Scott Stapp at City Limits

September 15 2008 Rag Magazine

Never let it be said that Scott Stapp doesn’t care about his fans. The former Creed frontman decided to give an open invitation, RSVP to get in, to a special show at Delray Beach’s intimate City Limits. Fans heard his call and came from all over, some as far as Canada, to catch the man put on a special near 2-hour performance. This wasn’t just any rock show though, but a warmup date for Stapp and his new band before they head off overseas for 18 dates to entertain the troops. I have to say I was delighted to see that Stapp had outfitted his band with two of South Florida’s very own local legends; former Endo bassist Zelick, and Derek Cintron.

Just a little after 9 Stapp hit the stage with “Bullets,” off of his former band’s final studio effort, Weathered. Stapp and band kept the hits coming, delving into the bands back catalogue with “Torn,” “What If,” and the tune that many of us south Florida vets may have first heard on the local show, “My Own Prison.” Not only were we treated with the very best of Creed, but also test-runs of a few brand new tunes that could be on the follow-up to Stapp’s debut solo record. The band took to the stools and brought the set down for a heartfelt acoustic version of “With Arms Wide Open,” and “Broken” from Stapp’s solo disc, The Great Divide. The cool thing about “Broken” however was the manner in which it was performed. While on the album it was flanked by a choir, live the song was arranged differently in a way that Stapp said he always envisioned it to sound. Stapp closed the set in a surprising manner with two brand new tunes, “Criminal” and the crushing “Crazy” letting guitarist Alex Bodner let his fingers fly on the fretboard.

For any fan that attended this special show that may have had doubts that Stapp’s voice may have taken a hit over the years, tonight that question was crushed as the man has never sounded better. Not only that, but also proved that he is still, in my opinion, the best living frontman.

.Matthew Pashalian