USF Bulls Radio

Tickets for STP's Friday show at the Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa read "Rain or Shine" in bold print. Apparently, someone forgot to tell the band. The 7pm show was officially cancelled around 10:15pm due to "inclement weather," though many fans expressed their doubts about the validity of that claim. It seemed all too convenient for a band fronted by Scott Weiland, famous for his personal demons & substance abuse, to miss a show and blame it on light rain.

According to other reviews of this tour, Weiland's behavior has been erratic at best. A review by The Arizona Republic states that the oft-maligned singer, "...stumbled around the stage and fell into drummer Eric Kretz's drum kit...when he did sing he often forgot words or changed them. 'Conversations Kill' quickly became 'Masturbation Kill.'"

Weiland was dismissed from super-group Velvet Revolver earlier this year due to "behavior problems."

The show's opening act, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, ground out an hour-and-a-half long set to try to cover for STP's absence. But, the band's mono-cellular approach to bluesy classic rock riffs and nouveau-psychedelics wore thin as the crowd grew restless and failed to connect with the material. Drummer Leah Shapiro (The Raveonettes' touring drummer, filling in for the Weiland-esque Nick Jago) didn't seem to "get" the songs just yet; her beats were often out of place and she tended to remain in full-out arena-rock mode, even when the rest of the band tried to add dynamic nuance.