Summer of 99 FOREVER
by J. Jack Flash on 10/7/24Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater - BridgeportNever got to see these guys back in the day...although I always liked the stuff from them on the radio...but hey, life get's busy. So was pleasantly surprised when I heard they were getting back together this year to run thru the old hits. Went to the rescheduled Bridgeport show that got cancelled for dangerous weather. Sadly, the original openers like Finger 11 couldn't make it...but Tim Montana & Tonic were capable replacements. For the headliners, I suppose I'm a fan of those big crunchy guitar licks from Mark Tremonti as much as Stapp's vocals...the lead guitarist gets a unique distortion out of his equipment that is really pleasing to my ears...almost makes me feel like I could run thru a brick wall! But I luv how music can take one back to a place (& age) where they were when one first heard it. America has changed a lot over the past quarter century...the songs reminded me of a more innocent time before the oligarchs of silly-con valley embarked on their massive social engineering project putting everyone in endless social media feedback loops on their phones etc. I'm actually old enough to remember a time in this country when everybody didn't hate everybody else. So I get what the singer was trying to do w/his inspirational thought spots occasionaly in between songs. It sometimes kinda felt like watching an episode of Joel Osteen by a guy who sorta looks like Roman Reigns now. Don't know what Stapp has been up to over the last 25 yrs (maybe just raising kids like the rest of us.) So yeah, maybe not your typical rock concert vibe...but the lyrics do have biblical allusions now that I think about it..."Can you take me Higher...to a place where Blind men see?"Always a fun sing-a-long...whether jumping up & down during the finale of a live concert in Conn or when a millennial plays it on the bar's jukebox before last call. Oddly, Creed is cool again...as perhaps America still has an existential need for Rock Stars in a country that has (sadly) produced so few of them in recent years.