May 17, 2005 - Cleveland, OH - Tower Amphitheater

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General Information

Date: May 17, 2005
Location: Cleveland, OH
Venue: Tower Amphitheater; 351 Canal Road, Cleveland, OH 44113 [ Venue website ]
Box Office Number: 440-247-2722
Additional Info: Support Act: Modern Day Zero and Hoobastank

Thanks to Ryan 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
• Wish You Were Here
• You Got No Right
• Mr. Brownstone
• Slither

Reviews (22) [ send in your own review/pictures of the Cleveland show ]

Thanks to Joe Battisti: A few buddies and me went to go and see Velvet Revolver on Tuesday the 17th at TowerCity. The show was amazing, the played all the song that you spoke of in the same order. Velvet Revolver put on one hell of a show and when the 27th of August comes we are going to Cinci to go see them again. We were front row dead center at TowerCity. IF anyone wants to see some good screen shots of Velvet Revolver e-mail me @ Battisti22@yahoo.com. One thing I didn't like is that Scott Weiland was talking about that they are going to have a new song on the Fantasic Four soundtrack, and it was recorded in Cleveland, since that is where Scott is from, but anyways they didn't say the name of the song or play it even tho they said they would. Never the less I will be back front row rocking out, in Cinci and driving to go to OzFest.

Thanks to John Soeder from The Plain Dealer: Scott Weiland did a slo-mo striptease during Velvet Revolver's tent-quaking performance Tuesday night at Tower City Amphitheater.

The lithe singer stormed the stage like a glam general. He was dressed to thrill in a white jacket, black pants, vest and shirt, a red necktie, dark aviator glasses and a military cap.

Off came the jacket for "Do It for the Kids," a mosher's delight.

Off came the vest for the cathartic yet catchy "Headspace."

Off came the tie for "Crackerman," a throwback to Weiland's previous group, Stone Temple Pilots.

By the time he ventured deep into the 5,000-strong crowd in the middle of "Sex Type Thing," another Stone Temple Pilots tune, Weiland had shed everything but his pants and cap.

"I grew up in this fair city in my formative years," said the former Chagrin Falls resident.

"It's always special coming back."

His new band finds him in stellar company, including Guns N' Roses alumni Slash on guitar, Duff McKagan on bass and Matt Sorum on drums, as well as ex-Suicidal Tendencies member Dave Kushner on guitar.

A locomotive rendition of "Sucker Train Blues" got the gig off on the right track, complete with blinding strobe lights.

Velvet Revolver's visceral sound was a hard-rocking pastiche, with nods not only to the high style of STP and the swagger of GN'R but also to Aerosmith and other blues-loving, classic-rock forebears.

Weiland, 37, flaunted one of the best rock 'n' roll growls in the business, which he filtered through a megaphone at times. The guy shook some mean maracas, too, while Slash - the spawn of Jimmy Page and Cousin Itt - kept the dazzling guitar heroics coming.

Alongside "Set Me Free," "Big Machine," the show-stopping power ballad "Fall to Pieces" and other selections from Velvet Revolver's debut album, "Contraband," the 90-minute concert was padded with several GN'R favorites, including "Mr. Brownstone."

A generous encore commenced with a mellow stab at Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and culminated with Velvet Revolver's own Grammy-winning hit "Slither."

Thanks to Troy Smith: I was completely blown away by Velvet Revolver set. They sounded just like the album and the show was a whole lot of fun. There set rocked from start-to-finish. The first encore of "Wish You Were Here" was complety amazing. The stage set up, the lights and all the banners and the big screens definitely added a nice effect to the show. The crowd was very in to it and that made the show even better. Hoobastank was good, it's always hard when you open for a big, crowd-frenized band like Velvet Revolver to get the crowd going but they did there best and there set was fun. Modern Day Zero was the opener and I never heard of them and they were not anything special. Velvet Revolver was without a doubt one of the best peformances I've seen in a long time!

Thanks to Ryan D: Hoobastank was garbage. They came out and basically apologized for being there and had zero confidence in themselves as a band. (I bumped into them at Hard Rock the next night and they also seem to be embarassed to be Hoobastank in person as well, which is very sad.)

I'd give this show 2/5 stars. I'm biased, I'm a HUGE Velvet Revolver fan, love em... but I have to be honest. The crowd was terrible, the people in the front were very selfish and the sound mix was just absolutely terrible. The minute Slash went into a monstrous guitar solo, all I heard was feedback. Weiland was almost unhearable at times and the vocal mix sounded metallic when I could hear it.

Disappointed, but the next night in Pittsburgh was light years better all the way around.

