From Lana:


I attended the Velvet Revolver gig at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles on May, 9 and I am still recovering 
from what I experienced there. First of all, the tickets were all sold out and I went without any in hopes to 
buy some from scalpers or thinking that maybe I’ll have some luck and the box office would distribute 
some tickets closer to the show. I arrived at about 3:00pm and went straight to the Roxy. To my avail, 
there were a few diehard fans that looked too desperate for a ticket and I thought, ‘maybe the box office 
will open since so many want to catch the show.’ On and on, I waited and chatted with a few folks. There 
was a big truck of the bands’ instruments and the crew unloaded the mega expensive equipment for the 
nights show. As the day dragged and came closer and closer to the show I panicked, walked back and 
forth and thought, ‘it would be too painful if I missed! the chance of a lifetime, to see my favorite musicians 
all on one stage.’

Then I heard some fans saying that the members are already at the 
Roxy hanging out and doing sound check. As I waited outside I 
heard the drums pounding and the sounds of an electric guitar 
crashing in my ears. I thought, ‘damn, I really can’t miss this 
tonight.’ 

I started getting very anxious and nervous to be left out 
in the cold while everybody that had the tickets would get 
inside infront of me and then I would start thinking, ‘that 
could have been me, entering the Roxy confidently with a 
ticket to one of the most explosive bands on that stage.’ 
So what do I do, I start walking to the left side of the 
Roxy and I spot a few crew members with Matt Sorum (drummer), 
I can’t believe I saw Matt with his blond, spiked hair perfectly 
waxed as if frozen, tattoos all over him and a typical rock 
outfit with a bunch of metal jewelry on him. I did not bother
 to come up to him because I did not want to make a scene; 
besides he was too busy at the moment. Anyways, since I saw 
Matt, I had a good feeling that I could spot anyone in the 
band. My mother was with me and suddenly she runs to me and 
yells to me that she just talked to Slash and that h! e is 
sitting by the Rainbow Bar and Grill. My mother of course 
told Slash that we don’t have any tickets and if he could 
help us, which I though was sort of embarrassing. I mean 
he is Slash not a magician. I decided to go check out 
the right side of the Roxy, where the Rainbow Bar and 
Grill is located and I could not believe my eyes who I 
saw. Right in the balcony of the Rainbow, there was 
Slash (Guitar God, as I like to call him). He was 

sitting with a few fans and I had the courage to 
approach him and chat. I started walking fast, but 
at the same time I thought as if the ground was going 
to collapse under me, I was in complete shock. Finally 
I was came up and asked Slash if there was a chance for 
me to get tickets, Slash was cool and really wanted to 
help, but his immediate words were “I am sorry but the 
tickets are all sold out.” I, of course, felt like a 
shotgun went into me when I heard this but I stayed 
cool and calm. Then I told Slash, ‘Can you at least 
sign an autograph,! ’ but felt uneasy when I entered 
the word at least because I felt as if I was being too 
demanding. The word just blurted out of my mouth and 
I only realized it later; give me a break I was so 
excited to meet Slash that nothing seemed to matter 
at the moment. Anyways, I thanked Slash who looked 
just as cool, calm and down-to-earth as he was ten 
or so years ago and should I say as young as he did 
years ago. He had his signature curly mop hair in a 
low ponytail, wore big hoop earrings, jewelry, and 
a bunch of familiar tattoos, which seemed as if they 
were fading out. I left, thinking that that was the 
last time that I would see Slash in person, but given 
my perseverance I decided to stay till the end to 
see if I had any luck. By this time, I did not know 
whether to be excited or disappointed or both. I met 
Slash and that covered the excitement part but I had 
no ticket to the show, and I was deeply disappointed. 
I felt like it was the end of the world, mainly 
because it was their fir! st private show held for 
celebrities and a few diehard fans and also because 
it was the first time I could see them perform in 
person. Velvet Revolver is a fairly new band with 
mega legendary members. Slash, Duff McKagan, and 
Matt Sorum from Guns N’ Roses; Dave Kushner from 
Suicidal Tendencies and Scott Weiland from 90s 
alternative rock group Stone Temple Pilots. The 
band has been dubbed a “supergroup” mainly because 
of its line up. 

