Reviewed by: Jo "Mama Trash"
Venue: Borgata Hotel & Spa
Date: 06.26.2004
Website: www.velvetrevolver.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/velvetrevolver

Velvet Revolver
The Maxim Fantasy Island Party

For those of you living under a rock, Velvet Revolver is comprised of the core parts of creative genius bands GnR and STP. They appeared on the Maxim Fantasy Island outdoor stage to a 10,000+ crowd around 10pm. A reliable source told me that the delay was due to the birth of Slash's newest baby in NY! The new daddy had to be flown in to Atlantic City via helicopter. They immediately broke into "Suckertrain Blues" and the crowd roared with excitement! Each song was better than the next as the crowd sang along to both the old and new tunes (not bad considering the CD "Contraband" was just released on June 8th)! Weiland was up to his trademark stage antics, "slithering" around the stage with megaphone in hand, belting out the songs with that remarkably uncanny voice and taking clothes off as the set progressed. Slash and Duff are always a blast to watch as they stroll around the stage loving every minute of their time in the spotlight performing for their adoring fans. Weiland was significantly more interactive with the crowd this time. Slash interacted with the crowd as well stating "This is a great fucking gig", "Maxim - the pimps and thieves run free"...he went on from there, but I don't want to misquote him! On a humorous note, Slash thought he was in "Atlanta". Set was a little over 60 minutes and set list included:
 
 Suckertrain Blues
 Do it for the Kids
 Crackerman
 Headspace
 Illegal i
 So Easy
 Fall to Pieces
 Big Machine
 Set Me Free
 Used to Love Her
 Slither
 Sex Type Thing
 Mr. Brownstone (lyrics in first verse were wrong)
 
 Slash's guitar riffs in "Fall to Pieces" were as emotional as Weiland's into remarks for the song. Each chord sending a chill from head to toe bringing you a visual of the feelings that Weiland was facing when he wrote the song. My personal favorite was "Illegal i", not a fan of the song on the CD, but now I love it. They extended the instrumental jam session toward the end allowing Slash, Duff and Matt to show off their musical expertise. Bottom line is this, if you are looking for a FUN night of entertainment go see Velvet Revolver. They are fantastic musicians - not only to hear, but to watch perform. Be sure to check out my exclusive Velvet Revolver pics on the pics page and stay on top of all things Velvet at their awesome NEW VELVET REVOLVER SITE!!!It was surreal to see them up close and personal. I have admired these guys for years and it was an honor to be able to photograph them. Scott Weiland continues to carry the torch as the greatest frontman on the planet. Velvet Revolver IS indisputably the top rock and roll band of our generation and I would say that they have accomplished their goal of "taking the music back".