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A couple of months ago, my girlfriend and I decided to catch the Stone Temple Pilots concert in Las Vegas, and the timing couldn't have been better: I absolutely needed to get away this weekend.

STP is every bit as cool as you'd think. They did nearly their entire catalog. And they didn't leave the obvious stuff for an encore. There was a 5-minute break while the crowd chanted and cheered. My girlfriend and I wondered aloud what they still had left to play, since we'd heard all the obvious crowd pleasers. Then STP retook the stage. Guitarist Dean DeLeo did a little dreamy, feedback-fueled exploration, and finally Scott Weiland marched to the front of the stage holding a megaphone, and leaned out over the crowd: "I AAAAAAAAMMM SMELLING LIKE A ROSE THAT SOMEBODY GAVE ME..."

Everyone went insane.

The surprise thrill of the weekend were openers Billy Boy on Poison (NSFW audio). They took the stage one guitarist down, and so their lead singer kind of stood up and announced, "Well, I'll just do an hour of stand-up then."

Billy Boy rocked. They've got a punk-infused rockabilly that I just can't get enough of. Download their EP, Sweet Mess from Amazon. If you like Queens of the Stone Age, or The Killers, or maybe even The White Stripes, this is for you.

I'm back in town, well rested, and heading for the climbing gym tonight. All is right with the world.

Quick Update: Since everyone's asking, no, STP did not do anything new. It was all stuff that's been released on CD, which was fine, since everything they played rocked so hard. Imagine the ultimate greatest hits album, played live, and you've got a good idea of the playlist. I would have loved to hear their rendition of Zep's "Dancing Days", but 'twas not to be, alas.