It’s Friday night and a bunch of rock fans and wrestling fans have come together for the evening in Wolverhampton. Which can only mean one thing – Fozzy are back in the UK and making their KK’s debut. With a quarter of a century now under their belts, the Chris Jericho-led outfit are showing no signs of slowing down, shown by them taking on ten cities and towns in eleven days. And whilst they may not have another album under their belts since their last full tour, it hasn’t stopped people showing up in their droves.
Despite the early doors of half-six, it’s a full hour before openers Pistols at Dawn show their faces. Although, we hear them before seeing them, specifically in guitarist Will James. Taking a solo before even walking onto the stage, all eyes are on him when he finally arrives. It’s a ballsy but admirable move when it’s not your crowd. Whilst he’s a guitarist whose skills will have others in the audience green with envy, it overstays its welcome and crosses into self-indulgent territory before he’s eventually joined by the rest of the band. But once they kick in, it’s clear they aren’t taking any prisoners.
With fast and furious hard rock a priority and a welcome dollop of metal, they’re a well-drilled band who focus on giving it their all on stage. There’s a healthy turnout for them who are receptive as shown by the mosh pit that break out early on and keeps up the pace for most of the performance and the band eat it up. Meanwhile new song “Bones” has alternative angst to it, filled with groove and grit in equal measure and is the highlight of the set alongside a rousing cover of “Bulls on Parade”.
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With massive inflatable unicorns – yes, plural – flanking the stage and bright colours from the LED wall, it sets the tone immediately for what we can expect from The Hot Damn!. Having supported Hayseed Dixie here a year ago and Black Spiders back in September, this might be the strangest combination, sonically speaking, yet. But by the time the opener of “Fizz Crash Bang” finishes, they’ve got the crowd onside and there’s a rapturous applause for them. Their hook-filled pop rock is entertaining and well-polished as guitarists Gill Montgomery and Laurie Buchanan trade licks effortlessly with the latter finding space to shred on the intro to “Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!” and interpolate “Hot Stuff” into “Going Down”.
Meanwhile, there’s some filthy bass work from Lzi Hayes on “Jukebox on the Radio” and for the entirety of the set, she locks in perfectly with drummer Josie O’Toole who batters her drums as if they owe her money. The band combine all your favourite bands who know how to have fun, think Queen, The Darkness, Blink-182 and the badassery of Pat Benetar, Blondie and Halestorm, as shown by the three-part harmony of “twat” during “The Merch Song”. And with their debut album primed for release, any headline tour of their own this year is not only going to be fun but busy nights if the people they converted tonight is anything to go by.
Now that the crowd is suitably warmed up, it’s time for the reason we’re all here. And after a singlaong of Smokie’s rendition of “Living Next Door to Alice”, it readies the crowd (who are in fine vocal form) for what is to follow. And as the band make their presence known, the crowd respond, then raise it several gears when Chris Jericho strides onto the stage, larger than life. It may have been some time since Fozzy played in Wolverhampton but they treat the night as if it’s a regular stop for them and shows their genuine love and appreciation they have for the UK as a whole. With the opening salvo of new single “Spotlight”, “Painless” and an early trinity of songs from Do You Wanna Start a War, it shows the quintet are not fucking about on this tour.
As they hit most of the standards, it feels like a greatest hits set without any sense of obligation for any of the numbers, playing All That Remains’ “Enemy” with as much enthusiasm as Boombox’s “I Still Burn”, the latter introduced with an inspirational speech from Jericho to follow your dreams and passions. Indeed, he’s always known how to work a crowd but tonight, it’s simply on another level, reaching a new peak. He drinks in all of the chants which are characteristic of a Fozzy show and whilst it’s a slow start for them, once the crowd gets going, they give it their all, responding to the band in kind. He’s also amused by the mosh pit that breaks out during their cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax” but he similarly bounds across the stage during the performance akin to the Tasmanian Devil.
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Whilst Jericho may be the draw for many, the five of them continue to make a solid band who are able to ensure their blend of rock and metal is delivered in a high-polished fashion without feeling contrived. Indeed, the mainstays of guitarists Rich Ward and Billy Grey have their own moment in the spotlight towards the end as they duel with their guitars having been swapping riffs and Grey’s rhythm work winding itself around Ward’s punchy leads. Meanwhile, the rhythm section of PJ Farley (bass) and Grant Brooks (drums) handle themselves as if they’ve been in the band since the start, acting as a solid unit and their chemistry with the entire band is evident.
Fozzy may not be a band I listen to regularly but whenever they come through the UK, you can guarantee I’m there to catch a show because it’s simply a bloody good night and they’re a band who are intent on delivering that. Which they do, time and time again. The only issue for the next time is – how do they top this?
Header image by Sean Larkin Photography
Fozzy: offical | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube
The Hot Damn!: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | youtube | bigcartel
Pistols At Dawn: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | youtube
