Gina Marie
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Sorry to anyone who likes them, but...
Creed shows they're a bunch of imitators
by Brett Milano
Friday, February 8, 2002
Creed, at the FleetCenter, Boston, last night.
Is it possible for a band to become massively popular without being any good? You'd have to wonder just a little after witnessing Creed's sold-out show last night.
Not that the Florida quartet can't play; they've got boring technical competence to spare. It's just that you'd have to look hard to find any trace of an original idea; just one riff, lick or lyric that you haven't heard before.(
) That might be fine if they were out for cheap thrills, but the show was meant to be an inspirational spectacle in the vein of U2's ``Elevation'' tour. The difference is that U2 had creative staging and great songs; Creed had fireworks and singalongs.
The onstage sound, particularly on the vocals, was studio-perfect enough to raise suspicions that it wasn't 100 percent live. In any case, the musical elements were strictly borrowed: Singer Scott Stapp had all of Eddie Vedder's mannerisms down pat; while guitarist Mark Tremonti lifted equal parts from The Edge(
-he can only dream) and Jimmy Page. The opening ``Bullets'' paid lip service to Metallica, but from there ponderous ballads took over: ``Who's Got My Back'' had a ponderous intro that was longer than the song itself. The lyrical message boiled down to a set of obvious statements: Believing in yourself is good; religious violence is bad; existential pain is a real drag.
Stapp took his fake-humble act to extremes, lowering his face in a Christ-like pose(
) after nearly every song. And when a song got especially whiny (
)he'd explain that he was speaking for the audience: Before the latest album's title track ``Weathered,'' Stapp explained that we all feel world-beaten sometimes - particularly the members of Creed after their last big tour. We'll assume he was trying to sound like a man of the people instead of a spoiled rock star.
Creed shows they're a bunch of imitators
by Brett Milano
Friday, February 8, 2002
Creed, at the FleetCenter, Boston, last night.
Is it possible for a band to become massively popular without being any good? You'd have to wonder just a little after witnessing Creed's sold-out show last night.
Not that the Florida quartet can't play; they've got boring technical competence to spare. It's just that you'd have to look hard to find any trace of an original idea; just one riff, lick or lyric that you haven't heard before.(
The onstage sound, particularly on the vocals, was studio-perfect enough to raise suspicions that it wasn't 100 percent live. In any case, the musical elements were strictly borrowed: Singer Scott Stapp had all of Eddie Vedder's mannerisms down pat; while guitarist Mark Tremonti lifted equal parts from The Edge(
Stapp took his fake-humble act to extremes, lowering his face in a Christ-like pose(