The Val Air Ballroom was lit up and the doors were packed full Tuesday night for Velvet Revolver.

Anticipation for Alice in Chains was running high, and the venue was in a good mood.

After the sound check, a roadie announced that Alice in Chains wasn’t coming. The crowd went nuts. It definitely didn’t help that Guns N’ Roses didn’t announce when they were coming out.

The place was jammed with riotous people and the moshing started before the band even came out.

Just before nine, after an hour of boredom and commotion, Velvet Revolver hit the stage.

Monstrous racks of lights, huge stage monitors, and rows of amplifier cabs filled the stage.

Bassist Duff McKagan came up and sang the first song, which was a bluesy riff traced with ripping guitar solos by Slash, top hat included, and Dave Kushner. Slash barreled into the next song, and Scott Weiland’s vocals ran out with shades on and slicked-back hair. It was a roadhouse blues-style song, and Weiland sang it with the biggest Jim Morrison soul he could muster.

The crowd went nuts as the previous hard feelings dropped.

The concert showcased most of Velvet Revolver’s catalog. But the best was the band’s versions of songs by Guns N’ Roses and Stone Temple Pilots. The Guns N’ Roses songs they played included “Patience,” “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone.” Weiland actually sang the songs really well. His version of “It’s So Easy” was awesome, along with Slash’s guitar solo on “Mr. Brownstone.”

The band played an impressive version of STP’s “Plush,” along with two other Stone Temple songs.

Weiland stage-dived and crowd-surfed over to the bar in the middle of “Plush” while ranting improvised and muttered dialogue.

His performance was inspiring and more kick-ass than ever. Although I think his efforts to kick his smack habit have been failing, if you know what I mean.

Slash pulled a Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck out for the cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” The whole crowd was singing along, and it made a nice tribute to Syd Barrett.

The band played an extra-long set to make up for the lack of an opening band. Epic versions of “Fall to Pieces” and “Slither” rounded out the evening and the lights came back on.

Weiland left the stage on the back of drummer Matt Sorum’s drums, piggybacking his way to the side of the stage. Slash and Duff were dripping with sweat.

Velvet Revolver had played their hearts out all night and the crowd loved them for it. Slash showed that he deserves the recognition of being a guitar hero. And Weiland sang emotionally throughout the night, imparting “words of wisdom” between songs.

– Tyler Coenen is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Harlan.