In terms of band members Velvet Revolver truly are a supergroup. Comprising of three ex- Guns 'N' Roses members in the shape of Slash, Duff and drummer Matt Sorum, alongside one time Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland and second guitarist Dave Kushner, the bands' debut, platinum selling album 'Contraband, was, to this reviewers mind, a somewhat patchy affair. Moments of brilliance were mixed with what could only be described as 'filler' and hence I really wasn't certain what to expect from the VR show.

A single red spotlight, a lone figure dressed in black, stood atop a little riser stage front, and the rumblin bass line opening to 'Sucker train Blues' was all the pre-amble that signaled Velvet Revolver were about to storm the stage. The first thing noticeable about the show was the amount of energy being expended by the band members. Weiland, bedecked in low slung leather pants, leather waistcoat and a pseudo-military peaked cap, was simply a whirlwind, twirling and striding over each inch of available stage room. Stage left and right (as the audience looked at the stage), were Messer's McKagen & Slash, guitars slung low as ever and looking as cool as  cucumbers that are fresh out of the ice box. Holding everything together was Sorum, pounding out the rhythms and Kushner with some meaty rhythm guitar licks. Unfortunately, once the initial adrenaline rush had worn off, it was somewhat obvious that the sound mix was pretty goddamn awful. From where we were standing the vocals were pretty much inaudible, not helped by Weiland continually using a megaphone to deliver his lyrics.

'Do It For The Kids', 'Superhuman' and 'Illegal I Song' quickly followed suit and although the band were obviously giving it there all, something was missing. The songs merged together, barely distinguishable from each other and thus spoiling the pacing of the set. To give the band the benefit of the doubt, this may be because, as mentioned earlier  the vocal melodies were totally inaudible.

Things picked up with 'Falling To Pieces', one of the best songs off the aforementioned Contraband album. perhaps this was due to the quieter nature of the number, but everything clicked into place and the outcome was superb. Unfortunately this one of the few places in the main set were everything did come together, 'Big Machine', 'Set Me Free' and covers of Guns 'N' Roses'  'It's So Easy' and Stone Temple Pilots' 'Sex Type Thing' again seemed to lack some magic that could have perhaps been expected.

One thing that could not be held against the band was the amount of thought and money put into the show. The backdrop consisted of huge neon lettering spelling out either Velvet Revolver or VR and the twin video screens either side of the stage made for impressive viewing. The camera work was especially impressive as shots were merged and mixed with one another  giving viewers stage wide shots of the band and close up on Slash's soloing amongst other images.

As the band returned to the stage for the encores, Slash's top hat made a welcome return to the North East, garnering as many cheers as the band itself, and with Weiland, Slash and Kushner seated on some bar stools, the band belted out a semi-acoustic rendition of the GNR classic 'Used to Love her' and followed this up with an equally emotive version of 'You Got No Right' complete with Slash on double neck axe. Following a further brief interlude, the band returned for one last time to deliver a high octane rendition of 'Mr Brownstone', followed up with closing number 'Slither'., both of which seemed to suffer from the sound problems that had been prevalent earlier in the evening.

To sum up Velvet Revolver live, much like on CD, were a series of contradictions. At times stunningly brilliant, whilst at others completely disjointed and in cohesive. It is my opinion, and purely a personal one at that, that the chemistry within the band does not quite gel and thus the members, instead of working together, play as individuals, each with their own stage space and perhaps because of this the sum of all the parts is somewhat less than the individuals. Still it will be very interesting to see how the band develops over time and to see if the can overcome the hurdles pertaining to each members respective histories.

You can check out further pictures from this gig via this link

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