Thanks to Natalie Shaffer: I don't think Velvet Revolver could have done it any better. I would have to say it was the best concert I have ever seen and heard. The concert rocked, it was so awesome and I even got a guitar pick from Duff!!!! That is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I also got the setlist from Hoobastank which was pretty sweet!! I think that the songs were great and there isn't one thing that I would suggest to change, except maybe a different opening band because I think I was literally the only person who went crazy over Hoobastank! But Velvet Revolver definately pumped up the crowd, everyone was going nuts and it was awesome when Slash used a lighter to play his guitar with and swung it behind his head and played, that was very impressive! Everything about the concert rocked hardcore, I don't think I could describe it in any more words. I am definitely going to see these guys again.

Thanks to Lisa: Wow! Velvet Revolver is incredible! Except for the moshing, which was annoying, this was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. The band is so intense and into their music. Slash is just a guitar icon and Scott gave a perfect performance! I definitely think they give you your moneys worth! If you get a chance to see them, go!

Thanks to Redwine: This was the second time that I saw Velvet Revolver. The first time was at Rolling Rock and it was nice not to have to deal with the mud. The show was general admission which was great. I got up front early and managed to stay in the second row for the entire show. The show was good but there were quite a few sound problems. There was one point where the guys all seemed to be off beat for a few seconds. They were able to pull it back together but whoever was working the soundboard wasn't doing very good or it was equipment problems. The lights were awesome and so was the background. I couldn't see all that much scenery due to being up front. They did a good job performing Wish You Were Here and the crowd seemed to enjoy it but I don't think it was a good choice for them. They have enough STP and GNR songs to cover, they don't need to do Floyd. On the last song, Slither, Scott really belted it out and added some kick to the song, he really did a great job. I took lots of pictures and will post them soon. Everyone I was with enjoyed the show, it was really good, I just think they could have done better.

Thanks to Kyle: Holy shit I thought I seen it all at the Cinci show but I didn't these guys pulled out a show 10 times as good as in Cleveland. People went crazy for them. Hoobastank even did an ok performance. At least they admitted that their songs sucked. My favorites were Sex Type Thing, Wish You Were Here, Fall To Pieces, Crackerman and of course as always SLITHER!

The best part I'd say was Dave rockin out in Mr. Clean shirt. FUCK YA MR CLEAN RULES ALL!!!

Thanks to Brandon: FUCKING AMAZING!!!!! They rocked the place from the moment they took the stage. I could listen to Slash play all night long and Scott Weiland is a great performer. I loved the second encore with Mr. Brownstone and Slither. It was the perfect way to end the night. Overall the best rock concert I have been to and definitely want to see them again.

Thanks to Heidi: Wow. This show was so good, it was ridiculous. I've been to a lot of concerts and this was easily in the top 5. Didn't see the openers, so no review on them. However, if anyone is unsure about whether to pony up the dough and go see these guys, it is well worth it.

Thanks to Staci: I went to this show and it rocked! Plus, I videotaped some of it (unbeknownst to the security). Slash looked and sounded good, along with Duff and Matt. Dave was very energetic and Scott was beyond energetic. He was CRAZY! He went into the crowd....and was only like 10-20 feet away from me! I know it seems like a lot, but it isn't. He also looked into my camera. Slash saw me waving my camera and he pointed at me and laughed at the fact that I sneeked it in. A lot of pot-smokers there, but I still had a kick-ass time. I can't wait to go to another one hopefully soon!

Thanks to Megan: This was my first rock concert I have ever been to so I didn't know what to expect. Well all I have to say is that seeing Velvet Revolver was the best show I have ever seen. It was non stop excitment. I can't wait for them to see them perform again.

Thanks to crazy diamond: Five star was a fucking bomb!!!! Soooooo not worth it..oh, and to the little fucking punks that kept slamming into my wife. Better hope I do not ever see you again!!!!!! Now, having said that, the concert was absolutely bad-ass!!! As always firing on all eight cylinders...Just amazing....

Thanks to Eric Stacey: Great show-awsome-best of the 3 times I've seen them (I was near the front, which helps). Same set list as usual-the opening (Sucker Train Blues)was the most intense feeling at a concert I've ever had. I've always been a huge Guns N Roses fan but Scott Weiland is simply amazin. You're always watching him. His voice was great. He may have surpassed Axl as far as intensity goes. Place was packed-heard people on the way out, who must have gotten free tickets saying they would pay next time if they had to. What else can I say?

Thanks to David Buttdarts: This show ruled! Not as good as the first time I saw them, but good none the less. Best rock band on the planet right now is Velvet MOTHER FREAKIN REVOLVER!

