Monday, January 14, 2019

Fozzy

Well, it was a great weekend for live music a few months ago in North Dakota. On a Saturday, I went to Grand Forks to see Metallica, and the very next day, I had the opportunity to see Fozzy right here in Fargo.

Fozzy was formed in 1999 as a cover band, where guitarist Rich Ward of Stuck Mojo would get together with whichever musician friends of his were available to perform cover songs under the moniker "Fozzy Ozzbourne." Eventually, WWE wrestler Chris Jericho would become a frequent guest as a vocalist, and a friendship, and permanent band, were formed soon after. They shortened the name to just Fozzy, and here we are, 19 years and 7 albums later.


This was actually Fozzy's first visit to Fargo, and they packed the Sanctuary Events Center with a pretty good line up. The Stir kicked things off, who reminded me of a less thrashy, more bluesy version of Overkill. Stone Broken came on next, who are a hard rock band out of the U.K. who reminded me a lot of Sixx A.M. Adelita's Way came on next, and had a pretty good following here in Fargo. I thought there were some technical problems with the vocals, which were overpowered by the instruments, but they do have some good music.


Fozzy was the headliner and kicked things off in a big way with the title track from their most recent album, "Judas." Each song was sure to a be a high energy track with the purpose of getting the crowd moving throughout the set. No dull moments, no ballads. Just heavy music from start to finish.
The interesting thing, for me, was seeing Jericho perform as a frontman. As a huge wrestling fan, I have been a fan of his since his early days in WCW in the late 90s, and was curious to see how his talents would transfer from that world into this one.





The truth is, there are a lot of things that can transfer over, and you can see a lot of his in-ring character influence the way he leads the band. as a wrestler, the number one thing you need to do, is get the crowd involved. Whether they are cheering you or booing you, the most important thing is that they care about whatever it is you are placing in front of them. Most bands, go from song to song, play their music, and leave. Jericho never rushes anything. Before, during, and after, he always make sure that the crowd is involved with the show, whether by chants, hand motions, or a call and response. It looks like the band is having a great time on stage, and that helps the fans have a great time, as well.

The band itself is also really good at keeping up with Jericho's enthusiasm. Ward was all over the place, even playing one of their songs in the crowd!







Fozzy's music is really good on its own, but what the group really excels at is the live experience. Jericho isn't shy about naming Kiss's Paul Stanley as his biggest influence as a frontman and even recalled travelling down from Winnipeg as a teenager to see Kiss at a race track in Fargo, specifically how Stanley would yodel the name of the city (FARGOWOWOWOHOOO!!!).



Of course, I had to make a stop at the merch table, and ended up getting a signed copy of Judas on vinyl. I had originally planned on getting one of their VIP meet-and-greet packages, but the funds weren't there at the time, so this was a pretty good compromise in still getting some ink.




Fozzy was great that night. The music is good, of course, but when you see a band live, you want just that little bit extra, and Fozzy makes sure that not only is it a good show, but it is a great experience.

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