Puddle Of Mudd Review and Setlist 11-12-08
Monday of this week I received an email from a local radio station giving away FREE tickets to the Puddle of Mudd, Red, and Temperedcast show. I thought, "Damn they must not be pulling well in Philadelphia." I couldn't figure out why a band with such heavy radio airplay was unable to draw fans. After seeing the show, I still don't know why they couldn't draw many fans. But I will blame the economy.
Some shit local band opened the show. I don't remember their name and I am not going to bother your time in reviewing them. They played the bass through a keyboard. If that is "rock n roll" to you, be my guest. But a bass should be slapped and pumped in your face, not gently depressed by finger tips.
Temperedcast was on "first." I say first because that local opener didn't do anything to get the crowd excited or pumped up...like a good opener should. So Temperedcast was the real opener for this show. But they shouldn't have been. I will explain later.
Nick Sundesten (bass) was the first Temperedcast member to grace the stage. His bass at a low crunch sound. Nick looks like a UFC fighter and an imposing man when standing on stage. Kelly Murphy (drums) shiny, bald head, and broad shoulders got behind his kit and warmed up his legs by stomping on the bass drum. Kris Tonnessen and Josh Perry (guitars) came out simultaneously on stage left and right. Finally Calvin Mura (vocals) emerged stage right and demanded the answer to "What's up Philly?" When all five members are on stage they are a gang of brothers giving it everything they had.
My knowledge of Temperedcast's music is limited and I don't have the setlist, but halfway through their opening song they blew two guitar speakers due to their high energy, raw machismo, visible sex appeal, and kick ass brand of rock n' roll. Blowing two guitar speakers would be enough to cripple any opening band, but Temperedcast was able to work through it. They came out giving Philadelphia 100%, but after the guitars blew the band decided to give Philadelphia 100% more, ratcheting this live show up to 200%!
The crowd ate it up too. Philly is a great rock city. We know how to rock and Temperedcast was an opportunistic lion slaughtering a helpless Wildebeest cub. Temperedcast didn't give up, they continued to throw down rock riffs, bass grooves, and drum smashes, with controlled screaming vocals. If you have the ability to see this band live, they are worth it. Grade A Rock N Roll with no pretension.
The crowd was whipped up into a frothing frenzy, eagerly awaiting the next band which was a reject from the University of Penn school. Clad in a scarf, fingerless gloves, and a zip up jacket, Safteysuit took the stage. They were boring musically, though they mastered the art of cliché guitar poses. This is where I have a problem with the billing. This band should have been the first opener followed by Temperedcast, Red, then Puddle of Mudd. By the time Puddle of Mudd is on, the crowd will be ready for pits and crowd surfing. I would recommend changing this lineup and move Temperedcast. This will make for a better crowd interaction show.
We missed Red because we were interviewing Temperedcast, but they sounded like a Daughtry fronted rock/metal act. So Puddle of Mudd was the last band we saw. Puddle of Mudd put on a good show, but it could have been better. Wes Scantlin wore a bowler hat and sauntered on stage playing the riff to Control.
Now I must admit, I am a Puddle of Mudd fan. They write catchy songs, I enjoy Wes' voice and scream, and I love the fact they are are constantly doing USO tours for the troops. They are also just great down-to-earth guys. I have all three of their albums and enjoy the hell out of them. A guilty pleasure for sure. But their setlist was a self-pleasing set.
They played for about an hour, did 13 songs and two and half songs were cover songs. They have so many great songs, besides the hits, that they could have easily filled the time with their own music. They also changed guitars 11 times for 12.5 songs. A bit overkill.
I always felt the riff from Control had a War Pigs vibe to it and during the breakdown portion of the song they actually covered War Pigs by Black Sabbath. The mixed crowd (military folks, meatheads, 12 year old girls, older drunk (read loose) women) didn't seem to catch the War Pigs reference until Wes started singing "Generals gathered..."
The band flowed Control into Away From Me off their second album "Life on Display." The song starts out with Wes' signature scream and his voice was on point tonight. But this was the last song we would hear from the band's second album. The breakdown out of 12 songs was Come Clean: six songs, Life on Display: one song, Famous: three songs, two and half covers.
The set continued with Drift and Die and this is the point when my nose was singed due to a lethal, yet lingering fart unleashed by the drunk screaming woman in front of us. She had been ingesting beer like it was the fountain of youth and had apparently eaten Subway Meatballs before the show. I know this because it was on her white blouse. Combine beer with Subway meatballs and it was enough to turn Marlon Brando's fat ass over in his grave. The worst part was it sat there like a Cheshire cat knowing you can't escape it.
It was also at this point when Christian Stone decided to take a guitar solo. As Vic Wettner put it, "No one comes to Puddle of Mudd for the guitar solos." He's right. I would go to George Lynch for that. The solo was too long and it took time away from another song like "Head over Heels," "It Was Faith," "We Don't Have to Look Back Now," or the ecclectic "Piss It Away."
Puddle of Mudd then announced that they were going to cover the AC/DC song T.N.T. They did a pretty rocking take on the AC/DC classic, but it wasn't needed. This band has great songs that they wrote. PLAY THEM! They also covered Nirvana's Breed. I know it is fun to cover other artists, but I didn't pay to see a cover band. I paid to see Puddle of Mudd play their songs. Out of 12 songs, three of them were covers. Why?
The band closed their set with the closer She Hates Me after roughly an hour of playing. I wanted more. I wanted the band to play longer and play their own songs. Don't get me wrong, the band was excellent when they played their stuff. I loved it, but come on Puddle of Mudd, give us fans what we want!
