August 31, 2004 - Glasgow, Scotland - Glasgow Carling Academy

[ back to Concert Chronology 2004 ]

General Information

Date: August 31, 2004
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Venue: Glasgow Carling Academy; 121 Eglinton Street, Glasgow G5 9NT Scotland [ Venue website ]
Box Office Number: 0870 771 2000
Additional Info: Support Act: Backyard Babies. 'Spectacle' was played live for the second time ever.

Thanks to Mitch and Cookiemonster for the set list.

Set List

• Sucker Train Blues
• Do It For The Kids
• Spectacle
• Headspace
• Crackerman
• Illegal I Song
• Fall To Pieces
• Big Machine
• Set Me Free
• Used To Love Her
• Slither
• Sex Type Thing
• It's So Easy
• Negative Creep

Reviews (13) [ send in your own review/pictures of the Glasgow show ]

Thanks to Moose: The show was amazing!!! I went early in hope of seeing the guys did see Slash on the bus as he arrived and got pictures of Matt Sourm and his autogragh, he was the only to come out and sign, although I heard Duff was out also I missed him.

The show itself was as I said amazing, Scott gave us one hell of a show and Slash was... well he was Slash. Their set list could not have been better. A night I will never forget and I hope they come back. Ohh almost forgot those shoes Slash was wearing one red one blue I saw them before the show which to me was really cool.

Thanks to Cookie Monster: The show was fuckin awesome. We and my two friends were the first in the queue and first in the door so we were at the front barrier in the middle. Great view. Backyard Babies (the support band) were really good, one of the best support acts I've seen in a while. Had to wait quite a while for all the instruments to be tuned up for Velvet Revolver but it was well worth the wait. When they first came on Slash was top-hatless which was slightly disappointing but he put it on later, after the first encore if my memory is working. Duff took centre stage for his bass part during Sucker Train Blues and he was looking exceptionally well for someone who's pancreas has exploded! All seemed to go well (no chants for Guns N'Roses) until Used to Love Her when Scott looked seriously pissed off. Don't really know why because lots of people were singing during Crackerman and Sex Type Thing too. Dave Kushner is very underated, his guitar parts were very good. Slash wowed everyone by playing the guitar behind his head, in fact just seeing him play it at all was so good. The highlights of the concert was getting Slash and Duff to smile at me though! I took my tophat along to the concert with me which I held up when Slash looked over and he put his thumb up at me and smiled and Duff smiled at me and my friends when we held up the sign saying "Velvet Revolver Please Queue here" that we stole from the outside barrier. Hope Scott feels appreciated too because I love Stone Temple Pilots stuff as well as Guns stuff. Thanks for such a bloody great concert!

Thanks to Joe Muggs from The Telegraph: Rock music is back, finally. The '90s were dominated by self-pitying ultra-dour grunge music from the likes of Nirvana, followed by the "screw you mom, I won't tidy my bedroom" brattishness of rap-infused "nu metal" from Limp Bizkit and co.

Now, however, it seems that the mood is right again for a return to the impassioned, ridiculous, excessive glories of classic rock and metal. The success of The Darkness and the film School of Rock have shown that the audience is out there for over-the-top guitar solos, bare chests, big hair and shameless passion. Maybe the audience never went away and it was only the fickle music industry which turned its back on the rockers. Certainly in Glasgow, the sell-out Academy crowd showed every sign of never having stopped loving their rock.The troll-like Swedish support act Backyard Babies were able to make irony-free announcements such as: "Fulfil your destiny, believe in yourself and believe in rock 'n' roll!" to an equally irony-free roar of approval from the audience.This roar was as nothing, however, to the pandemonium which greeted the night's headliners. Velvet Revolver comprise three-fifths of the biggest, baddest, most ludicrous rock band of the Eighties – Guns N' Roses – with their bloated paranoid singer Axl Rose replaced by the leaner, fitter, punkier Scott Weiland of grunge/metal act Stone Temple Pilots. From the outset, though, their set proved they are not a revivalist supergroup. Their first four songs were all new, yet the Glaswegians threw themselves around to the churning guitar riffs and sang along gleefully to every word. Weiland and bassist Duff McKagan looked fitter than men of their age have any right to be, especially given that both have recently recovered from addiction. When the crowd spontaneously started chanting "Duff Duff Duff" at their hero during the solos in "Illegal i Song", the band all looked visibly touched. The reactions continued getting giddier, until the mere appearance of guitarist Slash's trademark top hat almost brought the house down. It was the band's astonishingly tight playing, though, that underpinned this enthusiasm.

