August 20, 2005 - Las Vegas, NV - Aladdin Casino and Resort

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General Information

Date: August 20, 2005
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Venue: Aladdin Casino and Resort; 3667 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109 [ Venue website ]
Box Office Number: 702-785-5555
Additional Info: Brian Tichy was a temporary replacement for Matt Sorum, who fractured his hand in a boating accident. Support Act: Chevelle and The Actual

Thanks to Matt for the setlist!

Set List

• Sucker Train Blues
• Do it For The Kids
• Headspace
• Superhuman
• Dead and Bloated
• Illegal I Song
• 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 (20) [ send in your own review/pictures of the Las Vegas show ]

Thanks to Kara: The show was awesome!!! Scott really knows how to put on a show.... every song kicked ass and Scott and Slash are f*%king hot!!

Thanks to James: I'll with an understatement, just because I am British.

Velvet Revolver were very good.

Tickets were a birthday gift from my girlfriend. We flew in from London two days earlier and the trip to Vegas kept getting better. A snooze in the afternoon took the edge off, and there we were. The first band was a bit generic, but Chevelle definitely warmed up the crowd. Clearly a local favourite and you couldn't have asked them to do their job any better.

The band were often sublime. Especially considering that at times it was an uphill struggle to make out Scott's vocals and Slash's soloing from where we were (close to the rear).

There were highlights - Slash soloing with that heavy distortion he has used before on tunes like "Anything Goes", Scott on the megaphone and the cover of "Wish You Were Here".

With much of the Contraband material, Velvet Revolver reached heights I haven't seen live in a long time. The melodic hooks that characterise a lot of their material so far really came over well live. So did the "tight but loose" (yes, I know the reference and I mean it) chunkiness of the rhythmn section. Seems like Duff's found his place in the world after all...

The venue struck me as odd to start with. It seemed like more a concert hall than a place to rock out. On reflection I think that suits the Velvet Revolver part of their name. For me they're little bit lounge and a little bit punk. It's a new edge and boy am I glad to have seen it live.

Thanks chaps. See you again.

Thanks to Mike: Came in for the show from Germany. No words. Great as ever (Munich and three times London before). Sorry but heard Crackerman and no Deep and Bloated and there was Brian Tichy on drums not any other drummer! Vegas crowd was American - like screaming during Chevelle and Velvet Revolver. After Scott's invitation in front of stage no rules anymore! These guys rock! Sleaze forever!

Thanks to Chris Reyes: Wow! What can I say. This was the third time I've seen Velvet Revolver and they didn't disappoint. I have seen them twice before in Phoenix. This topped it. It was a sold out performance, every seat was packed. Chevelle was okay...but as soon as Sucker Train Blues came on the place went nuts. Everyone in the audience knew every lyric to every song. It was crazy! Once Dead and Bloated came on, the place just went nuts. Second highlight was when the Velvet Revolver logo came when Slash started the high licks after the intro. Everyones eyes lit up. I would say that the Aladdin fits about 8,000 to 10,000 people and my friends got the last few tickets that were available. Everyone sang along with Wish You Were Here. I am a huge GNR fan but Scott was MVP that night. He got everyone on their feet hands in the air clapping for Sex Type thing. These guys are just getting bigger and bigger. Slither was the best song and they closed out with it. Awesome effects on Scott's voice for it..seemed like a reverb effect on the chorus. Finally the sound for the show was where it needed to be. In the past people have complained about it. What else to say. I recently bought a live GNR dvd for when they were on tour for the Use Your Illusions tour. I'm sorry there is no comparison. Velvet Revolver is the right combination of rock and sex. No fancy gimmicks. No huge stages and trumpet players and back up dancers like the DVD I have. All I can say is there's nothing better than leaving the Aladdin Theatre and hearing hundreds of people hurdling out yelling "I am smelling like the roses somebody gave me cause I'm dead and bloated!!!!" Fucking awesome.

Thanks to Alicia: Hey guys,

It has taken me forever to write but just wanted to say thanks to miss beautiful bunny Isabelle and her friend for chatting with me right before the show (I was a few rows back in a black corsety thing). I really had a magnificent time because it was Vegas and my 3rd show! I did notice the audio on Scott was a little off, but by that time I was so deliriously happy to have been fortunate enough to make my way to the ABSOLUTE front with no barriers or guards I could care less. I think the San Francisco show had the best sound, but the crowd energy was just unbeatable in Vegas. We were all so happy to be so close it was amazing! Oh yeah, and I was screaming and jumping up and down because Scott pointed at me! I didn't think he did until the guy next to me said, "Dude, Scott just pointed at you!!" A definite high point, even if it's all in my head.

