2008 Stone Temple Pilots Reunion Tour

The 2008 Stone Temple Pilots Reunion Tour was a 75-date reunion tour for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots, who originally disbanded in 2002. The tour, which kicked off on May 17, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio at the Rock on the Range festival, ran throughout the summer and ended on October 31 at the Verizon Wireless Center in Pelham, Alabama. The Stone Temple Pilots reunion tour was a success, receiving positive reviews from critics and fans alike as well as high ticket sales. At one point, the Stone Temple Pilots tour was ranked at #1 on Pollstar's "Top 50" list. According to Rolling Stone, the band sold an average of $230,000 of tickets a night.[1]

2008 Stone Temple Pilots Reunion Tour
Tour by Stone Temple Pilots
STP onstage (from left to right: Robert DeLeo, Eric Kretz, and Scott Weiland)
Location
  • United States
  • Canada
  • Mexico
  • Argentina
Start dateMay 17, 2008
End dateOctober 31, 2008
No. of shows75
Stone Temple Pilots concert chronology
  • 2002 Tour
    (2002)
  • 2008 Reunion Tour
    (2008)
  • 2009 Tour
    (2009)

Tour history

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After Stone Temple Pilots broke up in 2002, the members formed different side projects; lead singer Scott Weiland formed the supergroup Velvet Revolver with former members of Guns N' Roses, and brothers Robert (bass) and Dean DeLeo (guitar) were in the short-lived band Army of Anyone. Drummer Eric Kretz kept a low-profile, operating out of his own studio, Bombshelter Studios, in Los Angeles. Army of Anyone announced its breakup in 2007 and Weiland left Velvet Revolver on April 1, 2008.[2]

According to Dean DeLeo, steps toward a reunion started with a simple phone call from Weiland's then-wife, Mary Forsberg.[3] She would later invite the DeLeo brothers to play at a private beach party, which led to the reconciliation of Weiland and the DeLeo brothers.[3] In 2007 Dean DeLeo discussed with Weiland an offer from a concert promoter to headline several summer festivals.[4] Weiland accepted and said he had cleared the brief tour with his Velvet Revolver bandmates.[4] Weiland said "everything was cool. Then it wasn't", and stated that the rest of the band stopped talking to him.[4] As a result, Weiland announced in the middle of a Velvet Revolver show on March 21, 2008 in Glasgow that it would be his last performance with the group.[4]

 
STP (from l-r: Scott Weiland, Robert DeLeo, and Dean DeLeo) playing at the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on August 10

Stone Temple Pilots first show since 2002 was at a private show on April 7 at Harry Houdini's estate outside of Los Angeles. The band performed for a second time on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 1, and officially kicked off the tour on May 17 in Columbus.

Despite several positive reviews regarding the tour from fans and critics, there were some negative reviews regarding Scott Weiland's performance at the PNC Bank Arts Center on May 31 in New Jersey. The band was over an hour late onstage, and an intoxicated Weiland mumbled some lyrics and almost lost his balance. He even apologized to his band mates for "messing up".

Due to the death of his father, Eric Kretz did not play with the band for a few shows in October. Ray Luzier, current drummer for Korn and former drummer for Army of Anyone, filled in on drums. Kretz returned for the last few dates of the tour.

Tampa Show Incident

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STP had to postpone their performance for the Ford Amphitheatre show (August 22, 2008). The second opening act, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, played an extended set to push time for STP, ending at 9:30 pm. It wasn't until 10:30 that it was announced the show had been canceled due to the band's inability to make it to the venue as a result of Tropical Storm Fay. Some fans accused the band of canceling due to Weiland not showing up, claiming that they had seen the other members of the band at the venue before it was announced that they were unable to travel. Also, the storm cited as the reason for the cancellation was already well to the north of the route the band would have taken to make it to Tampa from the previous show in Ft. Lauderdale.

Setlist

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Not every single show had the same setlist, but all of STP's "hits" were played nightly, with the song "Big Empty" opening every show, except during the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore where the band opened with "Vasoline". The hits "Dead and Bloated" and "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" were traditionally the tour's two encore songs, with the band's other hits, deep cuts, and covers played throughout each night's setlist. STP also covered artists such as Queen, The Beatles and Bob Marley on the tour. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Pixies singer Black Francis, Meat Puppets, The Secret Machines, Tommy Joe Wilson, (artist signed to Weiland's label Softdrive Records) and 10 Years were the opening bands on the tour. The band came onstage to the song "Manhattan Rumble" by Electric Light Orchestra at the beginning of each performance on the tour.

