http://www.mjsite.comMusic News Cache

It must be hard being Scott Stapp these days. In the late '90s and early '00s, his Pearl Jam "Ten"-era carbon-copy anthems and ballads with Creed sold tens of millions of album sales and received around-the-clock radio play. Yet the band, and Stapp in general, was loathed as much as hailed, and T&T subscribes to the former. In his heyday, Stapp, in interviews, came off as smug and pompous.

Yet there was absolutely nothing in his musical bag of tricks to support that attitude. He was a musical messiah with one helluva large congregation, but his message was contrived and faux erudite.

Stapp's well-documented downfall to bad rock cliché-ville began in Rosemont, where he is incidentally opening for INXS Tuesday. In December 2002 he was, by many a concertgoer's accounts, too out of it to perform. He managed to lay relatively low from the tabloid headlines for a few years after that, but has become a supermarket rag mainstay in the last several months by picking fights with members of funksters 311, humiliating himself on a cable poker show, being caught on video alongside Kid Rock and a bevy of groupies, and an arrest for public intoxication shortly after "coming clean" to Rolling Stone.

Even better was the reception for his full-length solo debut, last fall's "The Great Divide," which entered the Billboard 200 chart in the 19th spot and sunk without a trace immediately afterwards. We're praying, rubbing our lucky rabbit's foot, and not stepping on cracks that his opening slot with INXS is the 14:57 mark of his 15 minutes of fame, with the extra three seconds reserved for one or two more boneheaded antics.

INXS, Scott Stapp | 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Rosemont Theatre, 5400 River Road, Rosemont, $45 to $75

FYI: (847) 671-5100

Alice in Chains | 7 p.m. Sunday, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, Chicago (18-and-over show, sold out)

More than a decade after their last proper release, and four years after the passing of their frontman Layne Staley, Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney are returning to action.

William Duvall, singer and guitarist of the Atlanta-honed hard rock outfit Comes With A Fall, is filling in for Staley, long thought by many irreplaceable. While those lucky enough to have tickets for this sold out show will certainly welcome Cantrell, Inez and Kinney's return to action, it remains to be seen if Duvall, whose work in Fall comes with plenty acclaim, can fill in for Staley. It's no small feat for a band in any genre to replace a frontman whose vocal prowess are deeply embedded in their DNA. If you're lucky, you're Little Feat, who has carried on spectacularly without late guiding light Lowell George. But in most cases you become Thin Lizzy, who are simply milking Phil Lynott's good name for an easy buck. Here's two fingers crossed for the former for AIC.

FYI: (773) 549-0203 or www.metrochicago.com

On sale Saturday

* Powerman 5000, Sept. 30, McCools

On sale now

For more information, contact the venues or Ticketmaster at (312) 559-1212 or www.ticketmaster.com. All shows are all-ages unless indicated.

* Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Sept. 3, First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

* Phil Lesh, July 16, Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island

* Buzzcocks, July 15, Double Door (21-and-over show)

* Dave Matthews Band, Sept. 15, First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre

* Ted Nugent, July 9, Star Plaza Theatre, July 11, House of Blues (July 11 21-and-over show)

* Dashboard Confessional, July 28, Chicago Theatre

* Taking Back Sunday, June 30, Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island

* Marc Broussard, July 7, Park West

* Strays Don't Sleep, June 16, Martyrs' (21-and-over show)

* Kirk Whalum, June 17, Chicago Theater

* Alice Cooper, July 15, Star Plaza Theatre

* Mindless Self Indulgence, July 14, Congress Theatre

* Jodeci, July 22, Star Plaza Theatre

* Powerman 5000, Sept. 9, Pearl Room

* Poison, June 21, First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre

* Drowning Pool, June 15, House of Blues

FYI

Radiohead's June 19 to 20 shows at Auditorium Theatre and A.F.I.'s July 7 show at Vic Theatre are sold out.

The opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. He can be reached at T.shellberg@comcast.net.


Feedback Form Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail us!	Your e-mail address:	Your comment/question:

The Times reads all the e-mails we receive from this form and while we very much appreciate your feedback, we will not be able to respond to each one. If your comment requires a response, please call us at 219-933-3200. Thank you!

ADVERTISEMENTS

Copyright © 1996-2006 nwitimes.com. Reproduction or redistribution of content is expressly forbidden without the express written consent of nwitimes.com.
Privacy Policy Do Not Call Policy Ethics Policy