Creed First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre Review

Monday, August 16, 2010
By Aaron Keker

FIRST MIDWEST BANK AMPHITHEATRE, Tinley Park – Yesterday evening, Creed breezed through the Chicagoland area and performed at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Illinois.

The concert was billed as The $20 – $10 Tour, but maybe a modern spin on the biblical story of David and Goliath factored into the equation. In Creed’s story, they battled the higher ticket price beast and they defeated the monster.

The tour kicked off with performances by Theft and Skillet. Approximately 9:16 p.m., Creed entered the stage and was greeted with a vociferous ovation, which could be heard from the Heavens.

Creed kicked of their evening with “Bullets.” As Scott Stapp belted out the lyrics, pyrotechnics periodically shot up in the air. In fact, the pyrotechnics returned during “What’s This Life For,” “My Sacrifice” and “Higher.”

Scott remarked before “Suddenly,” that “It’s going to be a big night!” Certainly the evening was a “big night” because it included a 7 year resurrection of Creed. Creed rose from obscurity and performed with a vengeance that evening! Unfortunately, the vengeance never started with “Are You Ready?” I was shocked because I thought it would have been a perfect introduction into Creed’s evening. It surely would have intensified the boisterous Amphitheatre immensely!

 Nevertheless, Creed’s entire performance was like a well-oiled machine and no one would have ever conjectured that Scott Stapp and Creed have been on hiatus for the last 7 years.

There is a saying that certain vocalists sound better on a studio album than they do when they perform live. If you truly believe in the accuracy of this statement, it certainly was not applicable to Scott Stapp.

Scott’s live vocals sounded as energetic and compassionate as any of Creed’s studio recordings. At times, Scott Stapp sounded even better live as he hit those high notes on “What If,” “One,” “What’s This Life For,” “With Arms Wide Open,” “One Last Breath” and “Higher.”

Scott Stapp is too gifted vocally to be wasting his talent not singing and it is truly a blessing that Creed is back after a 7 year hiatus. One of the most impressive things about the Amphitheatre audience is even after all these years; they appeared to remember the lyrics to Creed’s older hit songs. Creed will forever remain in the hearts and minds of everyone in Tinley Park that evening. Below is the set list of Creed’s performance at First Midwest Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Illinois.

First Midwest Amphitheatre Set List:

1. “Bullets”
2. “Suddenly”
3. “My Own Prison”
4. “Overcome”
5. “Say I”
6. “Torn”
7. “A Thousand Faces”
8. “What If”
9. “One”
10. “Rain”
11. “What’s This Life For”
12. “Faceless Man”
13. “With Arms Wide Open”
14. “My Sacrifice”

Encore:

15. “One Last Breath”
16. “Higher”