Hootie vs. STP

I spent part of my weekend listening to live music that made me wax nostalgic for my college days. Late Saturday night in Fort Worth, me and a buddy caught Hootie and the Blowfish at Billy Bob’s. I followed that up with Stone Temple Pilots last night at Nokia.

Both shows were very strong, but I have to say that Hootie gets the nod. The band that was all the rage in 1994 following the release of “Cracked Rear View” was spot on with its hits and added a few fantastic cover songs. Hootie covered David Allen Coe’s “You Never Even Call Me By My Name,” which went over like gangbusters at Billy Bob’s, as one might suspect. They also tackled Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova” and mixed a little of Kool and the Gang’s “Get Down on It” in the middle of set-closer “Only Wanna Be With You.” It was truly a fantastic concert experience.

STP also had some high points to its show — just not as many as Hootie. The recently-reunited band did a great job on all of its hits during a nearly two-hour set. Although lead singer Scott Weiland was nearly impossible to understand when he was mumbling between songs, he was spot-on on several songs, including “Dead and Bloated” during the encore.

I always love listening to great live music. But also getting to remember my college days made for a great weekend. The Rangers taking two out of three from the Phillies didn’t hurt either.