Their set did include a smattering of G N' R and Stone Temple Pilots songs, but against the odds, these rock survivors didn't simply rest on their laurels. In the process, they provided the throng with a huge, overblown, noisy, but above all fiercely entertaining show. It's good to have them back.

Thanks to Nazareth: The opening band were Backyard Babies or something, their sound was pretty bad so it was hard to tell if they had any decent songs or not. There was a long wait for Velvet Revolver to take the stage, roadies had stuck paper on the stage floor (presumably the set list) but then came out and replaced them with another. The band finally came out, playing the usual set list, no Mr Brownstone, but Used To Love Her was played, with Scott and Dave sat near the drums. I don't know if they wanted to have a laid back atmosphere for that song or if Scott didn't want to sing it because he didn't look too happy really. The rest of the set he looked to be having a great time, with the crowd singing along to all the songs. Duff especially seemed the happiest, and the crowd were chanting his name. The sound wasn't the best, but it didn't seem to matter, seeing the band live was amazing. Everybody leaving seemed to be in agreement that it was a great show!

Thanks to Aldo: What an excellent show! Kicked off by Backyard Babies playing a blistering set - a good warm-up performance. But the fans were there to see Velvet Revolver and unlike some G N' R performaces, the band kept their promise and duelly took to the stage after 9pm to a fantastic crowd reception.

G N' R have been one of my favourite bands, and to see the ex-G N' R players live was superb, after thinking I wouldn't ever. Duff was sharp on the bass and looking muscular but his face was skeletol after years of booze and drugs. Slash was superb as usual, lifting his sunburst Gibson Les Paul to his trademark vertical position for the solos. Matt never missed a beat and Dave gave a solid performace on No.2 guitar. Scott was impressive on vocals, although I'm not sure if I like his style of police hat and stage gestures. The megaphone was an interesting prop. All-in-all a great team performace and the result far greater than the sum of its individual members.

Highlight of the night was the encores, where Slash emerged with his trademark top hat and cigerette (smokin' it with style!)and the band launched into It's So Easy. Scott looked unhappy singing Used To Love Her. Slither with the extended intro, was also a highlight of an excellent concert. The crowd were more than satisfied, I almost passed out from exhaustion/dehydration, and the Velvet Revolver rock jougernaught rolls on after another successful tour date!

Thanks to Camilla Pia and The Scotsman: Rock stars are notoriously renowned for their love of intoxication and excess and Velvet Revolver know more about this than most. The ex- Guns 'N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots members who make up the band have been addicted to more illegal substances than you'd care to mention, resulting in numerous trips to rehab and one rather painful sounding exploding pancreas.

However, these days we're more likely to chance upon them discussing interior design over a herbal brew than chasing the dragon in a downtown bar, as all five claim to be off the hard stuff and focused purely on the job of making music. As we have seen with the newly turned self-righteous and utterly watered-down Red Hot Chili Peppers, reformed rockers can be bad news. So it was with trepidation that I braved the head-banging masses at the Carling Academy to find out if they could still dish out the devilish riffs. All doubts about their onstage abilities soon disappeared, however, as the quintet blasted into opener Sucker Train Blues bathed in dramatic red lights with an onslaught of strobe effects making for a magnificent introduction to their heavy as well as glam-tinged metal.