I waited, then suddenly one long-haired, tall, 
rocker-type guy from the Roxy comes up to me and 
tells me if I was the one who talked with Slash. 
I said yes, and then he took me inside the Roxy 
and told me not to worry. I came back outside 
and Slash’s wife, Perla, comes up to me and 
happily hands me tickets to the show. At 
this point, I can’t even describe the feeling 
in words that I felt; its too surreal. First of 
all, I could not believe that Slash even remembered 
that I did not have a ticket and it just shows that 
not all rock stars are egomaniacs and are too 
preconceived with their fame that they forget 
about their fans. Its truly magical what Slash 
did and very considerate of him. Wow! What a 
genuine person and not just a rock star and so 
is his wonderful wife, Perla. Perla was just too 
excited to hand me the tickets and never would 
I have imagined that anything of! this kind of 
nature would happen to me. I shook Perla’s hand 
and thanked her. Some crew member at the Roxy 
took a picture when I was standing next to Perla 
and I was in the middle of everything. I felt a 
shock wave, and electric current inside me. 
Everything happened quickly just like in a dream. 
I tried to contain myself, but could not. Then a 
girl from San Clemente, who I was chatting with 
the first that I came to the Roxy and who had 
no tickets, took pictures of me and a close up 
of the autograph from Slash.   

Finally, doors opened at 8:00pm and I was now 
confident to have the tickets on me, and as I 
stood there first in line, I watched a second 
line with diehard fans hoping to get tickets. 
I thought, ‘that could have been me, but thanks 
to Slash, its not.’ I got in and received a cool
 black, T-shirt with Velvet Revolver members on 
the front and on the back it says, “Live On The 
Sunset Strip Roxy Theater May 9, 2004” Lucky for 
me it was my size. I went in and walked straight 
to the pit, front-row right side of the stage 
where Slash was situated mostly. The curtains came 
up on the opening band, Gosling at around 9:00pm. 
I was too anxious too see Velvet Revolver and so was 
the hungry crowd who stayed calm, until the big moment. 
Finally at around 10:00pm, the curtains slowly came 
up with a bang as the excitement among the crowds 
was building. As the curtain was going up I looked 
arou! nd on stage, while it was dark, I first saw 
Slash with his signature top hat and a mane of 
black, long curly hair, then saw Duff, Matt, Dave 
and Scott getting ready to start. The band kicked 
off the show with “Sucker Train Blues” brash guitars 
and brawny drums filled the air as Scott jolted on 
stage with a vengeance wearing a policeman hat, 
shiny, tight silvery pants, black vest and totally 
dominating the stage with his grotesque, Cirque du 
Soleil type moves. Slash rocked out with his 
signature, ripping riffs supported by Dave’s 
inventive rhythm guitar playing while Duff and 
Matt kept their raging rhythm section, loaded with 
spontaneously fast fills and heavy bass. The moment 
the first song kicked off the crowd went from calm to 
blazing explosive; it was a jungle at the Roxy. 
Following, they played “Spectacle” and it was quite 
a spectacle I can say. The transition from one song 
to the ! other only made a bigger scene and the crowds 
just kept on going as if they known these new songs 
for years. With such lines as “Kick the town with 
broken bones, fight now, stand your ground,” the words 
truly speak to themselves. The transition to “Headspace” 
only created an explosion of screams as the song brought 
the freight—train velocity as Scott continued to dominate 
the stage with his fabulous, serpentine type moves.  
He was all over the place, twisting and turning like a 
rollercoaster ride, making sure he made the rounds at 
both sides of the stage.  “Superhuman,” only kept the 
crowd going strong and super. When the band hit 
“Crackerman,” an old cover song of Stone Temple 
Pilots the crowd went wild and sang along to the 
first lines: “Kickin' as I'm tryin' to sleep I got 
the mud beaneath my shoes Rubber band, rubberband 
Gun in hand, gun in hand I wanna use.” The energy 
here was very feroc! ious. I thought ‘This got to 
be a dream and I have to wake up.’ Just as I thought 
that, the band hit another song with an old favorite 
from Guns N’ Roses called “Mr. Brownstone.” When I 
heard the opening whaling guitar riff and the beefy 
drums, I knew my dreams were all coming true. Personally 
I think Scott did a stellar job on “Mr. Brownstone” and 
made the song his own he did not try to imitate the way 
Axl Rose was signing it in Guns N’ Roses. Perfect! With 
Scott’s range, and intelligence “Mr. Brownstone” made my 
day. “Falling To Pieces” was a power ballad song with a 
twist because it had loud guitars. From a ballad to 
another monstrous hit “Big Machine” with kept tight 
with a tremendous drum and bass groove. The energy still 
going among the crowds as everyone was exhausted. “Illegal 
I,” featured aggressive fills and a punching, speedy snare 

