Revolution 3 Tour, feat Stone Temple Pilots, Bush and The Cult at Budweiser Stage in Toronto

Live Nation hosted The Revolution 3 Tour at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto. This show is an amalgamation of Stone Temple Pilots, Bush and The Cult. When the tour was announced I was excited to be able to see Stone Temple Pilots and the Cult for the first time. This concert isn’t your typical headliner with supporting acts, they all shared equal stage time.

Stone Temple Pilots started out the evening with former X factor contestant Jeff Gutt on vocals.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, would he sound and act like the late Scott Weiland or would he bring his own style to the band? His voice was slightly similar but he was his own person, not trying to replicate Scott. I thought his performance was top notch and he was a great fit with the band. They played hits from days gone by and looked like they had a great time doing so. A few notable songs within their 12 song set list were Plush, Meadow and Interstate Love Song. They displayed an amazing stage presence and had great energy even though the city was engulfed in a heatwave. Stone Temple Pilots marked the bar high for the next to acts to follow.

Bush was up next. This was my second time seeing them perform and they certainly didn’t disappoint. Gavin is a great showman and engages very well with the audience. He walked through the venue during the cover song Come Together by the Beatles. The fans ate it up. I suspect that he was in the crowd for longer then anticipated and you could tell the band was basically ad libbing during his absence. The crowd favorite was their hit song Machine Head, although they certainly appreciated Glycerine and Swallow. Bush put on a great show and was able to keep up the momentum that was established by Stone Temple Pilots. Their set list for that evening can be seen here.

The Cult was the last band of the evening and actually the one I was most excited about, yet the least impressed with. Unlike the other two acts I felt like singer Ian Astbury vocals had seen better days. He also possessed this “Rock Star” attitude from days gone by. At one point he kicked a stage monitor into the lighting component that was at the edge of the stage and swore about it. That sort of behavior simply doesn’t impress me. I know I was not the only one who felt that way as the venue emptied in droves midway through their set. Their stage presence lacked luster, with front man Astbury standing behind the mic stand for about half of the set, occasionally using a tamborine, but barely moving about. The exception to this was guitarist Billy Duffy. It looked like he had a pulse, moving about and engaging the crowd. Out of their 11 song set list they had the most songs that I knew. I could enjoy the songs for the memories they brought me but was also disappointed with the actual performance.

Stone Temple Pilots

Bush