August 22, 1994. Stone Temple Pilots brought their “Purple” Tour to the Worcester Centrum. And I was there.
STP has always been a tricky venture live. The quality of their performances during their heyday always hinged on where frontman Scott Weiland was in his cycle of substance abuse and sobriety. I can’t speak on where he was in August of ’94, but I can speak of the quality of this particular gig: it was top-notch.
So was the support that night. I remember being as excited to see DC post-hardcore outfit Jawbox and sludgy alt-rock vets Meat Puppets as I was to see STP, and both openers delivered, whipping the audience into a froth by the time Weiland & Co. took the stage to the opening tremolo of “Vasoline.”
The highlight of the set was midway through, when the band brought the lights down, left the stage for a beat, then returned to a fully-furnished living room setup at center stage, where they performed a short acoustic set before plugging back in and rocking. My only wish is that the quality of the video below matched what I witnessed that night. Still, it’s nice to have a bootleg to dive back into and jog the ol’ memory.
Setlist:
1. Vasoline
2. Silvergun Superman
3. Crackerman
4. Lounge Fly
5. Meatplow
6. Still Remains
7. The Gypsy Davy
8. Pretty Penny
9. Creep
10. Andy Warhol
11. Army Ants
12. Big Empty
13. Interstate Love Song
14. Plush
15. Unglued
16. Dead & Bloated
17. Sex Type Thing