Creed's "Weathered" Tour

The Phantom Tollbooth February 13 2002

Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL

The "rock star" mentality reigned supreme as the identical looking Scott Stapp from Creed and Hugo Ferreira from Tantric took the stage dawned in their designer outfits and slicked back, mullet-styled haircuts. Evidence of their confident (and cocky) attitudes came when both Stapp and Ferreira paraded up and down the catwalk extending from the stage (which should have been called the "ego walk" thanks to their non-stop poses). In Creed's case, they were too pretty to even be photographed and stood on stage literally untouchable thanks to a gigantic barricade between them and the fans.

Despite the distance, the audience was immediately mesmerized by Stapp's dramatic movements and were clearly drawn in by the spectacle around him. Aside from the previously mentioned peninsula, the stage was two stories tall, included three jumbo screens, endless pyrotechnics, and ramps on the sides extending out over the crowd. Although the band sported a larger than life appearance, their message is quite the contrary, which encourages listeners to develop an introspective way of thinking.

In fact, it's not all that often that a hard rock band attempts to blend lyrics of rebellious angst with spiritually based soul-searching, a task which Creed has managed to pull off on more than one occasion throughout its career. Thankfully, the group had no problem dipping back to each portion of their career, including a generous spread of songs between all three albums.

There was the throaty "Are You Ready?" the motivational "One," and the reflective "Wash Away Those Years," just to name a few. Even more effective moments were Creed's nu-metal derived cut "Bullets" and the gritty "Freedom Fighter." On both, Stapp snarled every word while guitarist Mark Tremonti ripped through each chord like there was no tomorrow. Although somewhat cliched and destined to be overplayed on radio, "Don't Stop Dancing" made a strong transition to the stage. It's hard not to be inspired by Creed's delicate arrangement and the lines "But I know I must go on/Although I hurt, I must be strong" no matter how many times you've heard something along those lines sung by others.

Unfortunately, there were plenty of other moments that seemed overly calculated on both a musical and thematic level, including the set finale "My Sacrifice," the new disc's title cut, and Human Clay's strategically engineered chart topper "With Arms Wide Open." Stapp attempted to set up "With Arms Wide Open" with poignancy, pointing out that his son, whom he'd written the song about, was in the audience. But the sweetness soon turned sour as Stapp tried reasoning "We never set out for it to be such a big hit, but were happy with the fact that it opened up a lot more people to our music." (Translation: "We'd rather stick to rock and roll, but if power ballads can make us more money, why not?") The group's momentous "Higher" even lacked the punch it's known for, with Tremonti occasionally stumbling through the anthem's signature guitar growl. It was such awkwardly displayed selections that sucked a great deal of momentum from the band's otherwise aqueous set.

Tantric's stage time was spent entirely on songs from their eponymous debut album. Ferreira attempted to work the crowd with boundless energy, but fans weren't as receptive to Tantric's guilty sentence of being Creed copycats. Nonetheless, powerhouse songs "Breakdown" and "Astounded" resonated throughout the arena while the slamming guitars of "Revillusion" and "Live Your Life (Down)" permeated vibrantly into the rafters. The group's breakthrough ballad "Mourning" pushed all the right emotional buttons, fitting right in with slowed down Staind or Default jams, as well as Creed's "Don't Stop Dancing." Although Tantric's effort was there, the audience's interest wasn't, thus leaving the band with grim chances of rising to the headliner's status level.

.Andy Argyrakis