There were a couple of changes to Velvet Revolver’s show in Helsinki. First, the show was moved to a bigger hall due to increasing ticket demand, and then a local warm up act was added to the bill at the last moment.
The Old Ice Hall is not the best possible place to have a show, but this time the acoustics were fine and the sound level was kept surprisingly low. This show would have definitely fit better in a club, but thanks to the eager audience that rushed to the front, it was definitely as hot as in it would have been in a club, if not hotter.
Weiland started promisingly enough, taking off a piece of clothing per song, but sadly stopped only after removing his hat, coat and shirt! There was lots of extra eye candy to be had since the only member not ending up without a shirt was Dave. As could be seen, the whole band seemed to be in pretty good shape.
Since this super group only has one album under their belts so far, their actual set only lasted 50 minutes, and that included a jam during the “Illegal I Song,” during which Weiland got to play keyboards. The fourth song was STP’s “Crackerman,” but the biggest cheers went to “It’s So Easy”. It seemed like most of the audience were there to hear G N’R tunes, since those were the ones that got the biggest reaction from the crowd. They played “Used To Love Her” in the first encore, and the place exploded when they started the second encore with “Mr. Brownstone.” Slash even came out wearing his top hat!
They weren’t too many smiles to be seen on stage (not counting Matt’s sunny face) … the rest of the group seemed to be focusing more on working than enjoying themselves. Weiland is an enigmatic front man, but seems to sport a “working solo” attitude. The band’s chemistry seemed to be working best between Duff and Slash, who could be seen leaning against each other’s back at times, and positioning themselves as a united front. Every time either Slash or Duff came to the front of the stage, the crowd cheered and pushed forward and acted hysterical, which they both seemed to get a kick out of.
The show ended in a Sex Pistols cover, to which Weiland managed to insert an original Johnny Rotten feel. After every one else had left the stage, Matt took Slash’s guitar and acted out an extra guitar solo.
The show was sadly over after only an hour and 20 minutes. Someone should’ve told them to rehearse more songs to include to their set!
By the end of the show, the opening act was forgotten but it must be said that Hybrid Children did play a good show and positively advertised their up and coming new album. They even played a song from the new album called Downer, which can be downloaded from their website. This band is worth checking out since they do have catchy songs and they were, after all, hand picked by the headliner to open the show! Duff was even seen standing at the side of the stage during the HC’s show …
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