Thanks to Lexa: I thought the show was great! I really didn't notice the sound problems much although I guess you could attribute that to the adult beverages I had! I loved the venue and would see them again there in an instant even though it's a two hour flight for me to get there.

Thanks to ajtrau: Well I guess I'm not as lucky as most of you guys who always seem to end up in the front row (how do you do that anyways!??!), but I still think it was the most amazing Velvet Revolver concert I've ever seen, probably because I was able to be right up at the stage for about two songs before the security guards made me go back to my seat! I loved that they played almost two hours and that we didn't have to wait that long in between Chevelle's set and theirs. I've been to two other concerts in Seattle and both of them were short sets after having to wait an hour or so, so this was a huge improvement! The sounds wasn't as good as it could have been but I was already in heaven so I didn't even notice!

Thanks to isabelle guns: The theoretical short walk from my room to the hotel lobby felt like minutes on end. I was anxious as the elevator stopped on various floors before finally hitting the Aladdin theater level. I did it Donnie Darko style tonight with my best friend Aaron.

We had gold circle FRONT ROW tickets! We felt like rock royalty for the night.

"The Actual" from California were the first opening band of the evening. They were pretty decent. Their sound is pop punk.

The second openers "Chevelle" from Chicago. They just rocked the floor. I gave them a standing ovation after their set.

Velvet Revolver were fashionably late as usual, however, as soon as they hit the first few notes to Suckertrain Blues, I was on a high. Even though Matt Sorum was replaced by Billy Idol's drummer, the band still looked tight.

The only two major problems of the evening were the sound engineering and those in the audience who think they're on American Idol singing along who sound awful. It was bad enough that Scott's vocals were barely audioable but that I had to hear a bunch of drunk dudes trying to sing "Fall to Pieces." I've heard dying horses sound better. I sing along but I lip synch 'cause there's no point belted out the lyrics back....the band can't hear me. People, myself included paid to hear Scott sing, not me.

Matt still hung with the band in spite of his wrist injury. He surprised both the band and the audience during the show when he came out and sang back-up on"Set Me Free."

After the show, Aaron and I received two backstage passes to meet the band. We only met Matt joked with him about how watching too much porn resulted in the sprained wrist and not a boating accident as published in the media. We got our autographs and pictures and then called it a night.

Another fabulous night in Las Vegas with one of the best bands on the radio right now.

Thanks to devian_702: I guess good sound board men in Vegas are hard to find?
Not the first major act to roll through town. Booked at a good venue, to only end up sounding muted and hollow.

Chevelle opened up bout 8:40 (late) Couldn't hear singer for shit till levels were corrected about mid set. Sounded pretty good by the time they wrapped it up at 9:10 with "The Clincher". Velvet Revolver took the stage at (9:30) Couldn't hear Scott at all. Only when he used his bullhorn could you make out a word or too. Comes time to play their killer power ballad "Falling". And what do you know.....you could hear the whole 4000 seat house singing along (off key). Not Scott...the house. Damn.

Slash was in fine form and all in all it would been a hell of a show. If I could have heard Weiland.

Another Vegas show fell victom to a sound man (or whoever) who can't fuckin hear.

Thanks to Ron: The show fucken rocked...there were so many hot older chicks it was fucken unreal.....thank you Velvet Revolver for saving Rock N Roll...

Thanks to Dave: Velvet Revolver rocked. I had seen STP many times, but this was my first time seeing Velvet Revolver. Scott was in a Vegas state of mind, saying multiple times to the crowd that they were getting F**ked by Velvet Revolver & quoting the Vegas line, "what happens here stays here." During "Sex Type Thing" Scott went out in to the crowd for about 10 minutes trying to get the crowd to sing along to the "here I come" part of the song, comparing it to a orgasm, starting slow & finishing strong. Later during "Set Me Free" Matt Sorum made an apperance singing backing vocals. They played 2 encore's covering Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here," & ending the show with "Slither." Great show, a highlight of my weekend in Vegas.

Thanks to Michelle: This was my 6th Velvet Revolver show. I was right up front the past three shows, but I was back in seating this time, not neary as fun. The show was good though....no Matt on drums, although he did make an appearance and sang a few lines on Set Me Free. Scott came way out into the audience and did a little sex rant which was kind of cool. He also sang Dead and Bloated which was good and different. Can't wait for the new album and some new material. Dave kicks ass as always. He is a lot of fun to watch, as is everyone else.

