Manchester Apollo

     By Chris Rockson

   

 

    I can't help thinking that I'm not going to enjoy this, as I walked in the place.
    It's not that I don't like the music, I do! It's not that I don't respect the members
    of the band and their abilities as musician's...again, I do! Something's not right,
    and I can't put my finger on exactly what it is....

    I should be in a better mood, it's not a good sign when you turn up to a show
    and your expectations are already low, but I keep telling myself, its Velvet Revolver,
    Slash and Duff from Guns n Roses, Scott Weiland ex-Stone Temple Pilots one of
    the best frontmen in rock there is, and Matt Sorum on the drums, also a highly
    talented guy, so what's the problem?.

    When they hit the stage to a packed Apollo, it all becomes apparent...this isn't the
    Velvet Revolver I saw years ago, its a Spinal Tap, tribute band variety act!!
    Gone is the snarl and sneer, gone is the attitude, excitement, humour and risk
    that they were so well known for, all replaced by a 'lets get it all over with as
    quickly as possible, look mean whilst we do so, then fuck off to another town
    and repeat process' approach. All in the name of Rock n roll!

    Slash, quite clearly the crowd pleaser and star of the whole show, gets rapturous
    applause for his guitar solos, assisted by huge floods of spotlighting, seems bored
    by the whole thing. Peering out from under his trademark top hat, minus cigarette,
    can still bang out a tune on his old Les Paul, whilst Weiland still prances and gyrates
    around like there is at least some life left in him. To the crowd, average age of
    somewhere between 17-19, they love it!! But that's also the problem, or a large part of it.
    Do they know any better? Its all here though, they have the chanting, the clenched
    fist raising, the lighters through the ballads, all well worn out long ago by a million
    other bands....someone needs to create a new template!! That was it!

    That was what was bothering me as I walked into the Apollo an hour and a half ago....
    I secretly knew it would be like this...

    I walked away very disappointed and was inwardly quite amused as I passed a
    group of kids waiting at the bus stop outside -
    'That was the best gig I've ever been to', one of them said, as I passed by....Shame!