drum intro. As with all the songs, Scott introduced them 
but Slash introduced “Do It For The Kids,” and mistakenly 
said “Kid” instead of “Kid! s.” Slash was just hilarious 
with his cirgarette lighted that burned a few of his hairs 
but luckily the sweat dripping from his face quickly 
contained it. The song is a thick rock. What can I say, 
the band definitely did it for the kids with all the 
excitement in the air. “Set Me Free,” makes guitar 
virtuosity possible with a decadent guitar line creating 
sounds of atmospheric speed waiting to crash and burn, but 
still keep going at every twist and turn. With all the 
distortion, something had to slow down when the band started 
playing a mid-tempo cover song by Guns N’ Roses called “I Used 
To Love Her.” Again Scott did a wonderful job making the song 
his own as he stood by the bass drum and delivered the lines 
with freshness in his voice although by this time the band was 
exhausted. During “I Used To Love Her” Scott picked up a cowboy 
hat from a fan onstage and pranced around with it. Slash was 
running on stage all sweating and so was Duff and Dave, and Matt 
was just like a big machin! e waiting to explode. He pounded those 
drums with precision; a total pro. Another cover from Stone Temple 
Pilots was “Sex Type Thing,” with those rambling guitar lines. 
When “Its So Easy,” came on, it was in the same range as the 
original when Guns N’ Roses performed it. Scott is such a pro; 
he can sing any song and twist it into his own work of art. He 
was stage diving and almost dived into the equipment. Somewhere 
along the gig he managed to change outfits and hats; what a 
showmanship. Now that’s what a rock n’ roll show is all about. 
Toward the midway of the show the whole place was burning, hot 
and Scott started complaining about the AC and how the Roxy 
promised a new air conditioning system that worked for the 
show—nonetheless it was pretty obvious by the sweat that came 
off of my tank top and every one else in attendance that the 
Roxy's air conditioning was non-existent. Like a true rock star, 
Scott was laying on stage for a few minutes and talking all kinds 
of crap about how hot it was, saying, “I feel like I am in a big 
asshole,” and Slash jumped in to add “Its cooking.” Regardless, 
the show went on with another rocker hit and a current single on 
the radio charts “Slither.” “Slither” begins with a grappling 
guitar and brooding bass drilling steadily, with the band boasting 
“Hey, Hey, Hey,” before erupting into a head banging rocker and 
Scott boasts infectious line that will surely be a concert sing-along. 
Slither is a class offering, an old school rocker song that twists 
and turns in the labyrinth of a dark world. Slither brings the best 
of both worlds of Guns N’ Roses classic hit “Nighttrain” and STP’s 
old vibe. The opening riff that drags steadily is played by all 
instruments, which make the sound juicy and full and slowly 
builds into a one monstrous, hea! vy rock hit, leading into 
the nucleus of the song—Slash’s magnetic solo with that choking 
guitar sound.  When the band performed “Slither” I knew this was 
something special, I knew that this band was going to be 
explosive. This band is the real deal, a rock group with not 
fluff. Shortly afterwards, the band played the last song of 
the night, a cover of Nirvana’s “Negative Creep.” Throughout 
the entire show, the band left the stage a few times for a 
few minutes but then came back and rocked the place again. 
Every time they set their foot on stage the crowd cheered 
as if it was the first time that they saw them. Their stage 
presence is just amazing; Scott was just on fire. The entire 
band was kept together; they had a total chemistry on stage, 
some sort of spark needed to keep the crowd going. The explosive 
response from the crowds to songs that they had not heard before 
was ironic because usually the crowd is dead in situations like 
that. ! If there was a perfect word to describe Velvet Revolver 

its domination, they dominated the whole place.