There is an adage that says it doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, as long as you get back up one time more.
Scott Stapp continues to prove that he’ll always get up one time more than he’s knocked down. He’s also proving to his critics that he continues to be relevant in the music world.
Scott is currently touring for his new album The Space Between the Shadows, and he hit the Dallas House of Blues on July 13 in advance of the album’s July 19 release date. While it might be trendy for 90s artists to hit the road with “reunion” tours, Scott’s new material is as good and relevant today as anything he’s ever sung.
In addition to four songs from the new album, Stapp sang a mix of songs from both Creed and his previous solo release Proof of Life. Even though some of the Creed songs date back to 1997 (“My Own Prison”), Scott’s voice belted out both the old and new stronger than ever. He has surrounded himself with some highly talented musicians from all over the world to complete this tour.
The show opened with Creed’s “Bullets,” “Slow Suicide” from Proof of Life, and “My Own Prison” (a song he says “introduced him to the music industry”), followed by a very passionate “What If” that got the crowd very engaged.
But would the crowd engagement last into a new song? The answer was a resounding yes, as Scott went into the high-energy “Face of the Sun” that kept the crowd on their feet. Two songs later he introduced another new song, after talking about his own experiences growing up without a father. He left the crowd with an assurance this his son would never endure that same challenge as he burst into a very emotional rendition of “Name.” Clearly, Scott is not going to sidestep or play down any of the hard issues that have made him who he is.
Once the crowd was in an emotional state, Scott went into fan favorites “Arms Wide Open” and “Higher.” The crowd ate it up as they sang along almost as loud as Scott, even though he had the advantage of a microphone! He then challenged the crowd to learn the new songs as he went into “Purpose for Pain,” another new song from The Space Between the Shadows.
After the token “leave the stage so we can come back for an encore,” Scott got very serious as he talked about a topic that is really on his heart and that of his wife Jaclyn. They have committed to bringing hope to impoverished children worldwide through ChildFund, a child-sponsorship program. Scott is serious enough to put his money where his mouth is. He told the crowd that if they signed up to sponsor a child that night, then come July 19, they would receive a signed copy of the new album.
The encore started with one more new song, a single so new that it only came out two days before the show. “Gone Too Soon” went out to anyone we lost far too young, through accident, suicide, substance abuse, serving our country, or whatever. It was a hard song to get through.
Scott ended the show with a couple of Weathered classics, “One Last Breath” and “My Sacrifice,” which seemed to leave the crowd satisfied– at least until next year’s tour.
See a full list of Scott Stapp’s upcoming tour stops at scottstapp.com/events.
This article contributed by Chad Fenner. See his full concert gallery here.
Rock On Purpose 
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