This summer the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey was the place to be for your favorite outdoor concerts. Who would pass up a beautiful sunset glowing behind the stage and a beach right across the street from the venue. All summer long the venue hosted local artists as well as huge touring bands. The Stone Temple Pilots closed out the last outdoor show of the summer at the Stone Pony Summer Stage. They were not alone on the bill for that night. Rival Sons, a band from Long Beach, CA / Nashville, TN shared the stage with them.
The headliners of the show led the way for the night with lead singer Jeff Gutt walking on stage with a black leather jacket and sunglasses to start the show. Having been the singer for Stone Temple Pilots since November 2017, it was almost business as usual by this point in a position that is as iconic as the band name itself. The first song of the night was “Coma” but even early on Jeff jumped into the photo pit during a song and interacted with the fans who were standing up front for the show. It was going to be one of those nights!
Second song of the night was “Wicked Garden” followed by “Crackerman” which came from their debut album “Core”. They also played other songs such as “Vaseline” from their album “Purple” as expected, it was just hit after hit after hit.
Despite the longevity of the band going back to the 90’s, it was a bit of a mixed crowd from the grunge scenesters to the later generation, a sign that their music is timeless in a way.
It’s unfortunate that the band lost 2 of the most legendary lead singers, frontman Scott Weiland and the more recent addition of Chester Bennington, known for his work with Linkin Park. The remainder of the band is still the same with Dean DeLeo (guitar), his brother Robert DeLeo (bass), and Eric Kretz (drums), keeping the spirit of Stone Temple Pilots alive.
STP released a new album “Rhino” in 2018, lead singer Jeff Gutt fits in nicely with his powerful voice. As the band walked back on the stage for an encore of “Piece of Pie” and “Sex Type Thing”, we were reminded just how great the band still despite the absence of an iconic voice that still resonates with fans to this day. The appreciation of those who attended were not lost on the band however by the end of their performance as they took a bow in front of the crowd.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Kimberly Ann of Garden State Band Connection
