Perhaps more than any other act within the metal scene, it can be said that a Puddle Of Mudd concert can be intriguing as much for what could happen as for what actually does. That’s what comes with the track record of enigmatic singer, guitarist and band founder Wes Scantlin.
A frontman who has had more than his share of ups and downs, including bouts with the law and canceled shows, Scantlin has persevered through personal hard times and several lineup changes. He’s vowed that he has plenty more Rock N’ Roll to unleash, and the latest example will be the Friday the 13th release this month of Welcome to Galvania. But first, Puddle Of Mudd hosted its Muddfest last Tuesday night at the Aztec Theatre with Trapt, Saliva, Rehab and Tantric (see 45-photo slideshow below).
All eyes and ears were on Scantlin and his reputation for potentially being a ticking time bomb. For the most part, he passed with flying colors. Early on, Scantlin’s conversation with the venue that was more than two-thirds full on all levels seemed odd. At one point, he said San Antonio reminded him of Amsterdam and went on a brief diatribe while sticking out his blue tongue about how much he liked the latter city. That caused his bassist to give a look of bewilderment as he kept walking further back from his own mic until Scantlin was ready to begin the next song.
Other than that, Scantlin showed moments of gratitude and reflection. Oddly, during opening track and Puddle Of Mudd’s biggest hit “Control,” the band broke into Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” just prior to “Control’s” signature “I love the way you smack my ass” part. The choice and timing — barely two minutes into the show — of Scantlin already deviating from his own song was cause to think, “Oh, boy, here he goes again.” But alas, it merely served as a detour from the rest of “Control’s” rock and angst that helped make it a No. 1 tune on MTV and the charts in 2001. Ironically, as Puddle Of Mudd’s set began with a trace of Black Sabbath, Zakk Wydle’s Zakk Sabbath ended their electric performance with a 15-plus-minute version of the same Sabbath track the following night on the same stage.
Scantlin and his bandmates broke out other signature hits such as “She Fuckin’ Hates Me,” “Stoned” and “Livin’ On Borrowed Time” (ATM Facebook Live footage of both here) and the trio of “Bring Me Down,” “Psycho” and “Spaceship” (watch all below; setlist in slideshow).
Scantlin has had a love/hate relationship with San Antonio over the years. He played a solid gig during the 2010 Fiesta Oyster Bake but canceled a headlining 2013 Siesta Fest performance the night before when his rebellious nature got the best of him in another city. Puddle Of Mudd was supposed to take part in this year’s Oyster Bake as well, but the band could not get out of snowy Iowa in time and never made it to San Antonio. That one was out of Scantlin’s “control.”
But they made it up to the Alamo City at Muddfest. Through it all, Scantlin endured needless heckling from rotten apples in the crowd, one of which along the barrier yelled “You’re a dick” while another in the middle of the Aztec called him a drunk. Whether Scantlin chose to ignore them or heard them at all is something only he knows for certain. But for the most part, Scantlin delivered the goods on additional tracks such as new single “Uh-Oh” (which was on the setlist third-to-last but was performed second overall after “Control), “Away From Me” and smash hit finale “Blurry.”
The bill as a whole consisted largely of bands that had their heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s, perhaps best exemplified by Trapt, Saliva and Tantric. Trapt vocalist Chris Taylor Brown attempted to make a dramatic entrance from an opening underground, but it didn’t have the desired effect on the performance or crowd reaction, and he merely launched into “Still Frame” just as he could’ve done walking onto the stage.
Although those bands mostly had one or two hits that made them famous, they deserve credit for continuing to put out new music. However, they do mostly live off their past live. Although Trapt has been around for 20-plus years, they still felt the need to do a cover in Audioslave’s “Like a Stone.”
Saliva, however, was arguably the best band on the program and without a doubt the most energetic. Vocalist Bobby Amaru was fired up throughout the set and took it upon himself to bring a young child on stage for their biggest hit “Click Click Boom.” The same child, incidentally, was also brought on stage earlier this year by Hatebreed at Vibes Event Center. Saliva could very well have headlined a five-band mini-fest, yet still only played six tracks this night, including “Always” and traditional opener “Ladies & Gentlemen.” Afterwards, drummer Paul Crosby was out and about meeting with city insiders about potentially returning later this year or next year at a new venue to be determined.
The funky rap/metal of Rehab preceded Savlia, while Tantric and lone remaining original member Hugo Ferreira kicked things off at 6:25 p.m. The bill was similar to the Make America Rock Again tour of 2016 at the Rock Box that included Trapt, Tantric, Alien Ant Farm, Saliva and Crazy Town.
But Muddfest was all about Scantlin. With cell phones at the ready among an audience set to pounce and film any erratic action, Scantlin more than got the last laugh. He even made the crowd feel as if it was coming along for the ride in his own special spaceship.
“A lot of these songs that we’re playing for you guys were (ones that) big record executives (thought) they were fucking shitty,” Scantlin says in ATM’s clip below. “Until they went No. 1 a bunch of times. Thanks to you guys.”