Puddle of Mudd Setlist:
Control/War Pigs (Black Sabbath partial cover)
Away From Me
Drift and Die
Nobody Told Me
Blurry
T.N.T (AC/DC Cover)
Livin' On Borrowed Time
Out of My Head
Breed (Nirvana Cover)
—Encore—
Psycho
She Hates Me
Some shit local band opened the show. I don't remember their name and I am not going to bother your time in reviewing them. They played the bass through a keyboard. If that is "rock n roll" to you, be my guest. But a bass should be slapped and pumped in your face, not gently depressed by finger tips.
Temperedcast was on "first." I say first because that local opener didn't do anything to get the crowd excited or pumped up...like a good opener should. So Temperedcast was the real opener for this show. But they shouldn't have been. I will explain later.
Nick Sundesten (bass) was the first Temperedcast member to grace the stage. His bass at a low crunch sound. Nick looks like a UFC fighter and an imposing man when standing on stage. Kelly Murphy (drums) shiny, bald head, and broad shoulders got behind his kit and warmed up his legs by stomping on the bass drum. Kris Tonnessen and Josh Perry (guitars) came out simultaneously on stage left and right. Finally Calvin Mura (vocals) emerged stage right and demanded the answer to "What's up Philly?" When all five members are on stage they are a gang of brothers giving it everything they had.
My knowledge of Temperedcast's music is limited and I don't have the setlist, but halfway through their opening song they blew two guitar speakers due to their high energy, raw machismo, visible sex appeal, and kick ass brand of rock n' roll. Blowing two guitar speakers would be enough to cripple any opening band, but Temperedcast was able to work through it. They came out giving Philadelphia 100%, but after the guitars blew the band decided to give Philadelphia 100% more, ratcheting this live show up to 200%!
The crowd ate it up too. Philly is a great rock city. We know how to rock and Temperedcast was an opportunistic lion slaughtering a helpless Wildebeest cub. Temperedcast didn't give up, they continued to throw down rock riffs, bass grooves, and drum smashes, with controlled screaming vocals. If you have the ability to see this band live, they are worth it. Grade A Rock N Roll with no pretension.
The crowd was whipped up into a frothing frenzy, eagerly awaiting the next band which was a reject from the University of Penn school. Clad in a scarf, fingerless gloves, and a zip up jacket, Safteysuit took the stage. They were boring musically, though they mastered the art of cliché guitar poses. This is where I have a problem with the billing. This band should have been the first opener followed by Temperedcast, Red, then Puddle of Mudd. By the time Puddle of Mudd is on, the crowd will be ready for pits and crowd surfing. I would recommend changing this lineup and move Temperedcast. This will make for a better crowd interaction show.
We missed Red because we were interviewing Temperedcast, but they sounded like a Daughtry fronted rock/metal act. So Puddle of Mudd was the last band we saw. Puddle of Mudd put on a good show, but it could have been better. Wes Scantlin wore a bowler hat and sauntered on stage playing the riff to Control.
Now I must admit, I am a Puddle of Mudd fan. They write catchy songs, I enjoy Wes' voice and scream, and I love the fact they are are constantly doing USO tours for the troops. They are also just great down-to-earth guys. I have all three of their albums and enjoy the hell out of them. A guilty pleasure for sure. But their setlist was a self-pleasing set.
They played for about an hour, did 13 songs and two and half songs were cover songs. They have so many great songs, besides the hits, that they could have easily filled the time with their own music. They also changed guitars 11 times for 12.5 songs. A bit overkill.
I always felt the riff from Control had a War Pigs vibe to it and during the breakdown portion of the song they actually covered War Pigs by Black Sabbath. The mixed crowd (military folks, meatheads, 12 year old girls, older drunk (read loose) women) didn't seem to catch the War Pigs reference until Wes started singing "Generals gathered..."
The band flowed Control into Away From Me off their second album "Life on Display." The song starts out with Wes' signature scream and his voice was on point tonight. But this was the last song we would hear from the band's second album. The breakdown out of 12 songs was Come Clean: six songs, Life on Display: one song, Famous: three songs, two and half covers.
The set continued with Drift and Die and this is the point when my nose was singed due to a lethal, yet lingering fart unleashed by the drunk screaming woman in front of us. She had been ingesting beer like it was the fountain of youth and had apparently eaten Subway Meatballs before the show. I know this because it was on her white blouse. Combine beer with Subway meatballs and it was enough to turn Marlon Brando's fat ass over in his grave. The worst part was it sat there like a Cheshire cat knowing you can't escape it.
It was also at this point when Christian Stone decided to take a guitar solo. As Vic Wettner put it, "No one comes to Puddle of Mudd for the guitar solos." He's right. I would go to George Lynch for that. The solo was too long and it took time away from another song like "Head over Heels," "It Was Faith," "We Don't Have to Look Back Now," or the ecclectic "Piss It Away."
Puddle of Mudd then announced that they were going to cover the AC/DC song T.N.T. They did a pretty rocking take on the AC/DC classic, but it wasn't needed. This band has great songs that they wrote. PLAY THEM! They also covered Nirvana's Breed. I know it is fun to cover other artists, but I didn't pay to see a cover band. I paid to see Puddle of Mudd play their songs. Out of 12 songs, three of them were covers. Why?
The band closed their set with the closer She Hates Me after roughly an hour of playing. I wanted more. I wanted the band to play longer and play their own songs. Don't get me wrong, the band was excellent when they played their stuff. I loved it, but come on Puddle of Mudd, give us fans what we want!
Puddle of Mudd Setlist:
Control/War Pigs (Black Sabbath partial cover)
Away From Me
Drift and Die
Nobody Told Me
Blurry
T.N.T (AC/DC Cover)
Livin' On Borrowed Time
Out of My Head
Breed (Nirvana Cover)
—Encore—
Psycho
She Hates Me
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