Thanks to Rex: Best concert I have ever seen. Scott, Slash, Duff, Dave and Brian were at their best. Completely and utterly kicked ass. Show was about 1 hour 45 minutes long. The worst part was the crowd. Why do these people come to the show??? Half of them were more excited to see Chevelle. And another quarter seemed to have no idea the icons that were onstage. The rest of us went nuts. I am 37, getting old. I remember GNR and STP at the top of their game and started playing the guitar specificaly because of Slash's influence. For me, it was a big deal to see these guys live. I was jumping up and down and pumping my fist to every song and singing along to every verse. Other folks were standing there like they were watching a Wayne Newton concert. It was a real buzzkill because I thought Velvet Revolver deserved a better audience. And this was Las Vegas. I feel like WE let THEM down. Those of us who knew them tried to make up for the "hey, who are those guys?" people in the crowd by giving more energy, but it would have been cool if all 7,500 people in the theater had had the same energy. And why, oh, why, oh why, do the people who care about the band the least get the best seats. The well-connected high-rollers get the gold circle seats right onstage (especially in Vegas) and sit on their hands, while the real fans in the ticketmaster crap seats go f***king berzerk. Duff and Slash made great efforts to go to the ends of the stage to get closer to the fans cheaper far side seats ... and THOSE people went crazy. Seriously, they need to allocate tickets differently. Put the fans in front and let the people who just want to see any show that happens to be in the venue sit in the freakin balcony so that the true fans can give the energy back to the band. Half of them couldn't even sing along to "Wish you were here" because they didn't know the words. For crying out loud!!!!! Send these people to the Barry Fucking Manilow Concert at the Hilton, and free up the good seats already.

Great show. When they come back to Vegas, I'm there. But I am going to go to great lengths to get great seats. Even if I have to bribe a casino employee.

They played the same Illinois set list, in the same order.

I would like to add that Scott Weiland is one of the few performers who sound better live than on recordings. His range is incredible, and I feel that it doesn't fully come through on recordings. On Saturday night, I realized what an exceptional vocalist he was. I was in the bathroom and I overheard a conversation by two guys in their mid-30's"If Scott's on Heroin, it's worth it. The world needs that kind of talent".

He came out about 10 rows into the audience during Sex Type Things, and really appreciated the fans.

To be 100% honest, I went to the show primarily to see Slash and Duff ... and I came away a huge Scott Weiland fan. As a frontman, he exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. At the risk of delusional, he is a better vocalist than Axl. Yes, he does not have the screech down - but he is much more versatile vocally, and his stage presense is every bit as impressive. His stage presence is that of a 100% entertainer, with real talent.

Anyway, that came to mind after the first post.

My email address is: hollywoodrt@downtownla.net

Thanks to Candace Rivas: A New Adventure...

This trip was very exciting for me and nerve wrecking at the same time. I have taken hundreds of photos of Velvet Revolver since their inception but this time I decided I would obtain photo passes to photograph the band up front with some freedom to move around. I was hoping to get some awesome shots of Velvet Revolver to share here on this site. I was able to secure the photo passes but did this in the last three days prior to this show and I didn't have much time to prepare. I knew my digital wasn't going to cut it, but I would have kicked myself to pass up such an opportunity. I also did it for my good friend Wendy who I wanted to share the experience with because she is extremely gifted and will someday be a famous rock n roll photographer just look at her pics in her profile.

I've never been to a show at the Aladdin Hotel and I was pleasantly surprised that for the size of the venue it was set up to create an intimate atmosphere. I would definitely see Velvet Revolver there again and highly recommend this venue to anyone who wants to see their favorite artists in Vegas. The stage is only waist high level and there is no barrier between the stage and the audience. The bouncers and ushers were very present and made sure no one but those with ticket stubs were entering the lower Gold Section. This allowed those who paid the pretty price for the Gold Section the opportunity to really enjoy the entire show without pushing, shoving or crowd surfing. The people who paid the pretty price to be in the front definitely got their pennies worth, like the furry bunny we met there Isable guns, lol.

We were led to the front of the stage at 9:30 p.m. and once again Velvet Revolver began the show right on time. There were no long gaps between sets and I love and appreciate a tight schedule. We were able to shoot only the first two songs "without flash". The lights went out and there they were right in front of us five photographers who were allowed to shoot. Before the second song started Scott asked the audience in front to stand up and come up to the stage, so then we were among about 30 people for the second song. After the second song we had to get out of the front section leave the entire venue and then re-enter the venue. That was the hardest part and a disappointment but with such privileges you have to follow the rules. I think one photographer stayed front and center for the entire show, lol.

