Yesterday was WMMR's radio station show. They call it the MMR-B-Q, however we call it WMMR GRUNGEFEST! The bill featured seven bands and all directly starting or influenced by grunge. The bill featured Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, Three Days Grace, Skillet, Fuel (reunited with Brett Scallions), and local openers Automatic Fire and Dive.

We are not fans of Three Days Grace or Skillet. They are the reason rock is dying, in my opinion. However, they seem to put on a good show for their fans, which I respect. Whether you like a band or not, if they put on a good show...well then props to them. It isn't easy to get in front of assholes like me who scrutinize everything you do and want you to fail. So kudos to Skillet and Three Days Grace who put on a decent show.

Fuel was a great addition to this bill. This post-grunge act saw Brett Scallions leave the band in 2008 and replace him with a frat boy Toryn Green. The frat boy just didn't have the attitude, swagger, and well....he wasn't Brett Scallions. The best move for Fuel was to reunite with their front man. He and the band rocked. Resting more on their back catalog, I hope they can use this time on the road to do another album. I always wondered what the natural progression for the band would be after their album Natural Selection and now hopefully we can find out.

Alice in Chains delivered. We have seen them many times (review 1, review 2) with their new lead singer William DuVall and if you close your eyes, they sound like Alice in Chains. The harmonies between Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall sound eerily similar to the ones between Cantrell and Layne Staley.

AiC ripped it from the opening song. They sounded amazingly balanced and Cantrell didn't seem to miss a beat or even a note. He was on point all night. They seemed to be the crowd favorite and many people were discussing how they were going to come back and see them in the fall. Their setlist is below.

Stone Temple Pilots closed the show. STP's performance is always hinging on which Scott Weiland is going to show up. Will it be the Scott Weiland who is under the influence or the one who delivers a knock out performance? The current tour for STP has been plagued by the tale of two Scott's. When he is on, he is on par with Mick Jagger for showmanship and creativity. When he is off, he still on par with Mick Jagger, just circa 1980 Mick Jagger. Above all, Scott is a professional and will usually give 110%.

With that setup, Scott was on. He was snaking around on stage like a vintage Bowie. Twirling from one side of the stage to the other like a ballerina dressed in a casual suit. The new songs, off their album due out Tuesday, sound better live than they do on the radio or streaming from Amazon. There was even a cool moment when Jerry Cantrell joined STP for a rousing rendition of Sex Type Thing.

I apologize to local openers Dive and Automatic Fire. I didn't attend the show, for if I did, I would have come in and supported you. No one champions local rock n' roll more than I do. However, my constituents handled this show and they don't have the same philosophy as I do. They entered the show a bit after Skillet went on the stage. Maybe it was due to traffic, Philly Cheesesteaks gone awry, or 5 hour energy drinks at WAWA. Either way, I have seen these bands before and they are great live with some great songs. If you get the opportunity to check them out, do it.

WMMR's GRUNGEFEST was a hit, selling almost 23k tickets. (The Susquehanna Bank Center holds around 25K). They provided a bill for everyone to enjoy. I love the fact that a radio station is having local openers play actually open the show, but I feel that a majority of the people don't give a shit. This is sad, but the local artists need to be championed.

I would advocate for a local stage where as the main stage is changing sets, a local band could be playing. This will allow the listeners of WMMR to be exposed to the great Philadelphia rock bands we have. It has been far too long that bands like Automatic Fire, Fosterchild, The Tressels, Jealousy Curve, etc are not receiving their due. Let's go WMMR, get a local act stage.

Alice in Chains setlist

Them Bones
Dam That River
Rain When I Die
Check My Brain
Again
Your Decision
No Excuses
Acid Bubble
We Die Young
Angry Chair
Man in the Box
Would?
Rooster

Stone Temple Pilots setlist

Vasoline
Wicked Garden
Crackerman
Between the Lines
Hickory Dichotomy
Big Empty
Sour Girl
Creep
Plush
Interstate Love Song
Bagman
Huckleberry Crumble
Tumble in the Rough
Loungefly
Sex Type Thing ft Jerry Cantrell

Encore:
Dead and Bloated
Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart