Another year, another WMMR birthday bash and another band fronted by Scott Weiland headlining the festival. It also rained again, but perhaps that was mere coincidence?  

This time ol' Scotty W performed with his slightly more famous band, The Stone Temple Pilots. All original members were present; the DeLeo brothers and what looked like the long lost Wilson brother on the skins. It felt right, but Velvet Revolver was somewhere in the back of everyone's mind (unless you were one of those loud-mouth stage divers, nothing was in your mind...trust me.) What the fuck are those guys in VR gonna do now?

It wasn't too long ago that STP reminded me of that old Trans Am rotting behind Uncle Rico's house. You know, the one he talked about restoring but the rusty hulk just sat for years after the engine blew. Now the tables have turned, STP enjoy a renaissance and Velvet Revolver become the inert lump in Slash's backyard.

Scott Weiland is the real problem, because there just isn't enough of him to go around. Ever notice that Velvet Revolver sounded a helluva lot like STP most of the time? Actually, both bands sound like Scott Weiland because he's the main ingredient. Weiland is the steak, the other guys are the sauce. He just went from "sweet and tangy" to "bold and spicy" and back again.

Perhaps, after the inner-drama of the last year, Weiland realized that STP had always been his true home in music. Why squabble with Matt Sorum in a band that could never live up to the GnR hype when he could blissfully co-exist with the DeLeo brothers? Scotty packed his shit and moved out, because he knew he had it better with his ex, leaving VR to be the lonely drunkard crying in their beer. Josh Todd...too busy. Sebastian Bach...too 80's. They already broke up with the miracle of their life, his name was Axl and he's probably the only guy who can save them from the nadir of the Hollywood scrap heap.

I'm fresh out of analogies so I will leave you with this thought. If you cut off the head, the body will die?