Ok, here it is. For all of us that were worried after reading the reviews from the Chicago show, put your fears to rest. The Creed concert in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve was, by far, the
BEST concert that I have
EVER been to in my entire life. With apologies to all that wanted to go but for whatever reason could not, I am sorry that you had to miss such an awesome show.
First. SubmerseD opened and they were really great! The lead singer was full of personality, walked the stage back and forth, up and down, and the lead guitarist definitely has a lot of talent. Liked them very very much.
Second. 3DD was fantastic!! I often forget just how many good songs a band has when I only hear the select few that are played on the radio. They were very appreciative of the crowds' warm reception and did an excellent job. Lots of audience participation and lots of enjoyment from them (and the bassist was full of personality and good looks
).
And I've saved the best for last:
At about 10:30 p.m. Creed took the stage and I, for one, was watching Scott very closely after much praying throughout the day that he would be straight. My prayers were answered! Scott may have a lot of issues to resolve over the course of the next year, but on NYE, he checked those issues at the door and ROCKED THE HOUSE. Mark was ON FIRE, to quote Dogstar. His guitars should all have had smoke coming from them, because he could do NO WRONG on the guitar. He was truly a guitar God tonight. Flip played his ass off and there's a little surprise about him later in the post. Brett, as usual, jammed out on the bass and had a blast in doing so. He definitely fits in and there should be no question that he should be the permanent bassist.
After the typical opening of Bullets and Freedom Fighter, they decided to treat us.
THEY PLAYED ODE!!!!!!!!!!! I had NEVER heard Ode live and was thrilled not only to hear it, but to hear Mark singing!! A little later they slowed things down and instead of wailing away on the guitars, the all sat on stools onstage and did acoustic versions of Weathered and MOP. They were both a huge treat. After those 2 songs, while the roadies were clearing the stools away, Mark made an announcement about a very special guest they had with them. Turns out a guy from the audience was brought on stage and proposed to his girlfriend "In the greatest city in the world and in front of the greatest rock and roll band in the world". She, of course, accepted. It was then that they did WAWO, and Scott got very emotional during the song. I don't think there was a second during the song that he wasn't crying. Yes, Scott was crying while singing WAWO (as were Dogstar, Kboo and myself and about 99% of the audience). It was very very moving. But once that was over, they picked up the pace with One, which got everybody back to an upbeat frame of mind. They left the stage after One, and at 10 seconds to midnight, they came back onstage with their entire crew, both 3 Doors Down, SubmerseD, roadies, family members (we saw Victoria!!) and it was wonderful. We all counted down to the New Year and they played a short but ROCKING version of Auld Lang Syne. It was tremendous!!! Once the festivities had calmed down and we all picked the gold confetti out of our hair, they did their encores, Higher and My Sacrifice and bid us all farewell. Scott said they'd see us for the next album.
He and the rest of the band were absolutely unstoppable tonight. I have never been to a better show!! There was a ton of interaction between Scott and the audience, lots of talking. As a matter of fact, he congratulated Mark on his wedding a few weeks ago and CONGRATULATED FLIP, WHO IS GOING TO BE A DADDY!!!!!!!!!!
SURPRISE!!!!!!!!
So I would just like to end this by saying that my fears were unfounded, the show was second to none and now I hope and pray that they all take time off and live their lives with some semblance of normalcy after giving us a year we will never forget!
Thanks for listening.
AND THANK YOU CREED!!!!