Episode I: The Quest To See Creed

Trey came to me last night, iPhone in hand, and said he had something to show me. Creed was coming to The Pageant in St Louis. Wanted to go he did. Wondered he if Take him I would. You see, T and I have a 'history' with that band. Being that I've stumbled upon a serious case of writers block, you're about to be treated to a larger dose of Creed than you probably ever wanted. Hey, I need the material! Last night I sat down and reviewed a blog post I made years ago. I edited, rewrote, and revised. Unfortunately it's long,"In a Gadda Da Vida" long. So, dear readers, you are about to be treated to a three part expose on Creed. I'm sorry . . . try to enjoy it. Don't Judge me!

Several years back, T was all ate up with the Guitar Hero games. For months that is all that boy did. It annoyed me to no end, not because he was wasting his time (he was) but because he was ruining songs I use to love listening to. I swore if I heard "Monkey Wrench" one more time, someone was going to bleed and our dog, Chucky, better hide because I disliked him the most. Just as I was reaching my breaking point fate intervened and Trey asked for a 'real' guitar. Whew, I really did not want to kick the dog.

T on the first night with his first guitar. Christmas Eve 2008

He got his guitar and began to 'play'. Oh how I longed for the days of Guitar Hero. It was the proverbial 'be careful what you wish for, you just may get it’. We took him to an instructor and he did not totally enjoy his lessons but wanted to stick with Wes because he was 'a cool dude'. I loaded up an iPod with some of my favorite guitar songs/ players on it and gave it to him for his birthday. He seemed puzzled as to why I would give him an iPod full of 'old' songs. I told him he would figure it out in time.

One Sunday I was watching my St Louis Rams take another beating while thinking about finding that dog for his long overdue kick, when Trey came in wide - eyed and sat on the couch next to me. My first thought was, 'what did he break?' 

He opened his mouth and said, "I know who the greatest band of all time is".

"Yeah?” I said.

"Yep, Daddio . . . I figured it out, it's Creed."

Figured it out he did. He definitely was the mailman's kid. My initial thought was, 'CRAP, CRAP, CRAP', not because I did not want him to like Creed.  At that point in time, Creed was done, finished, finito. There seemed little hope of reconciliation at that time. You see, I wanted him to find a band and I was hoping  he would pick anyone but Creed. Out of 250 songs he latched onto 2. Sheesh, where is that dog? I only put "What If" and "My Own Prison" on his iPod. Those songs were too good to not be on there.

My plan was for him to find 'his' band and I would take him to see them for his first concert. The first concert is a HUGE deal. My Dad totally blew it. I saw the Oak Ridge Boys when I was in the 5th grade and the scarring from the events of that night haunt me to this day. I informed him of my intent and why Creed may not be the best choice.

"I don't care", he said, "they are too awesome to stay apart".

Oh, the wonders of youth and their fanciful (silly and ill informed) ideas. Sure, Oompa – Lumpas make the chocolate and Creed will get back together. I wanted to believe it for him. I mean, hell froze over and the Eagles got back together. 

Over the next year or so I tried to direct his attention to other bands and he found some he liked. He really dug Alter Bridge (Creed minus Stapp), New Found Glory, and many others. However, he remained adamant Creed was going to be his first show. Poor dog.

One day in early 2009 I was checking out a story on blabbermouth.net and happened to see rumblings about a possible Creed reunion. Had hell froze over . . . again? Where's Chucky? That dog deserved a treat. I kept this to myself. There was no way I was saying a word until it became official.

Chucky before he aged to annoyance. 

Oh and official it was! They had a date scheduled for a venue in driving distance, on my birthday no less! As I checked ticket sell dates, I discovered I had the day off! What? They’re doing VIP Meet and Greets too. Fate is smiling on us; this is too good to be true. Lucky dog.

As the date grew near, I saw a message in my inbox from Live Nation tagged important info.  Wait . . . WHAT?? “Due to a scheduling conflict the Creed concert at Chaifetz Arena has been canceled." WTF?? Every dog has his day, times up Chucky.

Tune in next time to see how this rambling mess continues and if the dog survives our quest to see Creed.