STP for my birthday

I’m going out this evening to see the newly – and somewhat surprisingly, still - reunited Stone Temple Pilots. And on top of that today is my birthday (yes, I am officially a crusty old dude now) so the night holds some promise.

This will be my first time seeing STP. A friend saw them open for someone a long time ago and said they were great. Weiland was great as Velvet Revolver’s front man, so I expect STP to put on a good show as well. I’ve looked at the set lists for previous shows on this tour and they seem pretty consistent as far as what the band is playing: The expected mix of hits from their five studio albums. It looks like the band is allowing fans to pick the set list by registering on their Web site. I didn’t want to register, so if they play stuff I don’t want to hear, I have no one but myself to blame.

To get in the right frame of mind, I decided I should post some STP today. I hit up my collection and pulled one song from each CD. It was hard not to pick familiar songs, especially from the first three albums; it seems like they all got a lot of airplay. I also dug around a little and came up with a couple of things maybe you haven’t heard before including a demo from Mighty Joe Young (the band’s pre-Stone Temple Pilots name) and a so-so quality live recording from earlier this year.

Dead and Bloated.mp3 Core
Big Empty.mp3 Purple
Art School Girl.mp3 Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
No Way Out.mp3 No. 4
Bi-Polar Bear.mp3 Shangri-La Dee Da
Dancing Days (Led Zeppelin cover).mp3 Encomium: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin
Naked Sunday (demo).mp3 Mighty Joe Young (pre-STP, c. 1990)
Plush (acoustic version).mp3 Thank You (The Greatest Hits)
All in the Suit That You Wear (live).mp3 Rock on the Range; Columbus, Ohio, May 17, 2008