Tour dates

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Date City Country Venue
North America
April 7, 2008 Los Angeles United States Harry Houdini Estate
May 1, 2008 Jimmy Kimmel Live!
May 17, 2008 Columbus Columbus Crew Stadium
May 18, 2008 Camden Susquehanna Bank Center
May 20, 2008 Cleveland State Theater Playhouse Square
May 22, 2008 Chicago Charter One Pavilion
May 23, 2008 Indianapolis Indianapolis Motor Speedway
May 25, 2008 Wallingford Chevrolet Theatre
May 26, 2008 Uncasville Mohegan Sun
May 31, 2008 Holmdel Township PNC Bank Arts Center
June 1, 2008 Masnfield Tweeter Center
June 3, 2008 Detroit The Fillmore Detroit
June 4, 2008
June 6, 2008 Saint Paul Roy Wilkins Auditorium
June 7, 2008 Kansas City Liberty Memorial Park
June 8, 2008 Maryland Heights Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
June 11, 2008 West Valley City E Center
June 12, 2008 Las Vegas Pearl Concert Theater
June 14, 2008
June 21, 2008 Calgary Canada Fort Calgary
June 24, 2008 Los Angeles United States Hollywood Bowl
June 25, 2008 Tucson Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater
June 27, 2008 San Antonio AT&T Center
June 28, 2008 The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 29, 2008 Grand Prairie Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie
July 2, 2008 Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre
July 4, 2008 Milwaukee Marcus Amphitheater
July 5, 2008 Indianola National Balloon Classic Launch Field
July 7, 2008 Akron EJ Thomas Hall
July 8, 2008 Glens Falls Glens Falls Civic Center
July 10, 2008 Quebec City Canada Plains of Abraham
July 11, 2008 Montreal Bell Centre
July 12, 2008 Toronto Downsview Park
July 15, 2008 Canandaigua United States CMAC
July 17, 2008 Green Bay Oneida Casino
July 18, 2008 Mount Pleasant Soaring Eagle Casino
July 19, 2008 Cadott Chippewa Valley Music Festival
July 25, 2008 Berkeley Hearst Greek Theatre
July 26, 2008 Paso Robles Mid California State Fair
July 27, 2008 San Diego Qualcomm Stadium
July 29, 2008 Phoenix Dodge Theatre
July 31, 2008 El Paso El Paso County Coliseum
August 2, 2008 Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre
August 3, 2008 Southaven DeSoto Civic Center
August 6, 2008 Wantagh Jones Beach Amphitheater
August 8, 2008 Bethelem Musikfest
August 9, 2008 Atlantic City The Borgata
August 10, 2008 Baltimore Pimlico Race Course (Virgin Mobile Festival)
August 13, 2008 Bloomington U.S. Cellular Coliseum
August 14, 2008 Hammond The Venue
August 16, 2008 Elizabeth Caesars Casino
August 17, 2008 Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Charlotte
August 19, 2008 Orlando UCF Arena
August 20, 2008 Hollywood Hard Rock Live
August 22, 2008 Tampa Ford Amphitheatre
August 23, 2008 Alpharetta Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
August 24, 2008 Nashville Grand Ole Opry
August 30, 2008 Vancouver Canada GM Place
August 31, 2008 Seattle United States Memorial Stadium
September 1, 2008 Bend Les Schwab Amphitheater
September 3, 2008 Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
September 5, 2008 Nampa Idaho Center
September 6, 2008 Spokane Spokane Arena
September 10, 2008 Cabazon Morongo Casino
September 12, 2008 Reno Grand Sierra Resort
September 13, 2008 Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Bowl
South America
October 15, 2008 Buenos Aires Argentina Club Ciudad de Buenos Aires
North America
October 18, 2008 Mexico City Mexico Foro Sol
October 19, 2008 Guadalajara Explanada Lopez Mateos
October 21, 2008 Monterrey Monterrey Arena
October 22, 2008 Hidalgo United States Dodge Arena
October 24, 2008 New Orleans Voodoo Music Festival
October 26, 2008 Bixby SpiritBank Event Center
October 28, 2008 Lincoln Pershing Center
October 30, 2008 Southaven DeSoto Civic Center
October 31, 2008 Birmingham Verizon Wireless Music Center

References

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  1. ^ Rollingstone
  2. ^ "Velvet Revolver splits with rocker Scott Weiland". reuter.com. April 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
  3. ^ a b Harris, Chris. "Stone Temple Pilots Reunite To Continue 'Legacy,' Thanks To Scott Weiland's Wife". MTV.com. April 8, 2008. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d Greenblatt, Leah. "Rebuilding the Temple". Entertainment Weekly. May 9, 2008.