POP MUSIC REVIEW : Bumpy Outing for Pilots

Growing up in public isn’t easy if you’re still a baby.

That’s the case with Stone Temple Pilots, the mega-selling young hard-rock band that has been thrust into the hit-maker’s spotlight at a time when its four members are clearly unprepared to deliver a convincing stage show.

That’s especially true of singer Scott Weiland, who earned poor marks for both charisma and comportment on Saturday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

You could tell that Weiland was trying to be a nice guy, mainly addressing the audience in a friendly, if pro forma way. But before long he couldn’t help flying into a foul-mouthed, incoherent rage at somebody in the audience for “invading my space”--apparently he’d been hit by something hurled from the crowd.

If a star wants to zing someone in an audience who gets out of line, fine. But do it with some wit and coherence. Of course, wit and coherence aren’t Weiland’s strong suits as a lyricist, either, so perhaps it’s too much to expect him to extemporize effectively.

Weiland was right about having his space invaded, though. Robert DeLeo’s raging bass dominated the audio mix to the point where it frequently came close to obliterating both Weiland’s grainy vocals and Dean DeLeo’s guitar.

It’s a testament to the sweep and insistence of STP’s melodic hooks that the crowd frequently sang along to a singer who couldn’t be heard well. It’s the catchy choruses and the meaty, Zeppelin-style riffing that have landed Stone Temple Pilots’ just-released second album, “Purple,” near the top of the charts at the same time that the band’s grunge-oriented 1992 smash, “Core,” is still doing brisk business. STP chose its material well, playing 10 of the 11 songs on “Purple” and including the better half of the “Core” stuff.

Without a clear, sinewy sound, though, no band can flourish. Potential blazers such as the Nirvana-like “Unglued” were blunted by the mix. More music got through on such stately numbers as “Big Empty” and “Interstate Love Song.” Clarity came only during a passable, three-song acoustic set that included a brisk if inconsequential rendering of David Bowie’s “Andy Warhol.”

As a frontman, Weiland simply doesn’t have it yet. He did the boring Jim Morrison microphone cling, and he did a lot of odd little arm-waving, hip-waddling steps in a stooped position, which made him look like an arthritic old man trying to dance the limbo.

As a 26-year-old with only two albums behind him, let’s hope he’s in the early stages of a rising learning curve.

Two heroes of the ‘80s indie-rock movement--the newly successful Meat Puppets and the still-struggling Redd Kross--formed a tasty undercard. Meat Puppets’ honed instrumental flash, varied material and magical visions are a nice switch from the ‘90s gloom-rock norm; Redd Kross offered juicy pop harmonies and an affectionate, tongue-in-cheek take on the stage antics of such ‘70s funsters as the Kinks, Slade and Cheap Trick.

* Stone Temple Pilots, the Meat Puppets, Redd Kross and Whiskey Biscuit appear on Tuesday at the Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., 6 p.m. Sold out. (213) 480-3232 .