Best. Concert. Ever.

I know you all have been anxiously awaiting my thoughts on the Creed concert that I was so eagerly anticipating a few blog posts ago and I will leave in you suspense no longer. I have three words for you. Best. Concert. Ever. Alright, so maybe that is a BIT of an exaggeration and honestly I do not have the concert going resume to support that statement to any length. However, the concert was absolutely everything I could have ever hoped for and more. You truly appreciate the musical prowess of a group to a much greater extent once you see them in person. Mark Tremonti, the lead guitarist and composer of most of Creed's songs, is a fantastically talented individual. I was also impressed with Scott Stapp's ability to produce a strikingly similar sound to that heard on the recorded versions of Creed's songs. To me this is always a measure of how good a band is, their ability to match their sound in a recording studio during a live performance, and Creed measured up admirably. On this same note, opening act Staind was absolutely incredible at this, their sound was an exact replica of what you hear on the radio or on one of their albums, and while I only enjoyed about half of their set, I appreciated this about them.

Now let's back up a couple steps. Heading into the concert, I certainly had some concerns. I had heard the horror stories of some Creed concerts several years ago while Stapp was battling severe alcohol problems where he was so intoxicated during concerts that he could not even remember the lyrics to the groups most famous songs. While I understand that Stapp has reportedly sobered up, he was still playing a concert in Council Bluffs, and spending more than a couple hours in the CB could even drive a priest to the bottle. Basically I was just crossing my fingers that this show was not going to be the victim of an untimely relapse. Well there was good news for the crowd and for Creed, Scott Stapp appears to still be riding the sobriety wagon (all jokes aside, good for you Scott, keep up the good work). With these thoughts fresh in my mind, the very real fear was born that seeing this band live might irreversibly taint my love for them. Not only was there a possibility that musically Creed could have been awful live, there was also the chance that all of the band members were just giant tools which would have completely ruined the experience for me. A part of a performer's personality comes through during a live show that you just cannot begin to pick up on from a recording, and unlike some people I find it difficult to seperate someones personality from their work, thus the reason I hate Brett Favre.

Luckily my concerns were put to rest with the very first song. Creed came out to a heart pounding ballad backed with fire and pyrotechnics that instantly let you know, this was going to be a good show (I apologize, I don't know the name of the first song they played, I believe it is from their new album which is yet to be released and it is not one of the singles they have put out). There are some bands, regardless of their style of music that just put on a great show and Creed is one of them. They simply know how to capture a crowd and not let them go until the final note is played. The only thing I was worried about after the first song of the concert was that Creed would be too busy promoting their new album to play their most famous and popular songs. I didn't know if they were one of those bands that had started to resent the music that had caused everyone to love them in the first place. Once again, Creed pulled through for me. They struck a balance of playing some of their new stuff (check out "Rain" from their new album, its fantastic) while embracing the songs that everyone was there to hear. They even wrapped up their encore by playing "Higher" leaving the crowd equal parts satisfied and amped up.

All in all, I could not have been happier with how the concert went. Even the cheap tickets that I bought were pretty much centered in front of the stage, and the MidAmerica Center isn't big enough to have a bad seat in the house (which was packed). Through this experience, my love for Creed has grown exponentially and has filled me with sorrow for those who still refuse to accept the greatness that is Creed.