Velvet Revolver - ‘Rock & F**kin’ Roll’, verified

The banner behind states - ‘Rock & Fuckin’ Roll’ - and these fivesome calling themselves Velvet Revolver don’t kid about it. From the opening salvo it was Rock as we used to know and love it: big, epic, in the best tradition of young legends this band consists of. Bare chests, giant riffs, drumming as big as the Chrysler Building, vocals somehow strong and camp at the same time…

With a line-up of rehab old-hands - Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum [all former Guns N’Roses members], fronted by former Stone Temple Pilot Scott Weiland, plus second guitarist Dave Kushner [of Electric Love Hogs] - did look [on paper] like another supergroup that could be relying on its past reputation and legendary status on account of spent creativity.

Well, cynics had to swallow their mal-expectations as VR dropped an album that was pure, platinum-coated R‘n‘R and, no lottery luck needed to predict - ‘Contraband’ debuted at the top of the USA chart. Launching tonight’s entertainment with the raucous ‘Sucker Train Blues’, followed by high-speed anthem ‘Do It For The Kids’. we get further pulverised by heavyweight riffing - and it must be quite humbling being a second guitarist to our own [born in Stoke-on-Trent] Slash.

Dressed in a waistcoat and with the locks flowing as he moved across the stage, McKagan bassing potently and displaying nicely toned torso; Weiland, with his captain’s cap, is painfully emaciated but commandeers the stage with energy, charisma and a nonchalant panache. [Occasionally the man plays even keyboards!]

The pace was slowed down for a rendition of the GN’R’s ‘Used to Love Her’ and ‘Illegal Song’ but they keep away from the past and concentrated on the present that contains elements of some epic playing - at moments jazzy, at others Led Zeppelinesque - but it also gets extremely mighty during ‘Big Machine’ and ‘Slither’. [If Led Zepp were to reform and Dave Grohl wasn’t available, they should give Matt Sorum a ring.]

VR live are brilliant - and, so bloody great to have such a band around! - because, McKagan once observed of their album, “we bring the chaos back to Rock’n’Roll”.

This VR fires all its chambers… It even looked they fired an extra one when we misread, at the beginning of the show, ‘Rock & F**kin’ Roses’, while Weiland was introducing the band as “We are Velvet Revolver, not Stone Temple Pilots, not Guns N‘Roses”. That would have been some statement although VR made a delightfully raw one nonetheless.