Recap: Scott Weiland at the Pabst Theater

Given Scott Weiland’s reputation for trainwrecks on stage and off, it was hard to know what to expect from the ex-Stone Temple Pilots/Velvet Revolver front man, or what to hope for, going into his show Friday night at the Pabst Theater. Would he be staggering around drunk and knocking over drum stands? Would he challenge audience members to a fight? How about a slurred, unintentionally hilarious tirade bashing Slash, Matt Sorum, or the DeLeo brothers? You can do that, can’t you Weiland? In the end, Friday’s show had very little of what has made Weiland infamous—for better or worse.

The set started with an extended, unrehearsed-sounding jam. The two guitarists backing Weiland traded solos for 15 minutes as he engaged in some off-the-cuff scat singing. At least Weiland looked snappy in a crushed red velvet jacket, white shirt, and tie, and he wasn’t visibly intoxicated, belligerent, or stoned. Weiland then gave the audience a taste of what they came for, turning in a solid “Vasoline” off of STP’s Purple that came complete with an impressive, note-for-note replication of Dean DeLeo’s guitar solo. It was the first of three STP tracks the band played: “Interstate Love Song” suffered a bit from an iffy arrangement, but “Unglued” was an unexpected treat that cooked from beginning to end.

By mid-set I was feeling guilty for wanting to see Weiland in the depths of an epic bender. He was actually sounding great, singing in the rich baritone he employed on the first couple of STP records instead of the raspy, high-register crooning that marked his later work. This was particularly noticeable during “Mockingbird Girl,” a song from his 1998 solo record 12 Bar Blues that Weiland sung strong and proud before the band exploded into another epic improvisation.

Weiland otherwise filled out the set with tracks from his new solo album, “Happy” In Galoshes, leaning heavily ballad-y love songs like “Paralysis” and “Missing Cleveland.” Weiland’s cover of David Bowie’s “Fame” was decent, though a bit too by-the-numbers. But it fit perfectly with what ended up being a surprisingly average show with no rock star drama and a solidly professional performance by the band. Perhaps this is what we should expect from a healthy, relatively sober Scott Weiland, no matter how unexpected that might be.