Creed Bring Arena Show to Toronto Club

Creed brought their arena show to a 350-capacity Toronto club Oct. 29 to say hello to their Canadian fans after a seven-year absence. The Tattoo Rock Parlour was jam-packed for the Florida rockers, in town to do some promotion behind the new album 'Full Circle.'

Gone were the leather pants -- a more current, down-to-earth look of long-sleeve black crewneck and jeans for frontman Scott Stapp. The rest of the band -- guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips, bassist Brian Marshall and touring guitarist Eric Friedman -- were similarly unassuming in black rock T-shirts.

With the die-hards crushed up against the stage, the band launched into the aggressive 'Bullets,' with its slow near-spoken opening, as cell phones immediately went up to record video and pics. By the third song, Stapp already had sweat dripping from his brow, even though the venue was a comfortable temperature and it was chilly fall weather outside.

The band seemed genuinely happy at the response from the crowd, even though they just finished playing arenas in America. Stapp smiled as he said, "This is awesome. Thank you so much for being here." Stapp asked who has the new record and introduced 'A Thousand Faces.' Some fans already knew every word to the new song, but nowhere near as many as joined in for 'My Sacrifice,' the mega hit from Creed's last album, 2001's 'Weathered.'

In all, it seemed like a less pretentious, I'm-a-rock-star rock band than they had displayed in the past and more about playing solid tunes and engaging the fans. The only cheesy part was when Stapp decided to take off his shirt, then draped white towels around him during every song break (the rest of the band kept their clothes on).

Creed went on to play 'Overcome' and 'My Own Prison,' before chilling out a bit. Stapp sat, flanked by his two guitarists on acoustic, along with the rhythm section, as he sang 'Rain,' the new single from 'Full Circle.' The band played nine songs in total -- no encore -- but instead stayed at the foot of the stage for a few minutes, slapping hands, signing some autographs and nodding in acknowledgment to those that took the trouble to make signs.

Creed may have come full circle in terms of reforming and re-emerging in a better headspace, but they likely won't ever play a venue that small again -- except on very rare occasions.