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    • Scott Stapp takes fans on a spiritual journey
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    Scott Stapp takes fans on a spiritual journey

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    The members of Creed had not toured together for almost 12 years before the start of the Summer of ’99 tour and now announce their return in July after a second break.

    And when you see Scott Stapp use the platform his role as frontman of Creed provides to connect with 20,000 fans at a sold-out Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, you have to wonder how this man went more than 11 years without experiencing what he clearly felt in the more passionate moments of his performance.

    The spiritual message the singer delivered in Phoenix on Wednesday, September 4, was as intense as the music that, as 3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold promised, would burn our faces (although it should be noted that the nonstop pyrotechnics might have been more effective at burning faces).

    Creed setlist 2024: All songs from the Summer of 1999 tour that they played in Phoenix

    Scott Stapp told the story behind “My Own Prison”

    After setting the tone for Creed’s performance with crowd-pleasing versions of “Bullets” and “Torn,” Stapp momentarily paused the drama with his reunited bandmates to address the crowd, the first of many speeches he would make until the end of the evening.

    “Are you ready to go on a journey with me?” he asked as an introduction to “Are You Ready?”

    “We are taking you on this journey of the human experience as it manifests in physical form in reality and as a spiritual being. Are you ready? Because once your eyes are open, my friend, there is no turning back.”

    Then he shouted, “I said, ‘Are you ready?!'” in a preacher’s voice that rivaled Jim Morrison’s feverish pronouncements in “The Soft Parade.”

    It may have felt like he was preaching as much as singing, but these sermons only enhanced the impact of the songs by providing context and giving fans insight into the lyricist’s feelings when writing these songs.

    He talked about the dreams we had as children, “before the world came along and robbed us of these myths and this connection to the supernatural that was so pure and so mystical,” to explain the idea behind “Never Die.”

    He spoke about how we find ourselves in “prisons of our own creation” and circumstance and that “sometimes the only way to reconnect with your Creator is to lie on your back and not be able to look anywhere else” to create “My Own Prison.”

    Stapp called for unity and spoke about school shootings

    Before the end of the evening, Stapp got political and called for unity in these divisive times during the performance of “One.”

    “I feel like we live in a country that is more divided than ever before,” he said. “And I want you to understand one thing. They want you this way. They want us this way, my friends. Think about it. When you are divided, you are easier to control.”

    He also commented on the recent Georgia school massacre and the “epidemic” of suicide and murder to provide the basis for the 1998 single “What’s This Life For,” which was “inspired by someone who took their own life at a very young age,” which topped the mainstream rock charts and was Creed’s first number one song.

    Stapp remains one of the more dramatic post-grunge voices

    As a singer, Stapp remains one of the more dramatic voices of the post-grunge era, a time full of drama when most singers at the top of the rock radio charts felt like they were doing everything they could to sound more serious than Eddie Vedder.

    Stapp’s performance of “Faceless Man” was particularly passionate, with his cries of “Never go away! Never! Never!”

    Yet every song he sang was one of pure conviction. The most compelling highlights of a set included such beloved hits as “My Own Prison,” “Higher” and “With Arms Wide Open,” the emotional ballad that propelled Creed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 at a time when rock songs rarely reached that peak.

    “We are so blessed with this next song,” Stapp said of the introduction of “With Arms Wide Open.”

    “It has brought fathers to their sons and fathers to their daughters, mothers to their sons and mothers to their daughters, grandparents to their grandchildren. It’s about making the next generation better, not passing on generational curses.”

    All of this was very inspiring, especially because he expressed it with such sincerity.

    Of course, Creed has more to offer than Stapp, even though he is a charismatic presence who clearly deserves the spotlight.

    As passionate as his singing was throughout the set, the playing of his bandmates—from guitarists Mark Tremonti and Eric Friedman to bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips—more than rose to the occasion, underscoring the emotional intensity of his delivery at every turn, from the headbanging riffing of “Bullets” to a version of “Higher” that soared as promised.

    Tremonti in particular exuded an easy charisma that rivaled Stapp’s own stage presence.

    Finger Eleven opened Creed with “One Thing”

    Hours earlier, Finger Eleven had incorporated excerpts from Jim Croce’s “Operator,” the Genesis hit “That’s All,” and AC/DC’s “Back in Black” into their biggest US hits “One Thing” and “Paralyzer,” both of which inspired rousing sing-alongs and formed the perfect conclusion to a crowd-pleasing opening set.

    It didn’t hurt that singer Scott Anderson is so damn likeable on stage.

    3 Doors Down opens for Creed with “Kryptonite”

    Brad Arnold was nearing the end of a ballad-heavy streak of heavy ballads leading 3 Doors Down when he gave a moving speech about his relationship with Jesus Christ and how it has helped him overcome his self-doubt.

    “We live in a world where we are surrounded by voices and images that show us and tell us and tell us that we will never be enough,” he said.

    “We are told this all the time. And my friends, I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart that this is a lie from hell. Because you are absolutely enough, you will always be enough. And you will always be enough for one reason and one reason only. And that is because Jesus Christ loves you.”

    He then urged the crowd to shout along as he proclaimed, “It is I! The one! Whom Jesus loves!”

    And with that, the stage was set for a soulful “Away From the Sun,” which proved to be the highlight of a set that included highlights such as “It’s Not My Time,” “Here Without You,” and “Kryptonite.”

    Creed setlist 2024: All the songs they played in Phoenix

    Here are all the songs Creed played on the Summer of ’99 Tour on Wednesday, September 4, at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix.

    • “Balls”
    • “Torn”
    • “Are you ready?”
    • “Never die”
    • “My own prison”
    • “Weathered”
    • “What if”
    • “I say”
    • “Man without a face”
    • “One”
    • “What is this life for?”
    • “With arms wide open”
    • “Higher”

    Encore

    • “One last breath”
    • “My sacrifice”

    Here are all the songs 3 Doors Down played on Wednesday, September 4th at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix.

    • “Train”
    • “It’s not my time”
    • “Loser”
    • “Duck and run”
    • “Here without you”
    • “Time of my life”
    • “Away from the sun”
    • “The path I am on”
    • “Never look down”
    • “Let me go”
    • “Landing in London”
    • “Kryptonite”
    • “When I’m gone”

    Finger Eleven Setlist 2024

    Here are all the songs Finger Eleven played on Wednesday, September 4th at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix.

    • “Above”
    • “For the first time”
    • “Quicksand”
    • “Together right”
    • “Adrenaline”
    • “One thing”
    • “That’s all”/“Paralyzer”

    Ed has been covering pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for over a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on on facebook. as Ed Masley. Email [email protected].

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    Madoc Meredith
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