Last night at the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia, Scott Weiland brought his solo show to the Radio 104.5 Holiday Bizarre. Radio 104.5 is trying to succeed where Alternative Rock Radio Y100 failed. It is slowly building the ground work to become a larger player in heavy latino and rap saturated radio in Philly. But fuck those genres, we love rock.

The Airborne Toxic Event (I am shortening to ATE) opened the show with violin solos, asian guitarists, and a strong mustachio drummer. The crowd really enjoyed them, which I attribute to their hit "Sometime Around Midnight." The band had some troubles that are documented on their Wikipedia page, so I won't go into them. But their journey to Philadelphia last night hasn't been an easy one. Their live show is what you would expect from a band that has only been together for two years, unrefined and introverted. They are not comfortable on stage just yet; they stand behind their instruments and let the music do the talking. In this case, that is A-OK. The music is all the pop hooks you loved in the Beatles, but repackaged and retooled into some great and interesting songs. I love lead singer Mikel Jollett's voice live and on their album "The Airborne Toxic Event." I would check these guys out again in a few years to see how they have progressed. But you should check them out so you can say "I saw them at a 400 seat club." Then your friends can think you are a pretentious music snob who writes for a hack blog such as this.

The second act was The Ting Tings a British "two piece" that the fans of Radio 104.5 came in their pants to hear. But let me take a moment to bitch a bit. This concert started at exactly 8:07 pm on a Sunday night. That is the time when two talking heads, with faces for radio, from Radio 104.5 took the stage to announce ATE. ATE was over at 8:40 pm. It took 40 minutes to change the set for a two piece band that consisted of drums and guitars. The obsessive compulsive roadie for Ms. Katie White must have tuned 50 guitars, checked and rechecked the microphone adjusting the levels 30 times, and checked and rechecked the foot pedals 15 times. The roadie for Jules De Martino banged the drums no less than 5,000 times and tuned a guitar that Jules played only once. It was a tremendous waste of fucking time and even more infuriating when White and De Martino just came out and adjusted the equipment as they saw fit.

The Ting Tings are a "two piece," but have a shit load of sound effects running through the speakers (bass lines, piano/keyboard effects, choir arrangements). They are almost a direct rip of The Sounds minus the overuse of keyboards and synthesizers. This band fits perfectly with European dance clubs and I enjoyed them...but to a point. I think their songs droned. Each song was fantastic for 2.5 minutes. Any longer than that my attention span wanned and I lost interest. I wasn't the only one. Many people were dancing and having a great time, but tired of the same repetitive drum line and Ms. White singing "Hum Hum Hum Hum Hum" over and over again.

So what was a great performance and really kick ass only left the taste of day old cum in my mouth (you know memories of a great time but the disgust of what you just did). I loved the drumming of De Martino. He was charismatic even behind the skins, something hard to do, and he could certainly play. But after hearing the same drum line over and over again, I was ready to confess to being one of the 9-11 hijackers. This band is fantastic and revolutionary in a set of about 30 minutes. Anything longer you too are going to confess to shit you didn't do.

Let's stop for a minute and analyze this crowd. A great mix of underage women with their naive boyfriends. These girls were there to The Ting Tings and ATE. Most of them left after The Ting Tings. The older people (I would say they encompassed only 1/3 of the total audience) were there only to see Scott Weiland. There was a moment when a slightly beefy blond hit on Vic Wettner and I. It was a smooth move too.

Beefy Blond Bovine: Hey are you two texting your girlfriends.

Seasons Skinny Studs: Um, no we are checking Fantasy Football (yea we really know how to charm the tampon out of a woman)

Beefy Blond Bovine: Oh, do you have girlfriends?

Seasoned Skinny Studs: Well yea I do. I have a fiancee.

Beefy Blond Bovine: Oh well congratulations (raises her hoof to be shook and moves to graze elsewhere)

Scott took the stage a full 50 minutes AFTER The Ting Tings. I was pretty sure he was going to pull an Axl Rose and refuse to hit the stage before 11:00 pm. Scott walked out in a poncho, spanish hat, and a tan suit. I had his full set written down, but lost it in the blustery Philadelphia evening. (if any kind Philadelphian found my chicken scratched setlist please post it)

If you are thinking of going to see Scott Weiland in concert, buy his solo albums first. That is the best advice I can give you. If you are going expecting to hear Velvet Revolver tunes or Stone Temple Pilots, stay home. That is not this tour. This is a tour for Scott to showcase his brilliant solo records (Happy in Galoshes and 12 Bar Blues) If you are not a fan of those records, you will not like this show. Luckily, I am a huge fan of those records and an even greater fan of Scott Weiland the performer.

Scott did way more talking to the crowd this evening, but unfortunately he sounded like this: Scott at the AMA's. But this is Scott Weiland and he can perform like that very well. He is a seasoned professional. His voice sounded awesome, he slithered around on stage as he always does, and he commanded the crowd like no one but Scott can. His set weaved between solo albums concentrating at first on Happy and then plucking a few great ones like "Mockingbird Girl" from 12 Bar Blues.

Scott interacted mostly with a girl in the front row who begged him to remove his shirt, which elicited some of the funniest shit I have heard from Scott. "Hey you, you aren't going to leave me like you did last time." Referring to the woman leaving the show before Scott fucked her. Then at the very end of the show as he was walking off stage he pointed to the lass and motioned for her to join him backstage.

I have to reiterate, if you do not like Scott Weiland's solo stuff, do not attend. Many Philadelphians left the show or continually yelled for STP or VR songs. Scott obliged only once and treated the crowd to Interstate Love Song. You are in for a rare and spectacular treat if you are a Scott Weiland fan. You can see him perform some of his solo stuff, with passion and gusto not seen since the early days of Stone Temple Pilots; and you get to see him performing in a club that holds less than 1,200 people (in most cities). That is a win-win for the average Weiland fan.