Creed Fans Listen with Ears Wide Open

Daily Cougar October 6 2000

Wednesday night, many people went to the sold-out Creed concert at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

Creed has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success, especially for a band that has only been together for five years. In the time it takes for most bands to even get airtime, Creed has climbed to the top and beaten long-time Billboard veterans like Garth Brooks.

So it should be no surprise that the same band sold out both concert dates in Houston.

After patiently waiting for bands Full Devil Jacket and Collective Soul to perform, the audience was rewarded with a fiery appearance from Creed.

As the music surged, lead singer Scott Stapp rose on a platform from below the stage all dressed in black, framed by a crimson red background. As he finally emerged from the deep, the backdrop was lit with flames and a choreographed explosion shot through the stage from massive fireworks.

Impressive pyrotechnics, high-tech computer graphics and flashing film segments added to the excitement of the concert as Stapp played to the audience, gazing out with soulful eyes and a hand stretched to a mass of swooning women. (Not surprisingly, his favorite musician is Elvis, who also had love-struck female followers.)

The beginning of Creed's set was filled with lesser-known songs, but later into the concert Creed performed songs that have gotten constant radio play, like "My Own Prison," "With Arms Wide Open," "What If" and "One" as the audience sang along.

There were some cool moments when the band really played up the drama with the lighting and pyrotechnics.

At one point, Stapp sang on his knees and bathed in a crimson red spotlight against utter darkness on stage. Later, a song was started with a bang as a brilliant fire illuminated the stage and computer graphic-generated flames danced in the background.

"What If," a high energy song about revenge, featured a rockin' bass line and stage explosions as Stapp broke into a funny little dance. "Just an Illusion," began with a wicked bass line and pulsated with intensity as the strobe lights hypnotized the audience.

One of the more emotional songs was "My Own Prison," which had some powerful film displayed on the backdrop. The film showed images from a chain link fence to a barbed wire, then finally to a prison where the outlines of men behind bars were struggling to get out. The overall impact was pretty moving.

Another touching song was "With Arms Wide Open," which Stapp sang to his son when he was born. Stapp, with a loving smile on his face, sang to a massive audience that was singing the words back to him. The sight of the audience waving their lighters in unison to the song was beautiful.

The audience knew the best songs hadn't been played yet, so it was pretty predictable that when Creed first said that they were done for the night, there was a 10-minute, raucous demand for an encore.

After letting the audience build up excitement and beat on the chairs for a while, Creed came back to play its last two songs.

Stapp introduced his next song to the roaring crowd, saying, "The only way we can change the world is one person at a time. If you're a parent, it starts with your children. If not, it starts with your friends. The only way is one," as he began the song, "One." This song rocked pretty hard, and the audience really got into it.

The last song, not surprisingly, was Creed's highly overplayed "Higher." The computer graphics in the background showed a rocket blasting off in the beginning of the song, then an image of Stapp's face layered over stars. Needless to say, the audience knew all the words, and sang them with a drunken passion -- most of them were waving around empty beer cups by then.

Basically, this was a pretty good concert. It wasn't the best I've ever seen, though. Creed seems to lack real depth and passion. Those things are usually found in the local scene, where bands are putting on a show, not a concert.

Additionally, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is not the best venue for concerts. Between the fact that outdoor locations are subject to the weather, and the slant of the floor isn't enough to help you see above the people in front of you, it's hard to imagine why a band would choose CWMP instead of one of Houston's many other fine facilities.

.Kristin Buchanan