I recall him walking out in a suit, cigarette in hand, to open STP set at San Diego's Street Scene and they bust out Shine On You Crazy Diamond. The crowd didn't know what they were seeing but when the set was done hearing people say that was the best show they'd ever seen.......During No4 era.
Or doing the Las Vegas HOB performance. It was MGD Blind Date promotion so you didn't know who the band was. Couldn't believe it was STP. And they were on fire.
I know the songs are great but his performance is what really set them apart for me.
I was there, too. Really cool to see Dancing Days live. Although, correction, this was the SLDD-era, but despite having relapsed on pain meds during that era, the band was still firing nearly on all cylinders, just like they were in the No. 4 era.
This show might be my second favorite full on show of theirs I went to. A year earlier, I caught them, on the barricade, at the Joint in Vegas for those year end shows they did for fans. I caught the second one after Weiland was released because of domestic violence (we later learned it was a fight over meds for a messed up knee). That's probably my favorite STP show. The Street Scene might be 1B for me, even.
The whole show was great. If you remember, Violent Femmes opened and LIVE played next. They were very, VERY good (and Dennis Rodman came out on stage for White, Discussion), and I am a big fan of theirs. I thought maybe STP could't live up. Then they did Shine On... into Vasoline and they stole the mojo right back.
Since I have talked about my 1A and 1B STP shows, 1C is the acoustic show they did in front of Tower Records during the No. 4 era. All of those were extra special for their own reasons.