Thanks to Brian: Great Show in Cleveland. This was the first time I'd seen these guys (as Velvet Revolver) and they were better live than I expected. Loud, energetic and raunchy...just the way I like 'em! Crowd was great too! I could have done without "Wish You Were Here" (it just didn't fit with the rest of the show), but all-in-all it was a rockin' time! You can tell when bands are just "going through the motions" and there was definitely NO sign of that with these guys! They love what they're doing. Slash was awesome. I could listen to him all night. If you've got a chance to see them, I recommend that you take advantage of it!

Thanks to Kyle: Velvet Revolver blew me away last night. They are by far the most exciting entertainers I have ever seen live. Scott Weiland is amazing on stage.

Thanks to Sarah: Well this was my first real concert and holy shit it was fucking AMAZING!!!!!I was 15 feet from Slash and Scott!!!! Aaahh they did Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. The opening band Modern Day Zero were good they did Whole Lot of Love by Zepplin. Hoobastank did a great job by getting every one pumped up. As soon as Velvet Revolver came on I was the center of a mosh pit and for a 4'11 16 year old girl in a mosh pit full of guys I did pretty good.. got beer pored all over me but I didn't break ne thing! All I can say it was FUCKING AMAZING!!!!

Thanks to Garrett Waite: This was my second time seeing Velvet Revolver and I suppose I can not write as an exciting report as I did for my first show: I knew what to expect. The first opening band was soo awful I will not even mention their name. I've heard all sorts of bitching about Hoobastank opening, but they did what they were supposed to: get us pumped and ready for the main act. So I enjoyed their performance since the first band was awful and they didn't steal the show. One improvement over the fall show I saw in Chicago was that the band took the stage in 40 minutes instead of 90 minutes. The setlist was longer, though hardly changed.

Not any memorable quotes from the guys tonight, but before Fall To Pieces Scott punked us saying they wrote a new song for the Fantastic Four soundtrack, and then proceeded to play FTP, and I was upset. During Sex Type Thing Scott came to the left side of the crowd about half way back for the "here I come, I come, I come, I come" bit. Dirty Little Thing and You Got No Right were good to hear and I think WYWH was a great substitution for Used To Love Her. Duff wasn't as loud as he was in the fall and Slash came through more clearly. However, some of his first solos were just downright sloppy. I'm, sorry, I know he's very skilled, but he had some bad solos. His best work on Contraband and of the night was on the slower songs: Fall To Pieces, Wish You Were Here and You Got No Right. My only complaint is that this show was general admission, so I had to deal with all the idiots: the ones who shove, push, mosh, blow smoke in your face, cut in front of you, worm their way to the front and THROW THEIR F*&%ING $5 BEERS ON YOU!!! At any show there will be idiots, but I moved back because they were getting out of hand. So, just because I don't like floor seating, I'd call the two shows even. It was worth the 4 1/2 hour drive and the wait. They didn't have much new merchandise: just a tour book and a few new shirt designs.

Thanks to Ryan: The place was packed. I was about ten people/rows from the stage. In fact, at the end of the show, Duff threw his pic into the crowd and it bounced off a guy in front of me, then ONTO MY BOOT, then to the ground behind me where the kid behind me grabbed it. I was so close! Oh well!

Velvet Revolver came out approximately 55 minutes after Hoobastank ended its set, which drove me crazy, but the wait built up my adrenaline. Two screens were set up on the sides/front of the stage. Between bands, commercials for the Fantastic Four movie and some Evil Keneival TV show were shown on them. Then finally, after much anticipation, there was an emcee that introduced the band -- just like the old Rock days, and very similar to GNR introductions. Something like, "CLEVELAND, OHIO! YOU WANTED IT, YOU GOT IT! LIVE, FROM HOLLYWOOD, Velvet Revolver!"

They also had two big posters of their album cover (black, with the red silhouette of the sexy woman with the gun), one on each side of the stage. Above the band was just a black banner at first. Then after about 2-3 songs, it dropped to show a white banner with red letters reading "Rock Fuck'n Roll" (or something like that) -- and with two sexy poses of that silhouetted woman with her gun.

Then, after 4-5 more songs, that banner dropped to reveal "Velvet Revolver" in small lights. The big "Velvet Revolver" was positioned kinda between the words Velvet Revolver and Revolver. They (variation of) blinked and flashed and just stayed lit for the rest of the show.

They're so animated on stage. They cross each other on stage a lot, Slash got a lot of awesome solos and mini-solos and they play off each other so well. They were running and jumping to end songs, it was great.