From the second tier near the lowest Gold section I watched the rest of the show. I really enjoyed the show from where I was standing. It was actually fun to be back a little bit from the stage in with the crowd dancing and rocking out. I've never been anywhere else but front row and I think I am a little spoiled, now I really appreciate what great shows and great times I've had at prior shows. Scott really had the crowd going. I think there was about 6000 in attendance, an almost sold out show. I remember seeing seas of hands clapping, something I have never seen at a Velvet Revolver show. Scott went into the crowd and spoke to the crowd and said,"let's see if we can bring this thing to a climax", so he took his time simulating an orgasm that was funny. Seeing and hearing a substitute drummer was definitely interesting, Mark Schullman did a fine job. I've never seen Matt sing so that was a treat and a surprise when he appeared on stage.

I've met Max Bernstien of the the Actual before through Doug Grean. Doug Grean and Scott Weiland are producing them and I was very interested in seeing and hearing them play "live". I missed it but was able to chat with them after the show. They were in the lobby selling merchandise and signing autographs. They are really nice young starving musicians, lol who seem to have alot of ambition and enough energy to make it big. I've heard nothing but great things about the band and I really need to purchase their LP so I can give them a listen.

I think I've seen Velvet Revolver now more than 12 times and this was my third show in Vegas. I'm always saying ok this is it no more I'm throwing in the towel but I keep wanting to see more. This show at the Aladdin was once again a most excellent Velvet Revolver show and another great night in Vegas!

Thanks to Kelly: What can I say....they are awesome!!! This was my 4th time seeing them and am becoming quite the Velvet Revolver snob. Caught the Las Vegas show in the beginning back in June last year, their 1st stadium show in Arizona Oct, and the "Pond" in the OC. The sound was a little off in the beginning this time but when they tuned it in, Slash and the guys were amazing! Kinda bummed they didn't play Come on, Come In but didn't know they plugged in but another drummer for Matt. Was great to see him come out on stage during the show. I told my hubby, look, they're a family, they back each other. I am getting way too nostalgic about seeing them live. Definately goin' to have to get up front the next time. Until then, I'm outie.

Thanks to Franco: The show KICKED ASS. The first band was okay. Chevelle was better. But they did not come close to Velvet Revolver. It was loud and everyone was into them. The only thing that could have made it better if the sound techs could have made Scott's vocals louder. The band was rocking out so loud that it sometimes drowned out the vocals. Other than that the show was killer lasting about 1hr 40min. I would definitely be going out to see them again. Hopefully Matt is back by the time they come around again.

Thanks to Alicia Abeyta: This being the 3rd show I have seen, (the other two being Santa Barbara and San Fran.) this was by far the absolute best! The sound was magic and the band just had an amazing stage presence and chemistry the audience could definitely feel. The extra-long rendititon of Sex Type Thing was artistically creative and truly just rocked. I heard one fan liken Slash to a modern-day Hendrix. It was an assigned-seating show, but at the beginning Scott told the front audience to "come a little closer," so many of us extremely lucky fans were able to stand right at the stage end! I especially love how Scott came into the audience during Sex Type Thing, and also how injured Matt Sorum came out to sing backup for a bit. All in all, the best show of any band I have ever seen!

Thanks to Shaun: My first Velvet Revolver show and it was fuckin intense. Basically did all of Contraband, plus Mr Brownstone, So Easy and Sex Type Thing... one of the encores was Wish You Were Here and the whole place was just on fire by that point. Awesome show, excellent set, good light work, plus it was Vegas so full bar only 5 feet from the entrances.

Thanks to Greg Chrisman: Velvet Revolver rocked. I've seen over 120 bands in concert in my 20 years of going to concerts. I have to admit Scott was by far 1 of the top 3 lead singers I have ever seen. We got to Vegas Thursday, got married on Fri, saw Velvet Revolver Sat. Velvet Revolver rocked the house. Non-stop. Just an awesome show. Thanks Velvet Revolver. Thanks Vegas. Hope to see you both again soon.

Thanks to Travis: It was a great show and they played a long set list but I wish they played "Come on, Come in" as in the last few shows but they did not this time. Matt Sorum although injured and not playing came out and sang backup vocals on "Set Me Free". Scott also talked about recording a new record this fall. In my mind they will only get better.

Thank you Velvet Revolver for another rocking show!!