Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City Blu-ray Movie Review

STP is a well oiled machine.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 25, 2012

Is Scott Weiland the heir apparent to Mick Jagger? Yes, that’s a patently odd question, but it may spring to your mind as it did to mine when you watch Stone Temple Pilots – Alive in the Windy City (which bears the more prosaic title Stone Temple Pilots Live in Chicago on the actual concert), for Weiland dances and prances around the stage in a barrage of weirdly spasmodic moves that recalls Jagger performing his finest “choreography”. Weiland, who has been one of rock’s “problem children” for years (actually decades by this point), with manifold arrests and repeated substance abuse issues, has always been known for his often outrageous performance style, and that is firmly on display here. He struts, preens and basically throws himself all over the stage of the Riviera Theatre, crouching, jumping and otherwise acting out the role of manic rock God frontman with appropriate élan. This is the first authorized live concert video release by the Stone Temple Pilots, and while it was done in support of their eponymous sixth album, the concert is a nice overview of their long and sometimes strangely underrated career. The Pilots have never really seemed to completely fit into whatever genre fans (or more especially critics) have tried to pigeonhole them as, whether that be alt rock, grunge, post-grunge, psychedelic, or that good old fashioned catch all, simple, honest to goodness rock ‘n’ roll. There’s little doubt this is a band intent on high energy sonic assaults, something that is either energizing or enervating (depending probably on your age and basic aural tolerance levels), and that hard driving ethos makes Alive in the Windy City an almost exhausting experience, with few let ups as the band moves from one straight ahead tune to the next. (It isn’t until “Big Empty”, the seventh song in their set, that they even relatively pause for a comparatively mellow moment, and even after that tune, it’s back to the head banging material.)

The inability to force Stone Temple Pilots to fit into a preconceived template is hinted at in the very press sheet accompanying this Blu-ray release, a piece of typical PR purple prose which states “Stone Temple Pilots were conceived in 1992 San Diego [sic], successfully melding alternative rock, hard rock, melodic pop and garage rock into a swirl of post-punk attitude with a hint of glam.” Well, all righty, then. But this multi-genre description at least hints at some of the ineffable qualities of the band, but can’t really convey the outright sonic blast that is in store for listeners when they settle down—however briefly, given much of the music’s catalytic power—to enjoy a Pilots album and/or concert.

The Pilots have had a rather tumultuous history, with various members working with other aggregations as Weiland continued to battle various addictions, but the interesting thing about this concert is just how unified and cohesive the four members are. Almost all of the songs here start with drummer Eric Kretz laying out a measure or two establishing the beat on his sticks, and then the band kicks in, with Robert and Dean De Leo on bass and guitar weaving an intricate pattern that might at times be likened to sonic assault and battery. Weiland is in furious voice throughout the concert, slightly raspy at times (as is his wont) and venturing into his trademark shtick with a megaphone.

There’s an undeniable energy to this performance, one that almost feeds on itself and works both the band and the appreciative audience up into a frenzy at several key moments (including the performance of what has become one of the Pilots’ signature numbers, “Plush”). The actual stagecraft here is pretty minimal, despite the breathless PR hype claiming this is a “visually spectacular” show. What it is really is the typical “screen-fest”, with an upstage lightshow featuring various projections and light effects, some of which (like a really aggressive strobe sequence) might actually be harmful for those prone to seizures. Perhaps that’s what is really happening with Weiland’s very odd movements throughout this high octane concert.

Stone Temple Pilots – Alive in the Windy City features the following tunes:

• 01. Vasoline
• 02. Crackerman
• 03. Wicked Garden
• 04. Hollywood Bitch
• 05. Between The Lines
• 06. Hickory Dichotomy
• 07. Big Empty
• 08. Sour Girl
• 09. Creep
• 10. Plush
• 11. Interstate Love Song
• 12. Bagman
• 13. Huckleberry Crumble
• 14. Sex Type Thing
• 15. Dead And Bloated
• 16. Lounge Fly
• 17. Piece Of Pie
• 18. Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart

Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Stone Temple Pilots – Alive in the Windy City is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock (under the auspices of its video component Eagle Vision) and Rhino with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Those who are expecting digital magnificence from this first "authorized" video concert recording are going to be in for a rude awakening, as this is an at least somewhat disappointing high definition presentation that suffers from overall softness, inconsistent and often extremely murky contrast, and some persistent posterizing and other artifacting due to both the lighting schemes as well as the upstage light display, which often dissolves into a swirling mass of moiré and aliasing. There are several decently sharp sequences here, ones that tend to be in better lit moments that feature close-ups. Some of the shots of Kretz seem to have been filtered, as they have a really gauzy, almost overly grainy, look a lot of the time. The best shots here are from the audience's point of view, including some great "front row" footage that captures Weiland in all his bizarre dancing glory.

Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Stone Temple Pilots – Alive in the Windy City features two lossless audio options, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix and an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down. This is a pretty nonstop "up to 11" sonic slugfest, with only a couple of relatively mellow moments breaking up the otherwise hard charging concert, so dynamic range is somewhat limited throughout the set. Otherwise, though, both of these lossless tracks present Stone Temple Pilots in a brilliantly clear and well delineated setting. Weiland's voice is occasionally swallowed up in the massed riffs of the players and the driving percussion attacks, but generally speaking the mix here is well prioritized and presents a decently spacious sound field that nonetheless offers something akin to Phil Spector's vaunted "Wall of Sound".

Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with STP (1080i; 14:56) features Scott Weiland, dressed strangely like Truman Capote (no, that's not a joke) in a wide brimmed Fedora and overcoat, talking about the new STP album that this tour was in support of. The band then joins in, talking about self-producing an album and how that affected the final product.

Stone Temple Pilots: Alive in the Windy City Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stone Temple Pilots – Alive in the Windy City finally offers longtime STP fans a chance to see their rock heroes in a setting other than horrible quality bootlegs. The bad news here is the video quality, while nowhere near as bad as bootleg quality, isn't quite as sharp as some more demanding videophiles might have expected. Otherwise, though, this is a bristling good time, with Weiland and his bandmates in fine form, pounding out one great tune after another. The stagecraft here leaves a bit to be desired, and those who are prone to bad reactions to strobe lighting and the like should stay far away from this concert video. STP fans will no doubt want to check out this new release. Others may want to rent this first before committing to a purchase.