CREED, OUR LADY PEACE AND STEREO FUSE, Delta Center, Dec. 10.
Seven months, two days and two cancellations after Creed was scheduled to play in Salt Lake City, the band finally made it to the Delta Center Tuesday. And judging from the reaction of the several thousand screaming, fist-pumping and head-banging fans, any tardiness was forgiven.
The band exploded onto the stage with a pyrotechnic-intensive show that would have made any fireworks factory proud. The heavy guitar chords of "Bullets" opened the show as the quartet stomped across a stage reminiscent of ancient Greece. Four Parthenon-like pillars stood in back of the stage in front of a giant video screen while fire shot from every possible corner of the band's own little Acropolis.
Lead singer Scott Stapp fueled the crowd's fist-pumping frenzy with "What If?" "Torn" and "One Last Breath."
Guitarist Mark Tremonti made his presence known, both in his towering appearance and his guitar licks, resting one leg on a sound monitor for most of the show, shredding through "My Own Prison," "One" and "What's This Life For?"
The encore was filled with more fireworks and more fist pumping, in sync with the rhythm section of Scott Phillips on drums and bass player Brett Hestla, pounding through "Higher" and "My Sacrifice."
With the exception of a few special appearances later this year, Tuesday night marked the end of Creed's appropriately named Weathered tour. It has been a tumultuous year for the band and especially Stapp, who was hit by everything from vocal problems to an automobile at different times during 2002, forcing many shows to be canceled.
"This song describes this year," Stapp said before launching into the title track of Creed's third album (and the tour's namesake). But everything seemed to fall into place, and Stapp's voice got stronger as the night progressed.
Stapp sang with a big smile on his face for most of the show, in appreciation of the vociferous crowd. "There's so much love in this room," he said. "I'm feeling it tonight. There's a hometown feel here."
Noticeably absent was "With Arms Wide Open." Otherwise, Creed gave all it could on the tour's final night, and then some — at the end, tossing almost everything that wasn't hooked up to an amp into the crowd as souvenirs.
Equally rocking, but with far less pyrotechnic fanfare, was Our Lady Peace. Singer Raine Maida's voice was solid from start to finish as the band gave a pounding rendition of "Birdman" and belted out favorites "Starseed," "Superman," etc.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com