Reliving past glories with STP

They say trends come in 20-year cycles, so it’s not surprising to see the ‘90s coming back.

I have so many happy memories of that decade where I watched Reality Bites and Singles over and over; worshiped Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke; waited for episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, My So-called Life and Party of Five; shopped at Contempo Casuals, Rampage and even Hot Topic.

I was fascinated with tattoos and body piercing; wore the Doc Martens and the boyfriend jeans until they had holes in them; had super-thin eyebrows and lined my lips with MAC’s Spice lip liner.

I was proudly a quintessential ‘90s chick. But more than the fashion and TV, what really takes me back is the music.

I was in seventh grade when I discovered Nirvana and sold my Madonna-loving, Debbie Gibson-dancing and NKOTB-obsessed tween soul to depressive rock stars who didn’t seem to shower and would scream-growl through their songs. There was something about angry and loud music that mixed well with teenage angst.

I took in the whole grunge pseudo counter-culture completely.

Stone Temple Pilots or more popularly known as STP is one of the most heralded and beloved bands of the ’90s garnering both critical and popular acclaim with hits such as Big Empty, Plush and Interstate Love Song. Photos to Niña Sandejas

I would lock myself up in my room and listen to NU 107, MTV’s Alternative Nation and 120 minutes.

And one of the bands I adored was Stone Temple Pilots.

When I heard news about their concert in Manila, I knew I had to be there. Now I know how our parents feel whenever Trini Lopez or the Beach Boys fly in for a concert.

Stone Temple Pilots (or more popularly known as STP) is a California-based band lead by Scott Weiland on vocals, the DeLeo brothers Dean and Robert on bass and lead guitars, and Eric Kretz on drums. STP was one of the proponents of modern rock in the early ‘90s along with Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

When their debut album “Core” was released in 1992 it sold 40 million copies worldwide. They followed up “Core” with “Purple” in 1994, debunking the “sophomore slump” myth to win the Best Hard Rock Performance award at the Grammys in the same year.

The band has gone through their highs and lows with Scott Weiland’s well-documented drug woes, leading to a break-up in 2003 when Scott decided to join Velvet Revolver, a superband composed of Guns n’ Roses’ Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum and Wasted Youth’s David Kushner.

STP eventually reunited in 2008 and started touring extensively, In 2010 they released the album “Stone Temple Pilots.”

As expected, the STP concert crowd was filled with 30-somethings trying to relive lost glory. Many came in standard ‘90s grunge outfits composed of a black top, plaid button-down shirt, torn jeans and Doc Martens. A few men came their polo barongs, looking like they came straight from the office.

Front act was SinosiKat, which seemed like an odd choice, but some insiders said that STP requested for a band that had a female lead vocalist. Kat and her group were energetic but sadly played to a half empty coliseum since people decided to have dinner during their set.

STP started their set late, around 9:30 and opened the concert with Crackerman promptly followed by anthems like Wicked Garden and Vasoline.

Although visibly older and dazed from years of drug use, Scott still has his rock star swagger and lolo dance moves.

Francis Reyes of NU107.5 made a very good point saying the current breed of bands act like guys next door.

A whole generation of ‘90s artists that STP was a part of were real rock stars who lived that lifestyle but kept a mystique about them. Sadly, kids now don’t have anything like what we had growing up and every new band guy seems so boring.

The predominantly 30-something crowd at the Araneta reveled in ‘90s nostalgia as STP played to a packed Coliseum. Local rock royalty such as Ely Buendia, and Raimund Marasigan were seen at the concert.

That said, Scott’s voice has mellowed through the years and had a slower cadence most especially during Tripping On a Hole With a Paper Heart.

Scott also used a megaphone in some songs, most notably in Dead and Bloated, which I thought was perfect for that song. On the other hand, the DeLeo brothers has aged well and were still on top of their game.

What I found rather disappointing was the lack of a proper mosh pit. STP’s music is hard rock and with songs like Sex Type Thing and Down as part of their repertoire, it was quite hard to headbang and jump amidst metal folding chairs. We may be a little bit older now but I think the energy that night could rival a wild pit in our heyday.

The crowd went crazy as the gig became a virtual sing-a-long when the band played hits such as Plush, Big Empty and Interstate Love Song. The 17-song set even included a Led Zeppelin Cover Dancing Days which they recorded for a tribute album called “Encomium” in the ‘90s.

Some of my friends had mixed feelings about the concert. I had low expectations because of the band’s internal issues. But at the end of the night, I thought I got what I paid for — a night of reminiscing over my youth — and yes, I was quite happy with that.

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Grace blogs at http://www.divasoria.ph.