The rhythmic assault emanating from the stage was tight and the crowd erupted every time a surprisingly top-hatless Slash spewed out high-speed wailing solos from a guitar behind his head. Yet it was ex-Pilots man Scott Weiland who stole the show dressed in peaked cap and shades, prowling and pirouetting around the stage like a stick-thin malevolent captain camply writhing in time to the music. Despite repeatedly calling us the Apollo, which is in Manchester, Velvet Revolver put on an immense and otherwise faultless spectacle with not a vitamin shake in sight.

Thanks to Pedroscot: I couldn't have hoped for anything better than I saw last night as it was one of the best concerts I have been to! Scott was his usual crazy self and which is his best side, Slash.... wow, Duff what a true god of rock n roll, and a classy performance by Matt (the gong was an excellent touch). But guys let's not forget Dave with his rockin guitar playing and moves he deserves much more respect than he gets at the moment, remember it's not all about GN'R or Stone Temple Pilots

Thanks to Marky B: What can I say but what a bloody fantastic gig. Arrived about 8 and Backyard Babies were on. Never heard of them before but what I seen of them they are a very good live band. 9:20 enter Velvet Revolver after the first two songs I knew this was going to special then it just got better. I've seen GN'R twice at Wembley 91+92 and thought it was a bit off a let down, but last night faith was restored. It was one of the best gigs I've ever been at. Enjoy Manchester + London. Come back soon Velvet Revolver.

Thanks to John Smith: Excellent show, the band sounded great although sometimes Scott's vocals seemed a little weak. All the band has tremendous stage presence. A real treat to see such legends live.

Thanks to LA_0013: Gonna keep it short and sweet; fantastic show, played with plenty of volume, energy and attitude. Highlights were a blistering 'It's So Easy', and the extended versions of 'Illegal i Song' and 'Slither'. The band showed more chemistry on stage than I've seen in countless live gigs over the past few years, Slash was awesome, Scott showed a great deal of charisma and Matt showed exactly how to play a set of drums!! Worth every penny.

Thanks to Crackerman: The Glasgow academy show was fantastic. It lasted approx 80 mins. I have to say I reckon 90% of the fans there were GNR fans and most of the crowds addoration was on Duff and Slash but by Sex Type Thing Weiland had won them over.

Which lets face it, he has, in many people eyes (not my own) Axl's shoes to fill. I'm more of a STP fan myself and I think Weiland is a far better showman than Axl. Although, Weiland looked totally pissed off when he was singing 'Used To Love Her', could have done 'You Got No Right' instead I guess. The crowd gave Velvet Revolver a major thumbs up and still wanted more after 2 encores. This gig sold out in a few hours and there were 100s outside the venue looking 4 tickets, felt sorry for them because it was just by chance I got my ticket. Amusingly, there seemed to be a lot of rock babes and dudes left over from the 80s at the gig! But Velvet Revolver rocked the place and everyone I was with loved it.

Thanks to John Herbert: Where do I start, it was everything I could have hoped for and more, to finally see the guys in the flesh and playing was awesome. Highlight of the show had to be 'It's So Easy'. I have wanted to see GNR play for ages, this was the next best thing if not better!! This gig gave me one of the toughest times yet to get tickets, they were like golddust, and rightly so, all I can say is I am glad I went and TELL your parents to get tickets to see Velvet Revolver when they roll into your town!!

Thanks to James Of Death : This show was immense! The first UK date and what a night to remember. The doors opened a little late, around 7:15 but quite quickly the place became packed. Backyard Babies took to the stage at around 7:45 and played a blistering set, certainly the best support band I've seen. Velvet Revolver took to the stage at around 20 past 9, opening with 'Sucker Train Blues'. The crowd errupted and I missed the first 2 songs as I was too busy trying to stop myself from being crushed but once the crowd died down the show was amazing. An arms reach from Slash. Scott's vocals were maybe a bit too low as a lot of the time you couldn't hear his singing, but besides that, the show was amazing. About 5 to 11 the show ended. A brilliant night.