Scott Weiland grew up in Garfield Heights (Cleveland) from ages 4-11, or something like that, so he gave Cleveland some special praise. He said he knows it's the home of Rock and Roll. He also said it's like a homecoming every time he comes back for a show here. He said he still considers the city home, or at least one of them.

Crackerman was awesome. To hear Velvet Revolver -- basically GNR -- play STP was incredible. I hate to use meaningless superlatives, but I'm serious. It never sounded so good. Illegal I Song was the first real "jam" song. Slash played one of those vocal wah-wah gadgets in his mouth, connected to his guitar (like Dave Gilmour in Pink Floyd's "Pulse") and had a huuuuuuge solo, at least five minutes long.

Fall To Pieces was soooooooooo good live. Everyone sang along and the band was perfectly tight and "together." Big Machine was awwwwwesome. They tricked it up slightly so that the heavy parts sounded extra heavy to contrast the extra-quiet softer parts. Slash had solos in just about every other song, but none as long as Illegal I Song.

I can't even describe the mood when they played "It's So Easy." I had been waiting all night for a GNR song and they finally played one. That opening riff gives you time to recognize and react to the song, too, which was great. Not everyone knew the GNR songs, but most of the people seeemed to. There were a lot of older people there.

Two of the three most memorable songs of the night closed the first set. "Sex-Type Thing" was probably THE most memorable performance. During the song, Weiland got off stage and walked beside and through the crowd, then crowd-surfed in the MIDDLE (far side) OF THE FREAKIN' VENUE! He was literally about 30-40 yards from the stage, where he stayed perched on fans' shoulders for another 5 minutes while he talked to the crowd and had them sing along, "Here I come, I come, I come, I come."

Then he made his way back to the stage -- where the band kept the beat the whole time, tricking it up here and there. And no kidding, I started a whole impromptu clap to the beat that Weiland (soon after) encouraged people to join! (This was right before he left the stage to join the crowd.)

Then "Set Me Free" was the first closer. They extended it, but kept the beat persistant throughout. They trick-ended it 2-3 times before finally finishing the tune. The place was going NUTS. The band was reeeeeeeally into this song.

Several moving (spinning/panning rather) cameras were positioned on stage and even one in front of the drumset, which allowed for it to be showed on the big TV screens during the show. There was one actual cameraman that I saw who helped. I thought that was really cool and fan-friendly. During some songs, other video -- like a sexy woman with guns dancing, or their actual videos, and even one actual kickboxing match between two Asian dudes -- interspliced with the Live footage being taped (by the various cameras). The Live footage was basically just like you'd see on a DVD of their concert, etc. Seamless editing, even as it was happening.

The first break seemed like 5-10 minutes. The lights above the stage flashed while the roadies set up the stage for the encore, which included a bar stool in front of the main microphone. I thought maybe it meant they'd play "Patience," but instead they shocked us and played Wish You Were Here! KICK ASS! They sang the chorus twice, which was nice. Great cover, I hope they record it sometime.

Slash was also, for the first time all night, donning his famous top hat that he always wore back in the GNR days. I was pumped! (He also had a solo for about 3-5 minutes, where he played some song by himself before Weiland came back on stage and complimented him. Then they played WYWH.)

You Got No Right was great, but it wasn't a "closer." I knew they'd come back for a second encore, even though that's rare for bands to do anymore. I kept anticipating the opening notes to Welcome To the Jungle or Paradise City. That would have been insane.

About five minutes later, Matt Sorum jogged back onstage and climbed over the front of his drumset and broke into a solo. (Sweeeeeeeeet.) Then the bandmates came out and Matt broke into the beginning of You Could Be Mine -- and I think Duff joined him. Slash soon followed with that long guitar note held at the beginning of that tune, if my memory serves me correctly.

But just as that part ended, Matt Sorum broke into the drum beat to "Mr. Brownstone." WOO HOO!! What a cover! It felt indescribably good to hear the heart of GNR playing GNR Live. Especially one of my favorite GNR songs.

After that song, they all busted into this funky beat and it was hard to make out what song they were playing. After a minute or so, the bass melody for "Slither" matched the drum beat and the band played that song. They made it a great closer.

(And as they left the stage, Slash invited everyone to the Motel 6 where they were staying -- to hang out/party, of course.)

WHAT A SHOW!!!

Thanks to Tim: Best concert I've seen!! Even through the 4 1/2 drive to get there and the terrible thunderstorm. Scott & Slash put on an awesome show!

Thanks to Don: This show rocked. Get ready because these guys are the real deal. I won't be able to hear for at least 2 day because it was so loud.