Concert Recap: Creed's "Summer of '99" Tour in Virginia Beach, VA (July 27, 2024)
After over a decade away from the stage, the Florida-based "dad rock" giants have never performed better
Nothing rewrites a narrative quite like nostalgia – coming back from a twelve year absence, Creed went from being one of the most despised bands to come out of the mid-90s to one of the most revered reformed acts of the year. Between meme culture and the general reminiscence that comes from reflecting on a long-gone group, the hard rock group’s reunion tour quickly became one of the biggest tours of 2024, with show’s selling out from the dead of summer all the way to the end of the year, with more dates likely based on the success of this year’s run.
Being a hardcore Creed fan since before it was cool, it was a dream come true to see the band in action at the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, VA on July 27. To make the experience even better was the support lineup for this leg of the tour. The band’s 2024 dates feature an array of different openers for certain stretches, including Daughtry and Mammoth WVH, but for the show I attended, support came in the form of Finger Eleven and 3 Doors Down.
This may be an unpopular take, but aside from Creed, Finger Eleven was the band I was most looking forward to seeing. Obviously their hit “Paralyzer” has been a staple in my playlist since it first came out in 2007, but one of my favorite songs of theirs is “Suffocate,” their contribution to the Scream 3 (2000) soundtrack and standout from their sophomore studio effort, The Greyest of Blue Skies. While it was omitted from their 30-minute set, their performance was still full of high-energy bangers like the classic “First Time” and the recent single “Together Right.” The audience was also able to hear the brand-new track “Adrenaline,” the title track to their upcoming seventh album, scheduled to release next year. Between Scott Anderson’s still perfect vocals and rhythm guitarist Rick Jackett’s refusal to play while wearing his guitar strap for a majority of the set, the band put on an incredibly entertaining performance, leaving fans like me wishing they had twice as much time on stage. Closing with their two biggest songs, “One Thing” and “Paralyzer,” the latter of which featuring musical nods to AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and “That’s All” by Genesis during an extended break before the final chorus, I was so glad to have finally gotten to see Finger Eleven live, and I’m still hoping to see them as a headliner one of these days.
Finger Eleven Setlist:
- Quicksand
- First Time
- Above
- Together Right
- Adrenaline
- One Thing
- Paralyzer
3 Doors Down had a set that was close to headline-length, allowing for a mix of their greatest hits and a look at the future, and the crowd was loving every second of it. One would’ve thought that they were the headlining act based on how excited and engaged the audience was for their set. Much like with Finger Eleven, Brad Arnold’s vocals were almost identical to the studio versions of their songs, but I found myself focusing on rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson – my friend Will Driver, lead guitarist of the band Echostone, is heavily influenced by Henderson and the music of 3 Doors Down (their latest single, “When I Was Young,” is enough of an example of that), and getting to see Henderson on stage showed me just how much of an influence he is on Will, having adopted the same stoic yet commanding stage presence, along with the guitar chops. All in all, their set was a great one to watch, and as a mostly casual fan of them, I loved getting to hear such iconic songs like “Kryptonite,” “Here Without You,” and my personal favorite song of theirs, “Let Me Go,” along with getting more familiar with their music with the rest of their setlist, including the new song “Never Look Down.”
3 Doors Down Setlist:
- Train
- It’s Not My Time
- Loser
- Duck and Run
- Here Without You
- Time of My Life
- Away From the Sun
- Never Look Down
- The Road I’m On
- Let Me Go
- Landing in London
- Kryptonite
- When I’m Gone
Creed’s set was absolutely explosive, in more ways than one thanks in part to their elaborate stage show and pyrotechnics. Kicking off with the hard-hitting “Bullets,” their set was more than just a greatest hits tour – the show was a celebration of their career and discography, featuring deeper cuts like “Never Die,” fan favorites like “Faceless Man,” and all the hits. As far as the song selection goes, some of the highlights for me were “My Own Prison,” “Weathered,” “Overcome,” “One,” “What’s This Life For,” and of course, “Higher.” As I said in my dream setlist writeup ahead of the concert, “Higher” was the first rock song I’ve ever heard as far back as my memory goes, so to get to hear it live was just epic. Full Circle is one of my favorite Creed albums, and I loved seeing it represented in the form of “Overcome.” Additionally, when I was gifted their Greatest Hits album at a really young age, some of my favorite tracks to put on repeat were “My Own Prison,” “What’s This Life For,” “Weathered,” and “One,” (along with “What If,” of course), and getting to see all of them played live felt unreal.
I’ve seen Scott Stapp live once on his solo “Proof of Life” Tour on May 4, 2016 when he played at Hooligans Live in Jacksonville, NC as part of his comeback tour after his very public meltdown in 2014, and while he was in great shape then and sounded great when he played the Creed hits along with his phenomenal solo cuts, he sounded otherworldly in comparison on stage with Creed at this show in Virginia Beach – after almost a decade of sobriety and consistent touring, his voice was in fantastic condition through the 16-song set. His energy on stage was on another level too, looking and sounding like a much younger man than the Stapp I saw in 2016. As a longtime fan who got to see him as he clawed his way back to success at that time, it appeared to me that he genuinely enjoyed every second of performing on stage at this level, and it was awesome to see how far he’s come in just a short eight years.
The whole band seemed to be enjoying themselves – the guitar god Mark Tremonti was all smiles the entire time, and his interactions with Stapp on stage appeared to be genuine instead of forced. Tremonti, Eric Friedman, Scott Phillips, and Brian Marshall also played extremely well together, never missing a beat throughout their set. Between their sound and how much they appeared to enjoy playing music together, I’d argue that this is the best time to see Creed live. I’d also like to point out how great it is to see Eric Friedman continuing to play with them on the road – when the reunion was announced, all the marketing focused on the classic lineup of Stapp, Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips. I remember seeing Friedman join the band on the DVD that came with the Full Circle album, so I was really excited to hear that he’d be on the tour as well. Over the years, he’s become just as important of a band member as the rest of Creed, and now that they’re back together, I really hope he’ll have the chance to enter the studio with them if they do decide to write new music together, because he deserves to have his mark made on one of their studio efforts.
Creed Setlist:
- Bullets
- Torn
- Are You Ready?
- My Own Prison
- Never Die
- What If
- Weathered
- Overcome
- Say I
- Faceless Man
- One
- What’s This Life For
- With Arms Wide Open
- Higher
Encores
- One Last Breath
- My Sacrifice
Long story short, this tour is for everyone, whether you’re a hardcore Creed fan that’s defended them every step of the way before their modern mainstream adulation, or a casual fan that knows the hits and likes the memes. The support lineup is sonically fitting and solid, and getting to see Creed back together once again is a spectacle that can’t be missed. They’ll be touring through the end of the year, and hopefully 2025 will be another big year for Creed and their fans as well. To see the remaining dates and to buy tickets, click here.
Support the bands at the following links:
- Creed
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