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Published on July 29th, 2018 | by Darren Paltrowitz

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A Look At The Groundbreaking “Revolution 3” Summer 2018 Tour

Imagine a summer tour where you can watch 3 classic bands play 3 hours of rock radio classics. That amazing concept was conceived with this summer’s Revolution 3 tour. Stone Temple Pilots, The Cult, and Bush are co-headlining a run of dates this summer, which included a stop at Long Island, New York’s Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on Friday, July 27th. The “revolution” within the tour’s name helped to explain how the order of the bands changes from night to night.

Before Stone Temple Pilots hit the stage, Julien-K played a 25-minute opening set. Featuring former members of the band Orgy, Julien-K started recording in 2003, then would first hit the road in 2007. Its debut album Death To Analog was released in 2009, as mixed by Tim Palmer (U2, The Cure) and featuring contributions from Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. Over the years, touring has been done alongside Linkin Park, Mindless Self Indulgence, Evanescence, My Chemical Romance, Filter, and HIM.

Julien-K’s set featured a mix of originals penned by frontman Ryan Shuck and guitarist Amir Derakh and favorites from their prior band Orgy. As heavy synth-driven rock music, Julien-K manages to combine old and new within its interesting sound. The latest album from Julien-K is Time Capsule: A Future Retrospective 2003 – 2017, which features previously-unreleased music from the Long Beach, California-based act, which also includes multi-instrumentalist Bidi Cobra. The next studio effort from Julien-K, Harmonic Disruptor, is currently slated for a May 2019 release.

First of the co-headliners was Stone Temple Pilots, who hit the stage a little bit after 7:00 PM. Featuring new vocalist Jeff Gutt, Stone Temple Pilots is on the road in support of the new self-titled STP album. The focus of the quartet’s set was mainly on hits, although two songs from the aforementioned 2018 Stone Temple Pilots collection were played, including first single “Meadow.” To put it simply, Stone Temple Pilots was in absolutely fine form, with top musicianship on display throughout the set. The highlight of the show for many was the group’s reworking of its early-on hit “Plush,” in which the rhythm section of bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz only joined in towards the song’s end, with guitarist Dean DeLeo taking the lead throughout.

If there was anything to criticize about Stone Temple Pilots’ set, it was that they have had so many hits that a 1-hour set does not cover all the grounds expected from the future Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers. Among the singles not played were “Lady Picture Show,” “Creep,” “Dancing Days,” “Tumble In The Rough,” “Sour Girl,” and “Days Of The Week.” If having that many recognizable songs does not reinforce what an important band Stone Temple Pilots has been, I am not sure what will.

Next up was The Cult, as led by founding vocalist Ian Astbury and founding guitarist Billy Duffy. Rounding out the lineup of The Cult is multi-instrumentalist Damon Fox, bassist Grant Fitzpatrick, and former White Zombie and Helmet drummer John Tempesta. The latest album released by The Cult is 2016’s Hidden City. Duffy and Astbury have also kept busy in recent years with other projects including Duffy’s work in Kings Of Chaos with former Guns N’ Roses (and Cult) drummer Matt Sorum and Astbury’s solo career beyond collaborations with UNKLE, Slash, and Japanese noise-rockers Boris.

During the set of The Cult, a major rain storm began. While many bands would lower their energy seeing that the crowd was jolted and seeking shelter, Astbury took a very different approach and absolutely raised the energy of the crowd. This was an incredible rock show for all able to witness the show, as Astbury is still in peak form when it comes to singing and overall stage presence; he still utilizes tambourines like no one else can. Interestingly, The Cult played a career-spanning set, yet kept its 3 biggest hits — including “Fire Woman” — towards the end of its 11-song performance.

About 25 minutes after The Cult left the stage, the lights dimmed for Bush to appear. The group opened with the classic 1994 hit “Machinehead.” The group is of course still fronted by Gavin Rossdale and includes original drummer Robin Goodridge. Rounding out the lineup of Bush is longtime guitarist (and Long Island native) Chris Traynor, who was previously a member of Helmet and Orange 9mm, and bassist Corey Britz, who first joined the ranks of Rossdale and crew in 2010.

While Bush is often thought of as a “90s band” or a “grunge band,” the group stayed together until 2002, only going on hiatus for 8 years until 2010. Furthermore, its 1999 album The Science Of Things did reach platinum status in the United States, while follow-ups titles like 2001’s Golden State and 2011’s The Sea Of Memories did yield charting radio singles. 2017’s Black & White Rainbows is the latest Bush album, and it immediately charted within the United States and various European territories.

Altogether, the Revolution 3 tour provided one of the best live concert experiences I have had this year. Its lineup provided interesting variety, keeping the emphasis on chorus-driven rock, rather than trying to assemble a “90s tour” like peers of Stone Temple Pilots and Bush have tried to do. Hopefully Live Nation and other concert promoters book more billings like this in the future as this evening proved to be value-oriented, concise, fan-oriented, and — most importantly — fun.

Tags: Helmet, Ian Astbury, Jones Beach, Live Nation, New York, Northwell At Jones Beach Theater, Stone Temple Pilots, The Cult

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."

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