Old hits overwhelm new Velvet Revolver material

MANSFIELD -- As he performed with Velvet Revolver at the Tweeter Center Tuesday night, former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland bristled at every turn. Weiland, unlike his four bandmates, including ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, seemed weighted by Velvet Revolver's role as superstar spectacle.

Though the show was filled with new songs from the band's new album, "Libertad," nothing sounded new. Oddly, the sprinkling of Guns N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots classics was refreshing. Following a typically propulsive but ultimately vapid "Let It Roll" and "She Mine," Weiland ditched his military officer's hat, stripped off his white shirt and tie (revealing a lean, toned torso), and launched into the weightier "Big Machine," which brought in McKagan's considerable vocal harmonies.

When McKagan pulled on an acoustic guitar and the band sat down on stools at the front of the stage to play a stunning trilogy, a real presence was finally felt. New song "The Last Fight" was anchored by a gorgeous anthemic chorus that Weiland passionately nailed. It could have been Ray Charles up there, just classic. He seemed warmed and found the sad beauty in STP's "Interstate Love Song." Meanwhile, GNR's country ditty "Patience" saw Slash, playing a double-neck guitar with trademark top hat and cigarette in place, adding a sweet solo.

Other GNR staples, "It's So Easy" and "Mr. Brownstone," both of which sounded tailor-made for Weiland, led to STP's "Sex Type Thing." But rather than rely on past glories, Velvet Revolver's "Slither" closed the show.

Seattle rock veterans Alice in Chains' set included a suitably mournful "Down in a Hole" and a sadly tepid "Rooster." Though the late Layne Staley's vocals were ably revised by William Duvall (of Atlanta rockers Comes With the Fall), it was purely a good vocal match, adding up to little more than a tribute. Chicago hard rockers Kill Hannah opened with a short set, mostly culled from its sophomore album, "Until There's Nothing Left of Us."