City Limits: Delray, FL

September 15 2008 Palm Beach Night Life

The audience at City Limits, the majority of which consisted of friends and family, embraced Scott with arms wide open Monday night. The show marked Scott Stapp's return to performing live since taking a hiatus three years ago. The audience was asked by a member of Stapp's management team to confine the flash photography to the first three songs, and they surprisingly adhered to this request. The crowd went nuts when the lights dimmed and the band headed out onto the stage. Scott appears a few moments later and the show begins with a bang. The crowd were true fans, obviously not there merely for the free invitation, it was as if clapping their hands and shifting their weight back and forth almost wasn't enough for them to physically express their excitement.

Scott Stapp is a consummate performer who knows just how to walk the line between modesty and self-assuredness, but tonight the 35 year old singer told the crowd that it felt to him like he was back in Tallahassee back in '96, that he was nervous like he was the first time he toured. It was a scratch through the surface to the human side of Scott, and he was well received by the crowd. He had the audience in the palms of his hands all night. Looking at times like a sweaty MMA fighter after a death match and at other times like Dave Wyndorf of Monster Magnet, with his tight black leather pants and extra medium shirt, he hopped and skipped and emoted his way into their hearts and minds.

All four members of the band were as virtuosos. Scott's bassist reminded me of Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne, with his bald head and overly-animated facial expressions and nodded his head like

Jens Kidman, vocalist for Meshuggah. The vocal harmonies were studio-perfect on every song. By the look of things, Scott and his band mates were at the top of their game, having great fun and enjoying the energy from the enthusiastic crowd. The audience was very much part of the experience. Very enthusiastic, most were on their feet from the beginning, and Stapp's songs were greeted with loud lusty applause. The audience was heavily but not overwhelmingly female. Many couples were on dates. Stapp has a reputation for appealing to the ladies; however it is thought that his solo work, being a bit more aggressive and energetic compared to his previous recordings, may be responsible for his increasing popularity among the male rock audience. (Personally, I was not a Scott Stapp fan going in, but I definitely am one now.)

.Kyle (Delraydio)