From: Amanda Inman
Reply-To: Amanda Inman
To: CREED-DISCUSS@WINDUPLIST.COM
Subject: Review of St. Paul show
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 12:00:38 -0600
People Like this guy make me sick read and find out why.
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Creed plays to the faithful in sellout concert
Chris Riemenschneider
Star Tribune
Published Feb 17, 2002
Congregations are an essential part of turning non-believers into converts.
However, even with a sold-out crowd, Saturday's concert with the vaguely
religious and wildly popular Creed proved once and for all that the Florida
group is not a Christian rock band, nor is it a very good rock band.
Though it played to 16,000 adoring fans at a moment when it is unequivocally
the big kahuna of rockdom, Creed did not rise above its many naysayers'
contention that it manufactures angst-flavored bubble gum. Or at least, it
didn't make a believer out of this writer.
The last time I saw the band was at Woodstock '99, when it played an
afternoon set on a no-frills stage amid a lineup of hedonistic,
hard-thrashing metal bands such as Korn and its soon-to-be nemesis Limp
Bizkit. That day, Creed was a fish out of water (or mud, rather, which was
more prevalent at the '99 event).
On Saturday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Creed could not have been
more in its element. For one, its new album "Weathered" has been No. 1 for
the past two months, and at least one of its harshest critics, Rolling Stone
magazine, has the group on its most recent cover.
More to its advantage, it had its own stage, pyrotechnics and crowd. Playing
under four giant Roman columns and video screens showing New Agey, eerie
images, (the whole thing suggested Spinal Tap with a Tolkien twist), Creed
certainly did not shy away from rock-god status in its stage setup. Flames
and fireworks shot from the stage during the opening of "Bullets" and
"Freedom Fighter," two high-octane rockers. To be certain, anybody thinking
they would be getting a straight-laced Christian rock concert had to know
otherwise right away.
Unfortunately, all the fiery showiness did not cover up the popular belief
that lead singer Scott Stapp still does not have his own identity. The
scrappy, hunky frontman looked like a cross between a professional wrestler,
Jim Morrison and Jesus himself as he stretched out his arms to the crowd or
crouched down in "rock-attack" mode. Worse, he sounded like a hoarse version
of Eddie Vedder throughout the show, singing generic anguish lines such as,
"I feel angry, I feel helpless, wanna change the world" (from "One").
Stapp might have deserved a break from all the barbs if he did not also come
across so cocky. He makes Jon Bon Jovi, another trite keep-the-faith singer,
seem humble. Before "With Arms Wide Open," he made a self-congratulatory
speech about "rocking from the heart." Before "My Own Prison," the title
track from the band's 1997 debut album, he said, "This song is very special
to us because it was our introduction to the world." He then added, like
James Bond making a move on a vixen, "and I think you know what it is."
For a band that's so popular and visceral, it really did not spawn much
frantic reaction until its encore. Granted, people were cheering, especially
for the hits, but the show never had that unabashed, ceaseless outpouring
that fans give to U2, Pearl Jam or even Bon Jovi. Maybe that's why the group
had microphones pointed back at the crowd. The one thing Creed did have
going for it was opening band Tantric, which took the imitator theme of the
night to new heights by sounding like an even paler, less-inspired version
of the headline act
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I'm just so mad I don't know what to so. Myself I loved the concert. Tell me
what you think or if ya want to e-mail this guy here is his address.
chrisr@startribune.com
Later all
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