There comes a time when one needs to stop paying for their sins; whether in their own eyes or those of others who still want to hold past discretions against them. On a recent Saturday night, a tired Scott Stapp sang for the almost sold out crowd in Biloxi, Mississippi, with every ounce of energy he had in his body. Drinking water and spraying his throat, the man took the bull by the horns. Sitting on a stool in the middle of the stage, with the lights low and candles burning, a toned down, stripped down band behind him, Creed’s front-man made you believe he was a different man from when he was tabloid fodder just a few short years ago. And slamming out the song “Justify” from his solo album The Great Divide, to end his set was proof enough that sins can finally be forgotten and forgiven.
The hoarseness in his voice was apparent from the very beginning. “I appreciate you guys taking the time to come see me,” he said early in his set. “I know there are other places you could be”. Looking like a cross between Colin Farrell and Glenn Danzig, Stapp is out on the road on what he calls an acoustic tour, breathing new stripped down life into his songs with Creed and his solo work, plus a few covers that may surprise you – “I’m Eighteen” by Alice Cooper – and one that seems to be a personal favorite – The Doors’ classic “Riders On The Storm.”
Acoustic may be pushing it a bit. The stool barely contained Stapp’s writhing body when the emotions of the song would hit him, and his band were rocking out more than sitting quietly still, bringing to life a background that allowed even Stapp’s at-times scratchy vocals to ride a wave.
“Bullets”, “My Own Prison”, “My Sacrifice” and “Unforgiven” were ridden with emotion. “Riders On The Storm” was slinkily seductive, evoking more sex appeal in this bare bones rendition than Jim Morrison’s effervescent original. And when his voice was struggling on “Surround Me”, the crowd cheered his effort loudly.
“With Arms Wide Open” started off very different from the recorded version that we are so used to hearing. With an almost chanting a cappella intro, it wove its way into a heartbeat raising testimonial of love with great guitar moodiness from Eric Friedman and filled in with bongos. It caused a standing ovation.
Coming back onto the darkened stage with an acoustic guitar for the encore, Stapp dedicated the next song, “Crazy In Love”, to his wife. A beautiful new song that wasn’t quite finished but should be on his upcoming 2011 solo album, he sang in a voice refreshed from the extra-long intermission before ending it all with a powerful version of “Justify”.
“I hope ya’ll don’t mind us playing around with the songs," Stapp had announced in the beginning. “Maybe by the end of the night we’ll have written a new song”. But what Scott Stapp actually did was pull himself up by the bootstraps and prove to the people standing in the Hard Rock that he was a man who has not always been a saint but who cares enough about them that he would sit on a stage and give them every ounce of energy he had to send them home satisfied.
