Wednesday November 4, 2015 was a very happy day for me in the music world. On this day I was not only going to see one of my favorite all-time musicians/singer/song writers Scott Weiland and his new project with The WildAbouts at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, I was also granted a photo pass with all access by the opening band Slater Slums. Scott Weiland is known as the frontman of Stone Temple Pilots that emerged into the mainstream in the early 90's. With his dynamic vocal range and natural lyricism he wedged his band into a new catagory that forged them through the charts and has forever etched their music into history. Scott didn't stop there, sometime in mid 2000 Scott became part of a supergroup called Velvet Revolver which included members Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner. Once again Scott landed a golden egg with this band and his song "Slither" helped pave the way for a Grammy Award in 2005 for the bands best hard rock performance. In 2014 Scott started a new project called Scott Weiland & The WildAbouts. They released an album in March of 2015 called "Blaster". Scott has expressed his excitement within the making of this album relating this experience to that of his first two album releases with STP. He has stated feeling an infectious child like enthusiasm that has brought a new light back into his artistic mind. The House Of Blues show was the bands second round touring in support of their new album. The Wildabouts consisted of a newer group of musicians different from his previous tour back in January of 2015. The WildAbouts are Nick Maybury guitar, Tommy Black on bass and Joey Castillo on drums. Once again Scott has landed a super group of musicians that enhance his creativity to another level. Although the venue was not sold out, the evening had an intimate feeling amongst die-hard fans that have long-awaited the return of this legend. They opened up with "Crackerman" from the first STP album Core and spun into "Modzilla" and "Amethyst" from their new album Blaster. The music was tight and there was a friendly fun interaction going on between Scott and his side kicks Nick and Tommy. Scott looked happy to be back in the saddle again as he grabbed his signature megaphone swinging it around and singing thru it "getaway, gotta to getaway" in Crackerman. Scott didn't appear to be 100% as he slagged on the vox a bit and his pace was slowed. But by the time "Big Bang Baby" played out, it appeared Scott found a groove and rode it out through the 15 song set list which included songs from STP, Velvet Revolver and his new album Blaster (see set list). I really thought his cover of David Bowie's "Jean Genie" was sensational, as did the crowd. The third and final encore song was "Unglued" from STP's album Purple and it really felt like a new beginning for this talented man. By this time I was backstage experiencing a once in a lifetime opportunity upclose with this legend. I will always remember this night and now wish I had waited longer to see if Scott would take a picture with me. I had decided that at The Roxy show on Dec. 21st I would make sure I would stay and wait for as long as it takes. Unfortunately sad news came on Dec. 3rd while on tour that Scott Weiland passed away. I was actually shocked at first because I was hoping he would gain his strength and could finally overcome his drug addiction. I will not and can not comment on this matter for I have not lived in his shoes or anyone that has a drug addiction. I will state that I am sad as are many other people including his family, close friends and bandmates. My heart goes out to each and everyone of you. I hope everyone will remember what love, joy and happiness his artistic expressions brought us through his music. Scott Weiland's music will live forever. R.I.P.
See a fully gallery from the show here.