Kirk) He did NOT dissapoint. Specially with the Slash/Dave Solo Duel in the middle of "Set Me Free". THAT was sick! They played a duel for about 5 minutes - both delivering exceptional soloing abilities (Slash kicked ass though).

As for sound quality, that's where the show lost some of it's rating. Could have been MUCH better if you could actually hear what in the hell the guitarist were actually palying. You had a clue, but you really had to pay attention. Slash's solo's seemed flawless and I wouldn't expect otherwise, but the only indication I had of him actually playing super fast was the close-ups of his fingers moving on the fretboard. WAY too much high gain in the mix.

As far as Three Days Grace goes, they fall in with all the other bands these days - NO TALENT! I had a band back home and WE were much better on stage then they were. Absolutly NO stage presence what so ever and their songs were ALL the same. Might as well play one big fucking 30 minute song all the while staying in the same damn melodic tune.

Highlights:
- GNR tunes and STP tunes played. Crowd went absolutly nuts when these songs were played.
- 2 Encore... nice touch... keeps us wanting more!
- THE TOP HAT!
- Cameramen focusing on girls making out and flashing between bands. Nice touch!

Overall, good, LOUD ass show. Good job Velvet Revolver! Bring Back R&R!

Thanks to Ryan Sem: What a great show, the concert it would take a million pages to write down all the good details, from all the Velvet Revolver songs, GNR songs and STP, to Slash coming onstage with a double neck guitar it really doesn't get much better. The band put on such a great show it was amazing, the sound quality was great and everyone did their part about 100 times better then I imagined. Duff was great, enjoying the old GNR songs like Mr. Brownstone, Slash as always blew the fucking crowd away with his flawless solo's (voice box) and amazing presences, Scott with his megaphone it really couldn't of gotten better, the drum solo of Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner's solo duel with Slash just couldn't of gotten better. This show kicked so much ass and I was lucky enough to sneak onto the floor. Three Days Grace did a good job opening up the show also, as I'm not a fan of them I still enjoyed their music and they did help pump the crowd up for the best rock n roll band...

Thanks to Jord: Now a big, big fan of this band would come here and say "it was sooo awesome!" which it was but yeah minus the faggoty crowd the show was good. The sound was good, their stage presence was good. It was what I expected so I wasn't let down... but not that there were no surprises when it comes to their set. I knew they'd have some STP and GNR covers but the songs of choice I didn't expect like Mr. Brownstone and Used to Love Her. So they had pleasant surprises and their sound was good. Was it a life changing event? No, it was a rock show.

Thanks to Kelli: Velvet Revolver was amazing. Scott Weiland was amazing to watch, as well as to listen to with Slash, Dave, Duff and Matt. Slash is definatly a guitar god. Such an amazing show, I only wish I could have gotten a little closer. The vibes were amazing. Best performance I have seen.

Thanks to Will: The show was awesome. The first two songs were Sucker Train Blues and Do It for the Kids and the last two were Mr. Brownstone and Slither, Mr. Brownstone got a huge reaction. It was the best concert I've ever been to, it was great!!

Thanks to Mike Bell from the Calgary Sun: Slash and Scott or Jake and Elwood?

You can understand the confusion considering in an interview with the Sun, prior to last night's Saddledome show by American rock supergroup Velvet Revolver, guitarist Slash talked like a Blues Brother.

His band is, he seemed to indicate, on a mission from God.

The mission?

To singlehandedly save rock 'n' roll.

The means?

A band featuring members of two premiere guitar-rock acts of the past

20 years -- '80s metal kings Guns N' Roses and '90s grunge heroes Stone Temple Pilots -- and a handful of songs.

Judging solely by Velvet Revolver's debut CD Contraband, you might think it was mission impossible.

The album, despite the pedigrees and hard-rock habits of its very hairy members, was missing that sloppy, dirty something it needed to succeed. (It did, after all, earn them a Grammy.)

But live, well, live is where they were expected to fulfil that prophecy and provide the salvation rock 'n' roll and the 7,500 or so local lovers sorely need.

While it wasn't a case of mission entirely accomplished, there was enough on display last night to at least give you hope.

The quintet, featuring GNRers Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, as well as STPer Scott Weiland and guitarist Dave Kushner, were a loud -- I mean loud -- and proud pulsating sonic onslaught.

There was nothing subtle or artistic about it. It was no-frills, ham-fisted and in-your-face, which is how and where Velvet Revolver's music is most effective.

Frontman Weiland, with megaphone and Freddie Mercury ensemble, rose above the muffled arena sound to prove a worthy rock focal point.

And the rest of the skinny, sweaty, tattooed frontline of Slash, Duff and Dave also proved a convincing crew of missionaries. Laying down a wall of relentless racket. Bullying you close to rock rapture. Contraband's Illegal I was a skronky, beautifully moronic jam and the ballady Fall to Pieces had more mass to it than a bloated Axl Rose.

Again, it wasn't rock 'n' roll nirvana but for those who love it heavy, loud and lummox-y, Velvet Revolver gave you at least a glimpse of hard rock heaven.

Opening up the show -- 40 minutes after it was scheduled to get underway -- was sludgey, musically uninteresting rock band Three Days Grace.

They are disappointing to watch, really, because the Toronto-based quartet puts such incredible amount of energy into sounding like so many other acts with their dark, one-note anthems of disaffected youth.

Sure, it was great they previewed some songs from their forthcoming sophomore CD, but if you could tell the difference between those and the ones from their self-titled debut -- save maybe for their angry hit I Hate Everything About You -- then you truly are an aficionado of teenage Canadian mope metal.