[ABYanks]

Heres another positive one from The Washington Post


Open Arms for Scott Stapp

Thursday, March 2, 2006; C04



Let's get the jokes out of the way now: Tuesday at the 9:30 club, it was difficult to listen to headliner Scott Stapp, former frontman/whipping boy of Creed, sing "My Own Prison" without tittering about his recent arrest for public intoxication. Or hear the line "I'll show you everything!" from Creed's megahit "With Arms Wide Open" without being reminded of the snippets of a sex tape involving Stapp, Kid Rock and a bunch of women that conveniently began buzzing about the Internet just before Stapp kicked off his tour.

But whatever demons the often-maligned singer has been battling, Stapp, who's reportedly traveling with a sobriety coach, put on a great show. During the 80-minute set, his energy was high, his guttural -- er, distinctive -- voice strong, and his unacknowledged four-piece backing band sharp.

Stapp performed mostly songs off his first solo album, "The Great Divide," but singles from his former rock supergroup were also trotted out without remark. (To ensure no one thought this was Creed Redux, giant letters spelling SCOTT STAPP decorated the stage's back wall.) He did a lot of quasi-sermonizing between the driving, if similar-sounding, songs, and his arms and those of fervent audience members were often raised to the heavens during Stapp's favored lyrics about spirituality and redemption.

Stapp admitted that he wasn't sure how he'd be received during this tour, and regardless of one's beliefs or opinion of the guy, the expression of sheer joy on his face when the crowd showed him some love was uplifting. Stapp closed with a passionate performance of "Justify," whose chorus of "I do not have to justify the way I life my life" left one hoping he'll no longer need to.


-- Tricia Olszewski