With the bombardment of summer concerts it’s sometime hard to pick and choose which ones to go to. When it was announced that Creed frontman Scott Stapp, who is now touring as a solo artist, was coming to town, I was curious to see what Stapp had to offer. Considering at one point he might have been the most recognizable voices on the planet, Stapp and his band had the daunting task to prove that could still be the case. Stapp’s band consisted of Andy Wood on lead guitar, Andy Waldeck on bass, Chad Szeliga on drums and Travis Coburn on rhythm guitar.
Stapp took the stage about 8:10pm to a round of applause as the band kicked into the first single “Slow Suicide” off of his latest solo release “Proof of Life.” The tour, in fact, is dubbed the same name as the album. Stapp looks like the same vocalist that took no prisoners, back some 15 years or so ago, with his shoulder length hair and physically fit physique.
If you weren’t sure what shape Stapp was in, not only physically but vocally, the song “Faceless Man” showed every bit of what he is capable of. Stapp sounded fluid and powerful when he needed to, providing a true representation of what was to come for the rest of the night. There was an equal amount of both Creed songs and solo material to keep everyone satisfied. Stapp hit each song with as much emotion and intensity that he sweated through his shirt after the first few songs.
The new album has great hooks and melodies and the songs came off very powerful live. “Jesus Was a Rockstar,” especially, was one of those songs. Scott really didn’t say too much in between songs but did ask the question before the last song of the evening, “What is Your Proof of Life?” before going into the most powerful song of the entire performance.
Stapp has seemed to really appreciate what he has now. This was not the case in the past and by some admittance, he may have took it for granted. His vocals were so spot on it was as if he wasn’t even there and just the record was playing. Yes, he was that good and the sound was terrific! This was the best sounding show I have been to in quite some time. The performance, by my account, was one of the best I have witnessed so far this year.
Setlist:
Slow Suicide
Who I Am
What If (Creed song)
My Own Prison(Creed song)
Surround Me
Faceless Man Creed song)
New Day Coming
Arms Wide Open(Creed song)
Higher
One Last Breath(Creed song)
Only One
Jesus was a Rockstar
What Would Love Do
Encore:
Amazing Grace (Andy Wood solo)
Crash
My Sacrifice Creed song)
Proof of Life
We would like to thank Steve Karas of SKH for the credentials to review the show. Stay tuned for an exclusive one on one interview with Scott that was conducted before the show.
