Stone Temple Pilots at the top of their game.

I saw these guys at the Innsbrook Pavilion on Wednesday.  Phenomenal.  I've been a fan since '92 when I first heard them on AFKN, the Armed Forces Korea Network.  A significant event in your life will leave such an impression that you'll remember where you were and what you were doing when it happened.  Such an event occurred for me when I heard "Plush" for the first time.  I was getting a military van worked on at the company motor pool.  The radio, of course, was tuned to AFKN since all other stations were Korean.  I can scarcely describe how I felt when I heard the song.  I didn't even know who the Stone Temple Pilots were.  I had heard of Nirvana and was slightly impressed with Metallica's Black Album but for the most part, I thought music had gone to hell.  This one song changed my mind.  I bought the Core album and discovered that good writing had not died and did not reside solely in the mind of Kurt Cobain (who would have effectively killed it).  I know, this is a narrow view but I'm expressing where I was at the time in my mid-twenties.  There is and always has been plenty of good music out there.  It's up to you to find it.  If you're one of those people who let the music industry decide for you then you get what you deserve.

By the way, I'd like to call attention to the band supporting STP on tour.  Rose Hill Drive.  Wow.  Really great band.  I didn't hear a bad song in their set.  Google and Youtube have plenty of samples but none do them justice.  They are meant to be heard live.  Buy their stuff, go to the shows.  I have a knack for seeing rising stars and these guys are definitely on their way.

The only time I was wrong was with a band I heard in Indianapolis back in 2000 called Gun Metal Blue.  I don't know what happened to them.  They had some really good original stuff on their CD and they were very skilled musicians and singers.  They did a rendition of "Stranglehold" that would have scared Ted.  I guess not all good bands make it. Pity.