By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa
Venue: Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre–Revolution 3 Tour–Stone Temple Pilots, The Cult, Bush with support by The Dirty Hooks
The Revolution 3 Tour rolled into the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre on August 8th with a triple treat for those Gen X’ers who cut their teeth on 80s hard rock and 90s alternative and grunge music, to the sounds of Stone Temple Pilot, The Cult, and Bush. Staying with the theme of “three” the support band for the evening was a threesome from Las Vegas called The Dirty Hooks, playing their brand of gritty garage rock. The sun was blaring down and the amphitheatre felt like a sauna as this band strutted and rocked out. I definitely will keep my eye on this band!
Around 7 p.m., Stone Temple Pilots with lead singer Jeff Gutt, runner up on The X Factor (Season Three), stepped out on the stage. Everyone knows the history of the band and its lead singers, but I have to say that Gutt really nailed songs like “Vasoline” and my favorite “Plush”, which he sang with great emotion. I found myself standing under the canopy with the other photographers and singing along as the melody permeated the fairgrounds with its dark allure. It is one song that never gets old. Other favorites from the band’s psych rock era were “Big Bang Baby” and “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart”. The set ended with STP’s first single on record “Sex Type Thing”, which is hard to believe, it has been over 25 years since it debuted! It was a real pleasure watching Robert DeLeo on bass (Rock At Night is also a fan of his side project with Phil Collen, “Delta Deep”), Dean DeLeo ripping it up on guitar, and Erik Kretz, working it hard on the drums.
Next up was the 80s legends The Cult, which featured the charismatic lead singer Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy on the mighty Gretsch. By this time of the evening, Tampa had its usual evening deluge of rain, but most of the people stayed somewhat dry underneath the canopy of the amphitheatre. While Stone Temple Pilots and Bush hogged the air waves in the early- to mid-nineties with their grungy music, The Cult really were innovators in the eighties because their hard rock music could easily slip into a New Wave or Punk club at the time. Even songs like “The Phoenix” seemed to be the precursor of Goth music.
Ian Astbury wore his trademark black shades and shoulder length hair, and black attire. He was not swinging the mic as much these days but gave a little head shake now and then.
Looking at 80s videos like “She Sells Sanctuary” convinced me that Luke Spillar of The Struts was heavily influenced from Astbury (and not just Freddie Mercury). The Cult ended their set to a very happy crowd by singing “Fire Woman”, a Sirius XM 80s on 8 staple, I must say—and why? Because the song is simply timeless and in the top 10 of classic rock songs, in my book!
Bush came on the stage before 10 p.m. to a very warmed up (and noticeably high as the odor of ganja was thick in the air) crowd. It felt like the mid-90s all over again! Much to the crowd’s delight, Bush played a lot of the songs from their massively popular debut album Sixteen Stone which featured “Machinehead,” “Everything Is Zen”, and “Little Things.” One of my personal favorites of the evening was “Glycerine.” As I recall, the song “This is War”, a very personal song, was one of the few recent releases performed. Bush was totally full of energy as Gavin Rossdale played rhythm guitar, belted out songs, swung the microphone around, and worked up a total sweat. And—he looked great, girls! Rossdale posed with Chris Traynor on guitar, who was also “working it” for the photographers.
Overall, the Revolution 3 Tour is possibly one of the best tours going around this year and it is highly recommended for all those Gen X’ers that want to remember their freewheelin’ and carefree youth–before the bills and diapers stepped in.
SET LIST-The Cult
Wild Flower
Rain
Spiritwalker
The Witch
Sweet Soul Sister
Elemental Light
Rise
She Sells Sanctuary
The Phoenix
Fire Woman
Love Removal Machine
SET LIST-Stone Temple Pilot
Wicked Garden
Vasoline
Big Bang Baby
Down
Big Empty
Plus
Meadow
Interstate Love Song
Roll Me Under
Dead & Bloated
Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Sex Type Thing
SET LIST-Bush
Machinehead
This Is War
Everything Zen
The People That We Love
Swallowed
The Sound of Winter
Come Together
Glycerine
Little Things
Comedown
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
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