The skies were threatening as the crowds began to gather at the PNC Music Pavillion for the 20th anniversary of the 106.5 End of Summer Weenie Roast. Luckily, the rain held off all day and allowed concertgoers to enjoy cloudy skies and cooler temperatures. With two music stages and an interview stage, there was plenty of entertainment to be had. This year’s lineup was a look back in time through the last 20 years of alternative music with acts dating back to the beginnings of the station to present day.
Headlining the show was Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington on lead vocals. The band rocked the house through a short but sweet set playing classic STP tunes like “Vasoline” and “Wicked Garden.” The band was tight and seemed comfortable with Bennington in the lead spot. Chester was decked out in a suit complete with snazzy hat and sunglasses. His vocals were on point and he even seemed to channel a bit of ex-STP frontman Scott Weiland as he danced around the stage. Other old school performances were put in by Blues Traveler and Live with hometown frontman Chris Shinn. An unfortunate accident occurred early on in Live’s set as Chris slipped on a monitor dropping the equipment and himself in the photo pit. After making sure everyone in the pit was ok, he recovered and made his way down the stairs into the audience, much to the delight of the fans, and finished out a rocking set.
Another notable appearance was Jack Antonoff of Fun.’s new band Bleachers. With two drummers and two keyboardists, Bleachers had a lush, full sound that really blew the lid off the main stage. Langhorne Slim and the Law were back this year and as always provided an entertaining set as did British rockers Catfish and the Bottlemen who whipped the younger crowd into a frenzy with tracks off their debut album “The Balcony.”
The outdoor side stage also featured a number of excellent performances. X Ambassadors was amazing live with brothers Sam and Casey Harris tearing up the stage. Casey, blind since birth, tore up the keyboards and really put on a show as he jumped and jammed through their hit single “Renegades.” The biggest surprise and best act of the day belonged to none other than MuteMath. These guys simply tore it up from beginning to end and set the bar higher than anyone else could possibly climb. You know you’re in for a rare treat when the band’s drummer needs to ducttape his headphones to his head. Darren King was on fire behind his kit and lead singer Paul Meany dove into the crowd to do a little surfing as he sang. By far, the best act of the day and it’s no surprise that their current fall tour is already sold out.
This year’s End of Summer Weenie Roast had something to offer everyone. With a little bit of the old and a little bit of the new, fans young and old were rocked hard all day long. It was a perfect day of rock and roll and a perfect way to end the summer concert season. Here’s to twenty more years of Weenie!
Stone Temple Pilots setlist:
Vasoline
Wicked Garden
Sex Type Thing
Crackerman
Big Bang Baby
Out of Time
Big Empty
Plush
Interstate Love Song
Down
Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Piece of Pie
Dead and Bloated
We would like to thank Kim Shiver from Livenation for her assistance for her assistance in obtaining credentials so BackstageAxxess can review the show.
