May 13, 2005:
Just after 9:30 p.m. on Friday the 13th, the stage at Montage Mountain was bathed in red light and the opening chords of “Sucker Train Blues” hit the estimated crowd of 7,500.
The audience had showed up to hear supergroup Velvet Revolver, made up of members from Guns N’ Roses — Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum — plus former Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland and former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner.
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- TIMES-SHAMROCK ARCHIVES Velvet Revolver lead guitarist Slash performs on Aug. 24, 2007, at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain.
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- TIMES-SHAMROCK ARCHIVES Velvet Revolver lead singer Scott Weiland performs Sept. 14, 2007, at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain.
The group played original music such as “Slither,” “Do It for the Kids” and “Headspace” plus songs from the members’ former groups, including Stone Temple Pilots’ “Crackerman” and “Sex Type Thing” and Guns N’ Roses’ “Mr. Brownstone” and “It’s So Easy.”
Los Angeles-based band Hoobastank opened the show, hitting the audience with its radio hit, “The Reason,” along with songs such as “Crawling in the Dark” and “Running Away.”
Tickets for the opening show of the 2005 season at Montage started at $39.50.
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- TIMES-SHAMROCK ARCHIVES Velvet Revolver lead singer Scott Weiland stands on stage at the Ford Pavilion at Montage Mountain on May 13, 2005.
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- TIMES-SHAMROCK ARCHIVES Velvet Revolver lead guitarist Slash, above, delivers a lick with bassist Duff McKagan on May 13, 2005, at Ford Pavillion at Montage Mountain.
This wasn’t the first time members of this supergroup played in Northeast Pennsylvania. In August 1988, Guns N’ Roses performed along with Aerosmith at Pocono Downs. Stone Temple Pilots performed along with the Flaming Lips and the Butthole Surfers at the Bud Light Amphitheater at Harveys Lake in July 1993 for the Bar-B-Q Mitzvah Tour.
Velvet Revolver returned to Montage Mountain on Aug. 24, 2007, when it played before a crowd of more than 5,000 people. Alice in Chains and Kill Hannah joined them for that visit.
TIMES-SHAMROCK ARCHIVES Velvet Revolver fans shout out their appreciation after a song on May 13, 2005, at Montage Mountain.
Brian Fulton has been the librarian at The Times-Tribune for the past 15 years. On his blog, Historically Hip, he writes about the great concerts, plays/musicals and celebrity happenings that have taken place throughout NEPA. He is also the co-host of the local history podcast, Historically Hip. He competed and was crowned grand champion on an episode of NPR quiz show “Ask Me Another.” Contact: bfulton@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9140; or @TTPagesPast
