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| Creed at Toronto’s The Music Hall |
Hard Rock giants Creed took us higher at the intimate The Music Hall
May 31 2012 – Imagine this. The year is 2020 and you hear that the Foo Fighters who broke up 8 years ago in 2012 are back in town. You find out that they are playing The Danforth Music Hall (with capacity of about 1000), and as you approach the box office you find out that there are still tickets available for the performance.
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| Creed |
That scenario sounds implausible but it is exactly what happened last night as Creed were in Toronto. Let’s put that in perspective. 58 million albums sold worldwide, four singles from their debut album “My Own Prison” reached the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, their second album “Human Clay” was certified Diamond in the U.S. (over 10 million copies sold) and won them a Best Rock Song Grammy for “With Arms Wide Open”, their third album “Weathered” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 charts and stayed there for 8 weeks (a record that Creed share with none other than The Beatles). The analogy to The Foos is of course purely theoretical but it does help put yesterday’s gig in context. From 1997-2004 Creed were undeniably the biggest thing in rock commercially … and then they broke up. The band which had reunited in 2009 are back on the road and on this tour are playing either My Own Prison or Human Clay end to end.
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| Creed |
Creed hails from Tallahassee, Florida and is composed of vocalist Scott Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips.
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| Creed’s Scott Stapp |
Toronto got to hear Human Clay in it’s entirety with an assortment of hits over a roughly 100 minute set. The Music Hall just so happens to be my favourite venue to see a concert in Toronto (along with the Sony Centre). It is an old converted movie theater with comfortable seats, good acoustics, great beers and an unbeatable intimate vibe. I strongly recommend seeing a concert at that venue. The Music Hall was at about 90% capacity and most of the audience was standing with hands in the air. The combination of the intimate venue with the arena sized anthems that Creed pumped out really made this concert stand out.
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| The Music Hall |
Stapp’s vocals were as powerful as ever and his movements while singing often reminded us of rappers (but no crotch grabbing). On occasion he sang while down on both knees reminiscent of praying. Tremonti’s killer riffs were also on display to an adoring audience . Creed definitely delivered their unique style of hard rock and are well on their way on the comeback trail. As the new buzz word for today’s young rock bands seems to be “post punk” we are glad to have been reminded what heavy rock sounded like less than a decade ago.
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| Creed |
Verdict: Excellent show in an excellent venue. Thanks to my buddy Gus for taking me to a show I would have otherwise passed on!
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| Creed |
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| Creed |
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| Creed |
Review and Photos: Terry Makedon
