Review & Photography by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
The master of entertainment returns to Glasgow for a fueled up midweek blitzkrieg and a night not to be forgotten.
Due to the early start I only caught the tail end of the first support Pistols at Dawn. With a very limited space to catch these guys from Atlanta I was suitably impressed. Huge riffs a cracking rhythm section and extremely powerful vocals. It also looked like vocalist Chris Pierson had stolen Mr Jericho’s dumbells and has been working out like crazy on the tour bus, maybe this was why he had the ladies swooning.
This is a band to keep an eye out for and with monster songs like “Fly” and “The Truth” you will quickly see why they are turning heads in the states.
A more well known name this side of the pond is second support slot in The Hot Damn. It just happens to be home for singer/ guitarist Gill Montgomery who was also in the band Amorretes so as they say here…she is well kent.
They opened up with “Fizz, Buzz, Crash” and did exactly that. Their brand of Rock/Punk/Pop got the party started and the collection of crazy stage clothes matched the very vivid range of merch, no chance of the old boring black t-shirts here. I am sure if you threw up near the merch stall unicorns would come out.
It is not all gimmicks with these ladies though. They are packed with excellent musicians. They have the pocket Dynamite on drums in Josie O’Toole, Sister and fellow band member of Aaron Buchanon in Laurie who has some serious fretboard skills as well as a cool as hell hat. As for Lzi Hayes on bass, all I will say is she scares me.
The upbeat set list had the crowd bouncing with tracks like “Dance Around”, “Live, Laugh, Love” and “Going Down” with a nice little ditty to flog the merchandise added on for good measure but it was the final song “I Didn’t Like You Anyway” that got the whole crowd going. Of course it did as there is swearing and enforced middle finger endorsement.
This is a great band, great bunch of girls and a whole heap of fun.
By the time lights went down for the headliners Fozzy the venue is packed, the anticipation is bubbling and as the video screens burst to life and the band walked on for opener “Spotlight” shit was already getting crazy, this was partly to do with getting the crowd geared up on intro tape “Living Next Door to Alice”
Fozzy fans are a whole different breed, you have death metal lovers, wrestling fans, rockers, metalheads and basically outcasts to the world but you have to love these guys, as they rock out with the best of them. Tonight is the day before my birthday and I am in a room of strangers and I would not want to be anywhere else…I am at home in a Fozzy crowd.
Starting with a new song was brave but this band does things its own way and as Chris stated recently they are not going to release albums going forward. It is all about singles and live shows now and I am not going to argue with the big man.
Now the new one is out the way it is time to go for the throat as the double axe attack and rhythm barrage of “Bad Tattoo” blasts through your chest. I am in the photo pit and although I am six foot two you cannot take away from the stature of Chris.
The man is a monster and once you add on the personality and ego he is like a god on that stage and he knows it. He personifies the word entertainer but this is not just about Chris, Fozzy is no side project, it is no joke. Fozzy is a band and full to the brim of badasses.
The guitar work and backing vocals of The Duke and Billy Grey is unparalleled as their dueling axes slot in the show goes to prove. They play off each other perfectly and who the hell still plays a headless guitar these days?
We head into “Painless” and “Do you Wanna Start a War” and the video screens come into their own throwing visions at us so every sense is kept on overload. Part of the charisma of a Fozzy show is keeping you off balance. Like the man in the ring he is going to keep coming for you and you have no idea what tricks he has up his sleeve. It is blow after blow and this song personifies that.
After “Lights Go Out” we have the craziest cover ever in Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax”. A version so fucking metal live that it would scare Holly Johnson straight. I have seen a lot of covers played live in my time but this was the craziest shit bar none.
It would also not be a Fozzy show without audience participation but tonight is again on a different level, sure, we get the Glasgow version of Here we go, we get Chris saying how much he loves Glasgow and yes we also got the rendition of three blind mice that nobody knows how it started but there was a twist.
As we all do the sing along like us Chris does the old blah blah blah on the chorus but who knew Glasgow had a superhero in the building. He went by the name of Craig and he actually knew all the words and he was not shy to get on that stage and show off his superpower…for one night only he owned Glasgow.
I can see the thinking behind the band not doing albums with the statement they cannot fit new songs into a set list. Twisted Sister and Kiss have made this model work for decades and when Fozzy have songs like “Sane”, “I Still Burn”, “Nowhere to Run” and “Spider in my Mouth” how can you consider leaving these out?
Maybe if the band played here every year it would be a different story but as it stands gimme this set list every time and I would be happy.
It is time to get down to business as we head into the last quarter of the match and there is no holding on here. It is full out carnage as we blast “Purifier” and “Enemy” before the encore. The building is shaking and the crowd are left breathless from the aural barrage we have witnessed but time to suck it up, scream our asses off and get this band back out on the stage.
This is no quick turnaround, Chris wants us to work for more and work we do before the band return and to what else but “Judas”
If there was anyone left sane before this they were no more. This song just lit the place up. A great song but live this is an altogether different monster. This is a crowd in the palm of Chris’s hand and I swear if he said kill there would be a bloodbath here tonight.
The boys finish off with “Blitzkrieg Bop” and the party atmosphere continued. I never want a live show to end but tonight I would have dragged my time ravaged body to dawn if the show had continued.
Fozzy are a live animal, they are outstanding musicians and Chris Jericho is the ringmaster from hell, pay your ticket, take your seat and be prepared to leave your sanity behind.
