Review: DC101 Chili Cookoff... and STP

The DC Metro trains were crowded... Cloudy gray Saturday afternoon...Cold breeze that hints rain is definitely on its way...No worries, I braved and ventured out to RFK stadium. Nothing (including rain) was stopping me from attending the "kickoff" to the DC area's summer lineup of concerts; the DC101 Chili Cook-off. To top that, the lineup was not to be missed. We have both Alice in Chains AND Stone Temple Pilots playing the same venue. Both bands are respective headliners so to have them both play at the same concert was indeed exciting!

photo courtesy of dcvincephotography.blogspot.com

The train ride to the stadium was reminiscent of good old Redskins days. RFK stadium was the Washington Redskins' home before they moved to Landover a few years ago. Even the walk from the Stadium-Armory Metro stop to the RFK main gate brings back Redskins memory of scalpers and food/merch vendors.




Purchasing tickets at the gate was a breeze. We arrived just in time to hear Cage the Elephant playing their annoying "Aint No Rest For The Wicked" in the background. I hate that song.. would be good if only they didn't overplay it on the radio.

Beer tickets were $7 a pop and buys you one drink (3 for $20). Some random dude gave us 4 beer tickets on our way in saying he's leaving and just handed it to me... SWEET! After the ID line and the actual beer line, it was just enough time for settle in a good spot for Alice's performance.

photo courtesy of wikipedia

"Them Bones" sounded amazing... what an opening song. William Duval is no Layne, but is one hell of a vocalist that fills in Staley's humongous shoes just fine. We Die Alone... Man in the Box... Would... I was speechless. Wow! I closed my eyes to start to feel the bass kick on my chest and feel my fingers vibrate from the bass guitar. As I opened my eyes, the gray skies finally decided to give us some drizzle, which eventually turned into rain. But who cares! It didn't matter...AIC sounded phenomenal thanks to Jerry Cantrell who has NOT skipped a beat. As co-founder, the legendary guitarist provided the necessary backbone and consistency the band needed after the tragic death of its beloved frontman. I really wished I saw AIC one more time before Layne's passing. He is surely missed but never forgotten. But to DuVal's credit, he rocked the place! Closing with Rooster was epic; it really showcased Cantrell's songwriting skills as well as justified DuVal's capability to step in as the new face of Alice in Chains.

Then...more beer line, port-a-potty line, drenched shirt from the rain, a couple of STP shirt merch purchases and a philly cheesesteak later, we decided to hang back from the crowd so that we can make a quick exit (avoiding the dreaded Metro ride home after a stadium event). Then Weiland and the gang got on stage for their legendary performance. "One time a thing occurred to me... what's real and what's for sale..." Great song to open. I have not seen STP since they got back together in 2008 so this was like seeing them all over again! Coincidentally, STP is releasing their new album tomorrow so dont forget to pick up a copy. "It isn't you, isn't me...search for things that you can't see....going blind, out of reach....somewhere in the Vasoline!" Band sounded amazing, except there was something a bit off.... and it wasn't the mix, nor the guitars, nor the drums

... it was Weiland. Maybe he had one of those days... but he just did not sound right.

photo courtesy of wikipedia

Wicked Garden and a few new songs later, I decided not to pass judgment on how "he's lost it." Then they played Creep and Plush back to back.... Sad to say but that was when his vocal range really showed its cracks. I was shaking my head with disappointment. I even began to hear the crowd boo him just a bit. I told myself that perhaps its the rain, or he's in one of those funk. Any excuse to put his legendary status back on track. Yeah, that's it.. it was the rain... it really has to be. This guy has been clean for months, he should sound amazing... I was wrong.

No matter what reason I told myself, fact is, the band played awesome. Scot Weiland just wasn't himself that day, at least not to me. Perhaps they utilized his new vocal range on this newer stuff since those sounded great. But when he sang the old classics such as Interstate Love Song, it just wasn't the same Mick Jagger-esque Weiland.

Overall, the concert was awesome! The bands played great. The venue was awesome (thanks DC101 for using the lot instead of the stadium, which provided more space), beer was overpriced (but hey, its a concert), and surprisingly the Philly cheesesteak I had was tasty good (don't really remember the food vendor). Thanks DC for another successful Chili Cook-Off!

On a gloomy Saturday, even with a few missed notes by Weiland, I still saw bright sunshine. A bright future for DC concert goers. And the fact that summer concerts in DC has now been given its proper intro.

The metal Gods have spoken.. so I welcome you, Oh, Live Metal/Rock music!.. Welcome to the DC area! I'll see you metalheads tomorrow at the 930 club for Flyleaf.

Rock On, DC!
\m/
DCVince