Jeff Vrabel of the Chicago Sun-Times reviewed VELVET REVOLVER's sold- out concert at The Riviera in Chicago, Illinois Wednesday night (May 19). "Not surprisingly, VELVET REVOLVER sounds exactly like what would happen if one melded parts of GUNS [N' ROSES] with parts of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS," he wrote. "Liberated from [Axl] Rose's penchant for bombastic excess, VELVET REVOLVER has a sound that's still grounded in Slash's trademark riffs, but grittier and more efficient. "Smartly, and since their debut 'Contraband' isn't set to drop until June 8, VELVET REVOLVER loaded its set with crowd-igniting nuggets from its respective pasts. Weiland aired out 'Sex Type Thing' and 'Crackerman' from STP's grunge incarnation, and from the GUNS catalog, there was a ravaging 'It's So Easy', a choogling 'Mr. Brownstone' (a winking self-referential choice for Weiland) and a bounding reading of 'Used to Love Her', the acoustic, murder-themed ditty that probably sounded more controversial in 1988. (The song led into a chant of 'F--- Axl Rose!' from the pit, which Slash defused with more than just a little patience: 'Was that entirely necessary?' "