 | Written by Alex Stojanovic Photography by Navneet Johal (C) 2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com FOZZY w/ JARED JAMES NICHOLS DEADSET SOCIETY and FAREWELL TO FEAR @ The Rockpile November 28, 2018 Toronto, ON, Canada Presented by Rockpile Events Click here for our interview with Chris Jericho For much of the second half of this year, I took a little break from going to shows. I only attended two shows during the year's second half, and one of those shows was Fozzy, which will most likely be the last show I attend for this year, but I'm looking forward to the 2019 concert season as there are many great tours lined up already. It's been another great year of shows, but I digress. Fozzy is currently on their first proper tour of Canada, which will close out the cycle for the Judas album, which came out last year. |
The tour also features special guests Jared James Nichols, Deadset Society and Farewell To Fear, and it started off with some shows on the east coast where the band was direct support for Three Days Grace before jumping into their own headline shows. The tour made a stop in Toronto at the Rockpile on November 28th. For a Wednesday night, there was quite the respectable turnout, and as a result, it felt like a Friday or Saturday night. Let's get into the night's festivities, shall we?
| DEADSET SOCIETY Photo credit: Navneet Johal / (C) 2018 www.metalmasterkingdom.com | Kicking off the night was Farewell To Fear from the warmer southern States. I'm pretty sure the arctic Canadian temperatures were a bit of a culture shock for them. Regarding their set, they managed to engage the crowd with their melodic hard rock tunes. I happen to love the way the band executed the muffled vocal effect that's a very common element in modern hard rock, which was done by Mike Craig speaking into a phone that was hooked up on his mic stand. Even though the crowd was still slowly building during this time, they really set the mood for the night. Next up were hometown boys in Deadset Society. Due to our interview with Chris Jericho, we weren't able to catch the first half of their set, but we caught the second half. Musically, they weren't all that different from Farewell To Fear, but they managed to put on a solid performance. Their sound reminded me of Three Days Grace in a way. Reid Henry and Brendan McMillian used to be members of My Darkest Days, and as a result, the band closed their set by treating the crowd to a cover of the My Darkest Days track "Porn Star Dancing". At the end, Reid ran over and sang while standing on a table. |
| Up next was Jared James Nichols, who I had the opportunity to see for the first time last year opening for Saxon and UFO. He impressed then and he impressed again at this show. He brought more of a modern and bluesy classic rock sound to the night, and was very deserving of the positive reception he received from the crowd. His finger-picking technique is really impressive, where's he's able to use his fingers to play his guitar, but make it seem like he's using a pick. It was during the song "Baby, Can You Feel It?" that Jared played the solo in the crowd. A fan then asked Jared if he could play his guitar, and the fan's request was granted. To close out his set, he and his two talented bandmates played the Mountain classic "Mississippi Queen". If you love great guitar playing and aren't aware of Jared James Nichols, then get online and check him out. I'm sure you will not only love his playing, but his great songs. FOZZY Photo credit: Navneet Johal / (C) 2018 www.metalmasterkingdom.com | JARED JAMES NICHOLS Photo credit: Navneet Johal / (C) 2018 www.metalmasterkingdom.com Closing off the night was Fozzy. The only other time I saw the band live was back in 2013 when they were opening for Saxon, but I have to say that this was the best of the two Fozzy shows I've seen. Before the band entered the stage, the crowd got warmed up with AC/DC's "High Voltage" and Black Sabbath's "War Pigs". The band then entered the stage and launched into the one-two punch of "Judas" and "Drinkin' With Jesus". There's one flaw about the show that needs addressing. The use of pre-recorded vocals on certain songs was completely unnecessary. I don't understand why the band needed them, but they were clearly audible. Anytime I hear pre-recorded vocals live, it makes me feel uncomfortable because that's cheating, and nobody wants that. I wish that the bands who use pre-recorded vocals live would give up on that and just focus on working to keep things real and pure all the way. I'm obviously not the only one feeling this way. |
This is mainly the musician in me talking, but I would still be saying this even if I wasn't a musician. Plus, why did Fozzy even need them in the first place when there's four people performing vocals in the band? If you're going to use vocal effects in a live setting, at least find a way to keep it pure, like the way Mike Craig from Farewell To Fear did with the telephone. Yes, it was a vocal effect, but at least it wasn't a track. The only use of tracks that is acceptable in a live setting is for song intro tapes. I don't understand. Anyway, I could go on forever about my hatred for backing tracks and cheating in a live situation, but let's not get too sidetracked. I just wanted to get that off my chest.
Even though that was the only flaw of the show, that didn't take away from the incredible energy and fun vibe the band put on. We were treated to a number of tracks from the Judas, Do You Wanna Start A War and Sin & Bones records like "Painless", "Burn Me Out", "Lights Go Out", "One Crazed Anarchist", "Sin & Bones" and "Spider In My Mouth". There were quite a few standout moments during their set, which included VIP members getting the opportunity to join the band on stage during "Burn Me Out", Chris wearing a jacket that lit up with blinking coloured lights during "Spider In My Mouth" and using a CO2 blaster during "Do You Wanna Start A War". During the first couple of songs, Chris wore a Fedora hat, along with his leather jacket and leather pants, which gave off an Axl Rose vibe. The band also treated the crowd to a couple of covers, which included ABBA's "SOS" and AC/DC's "TNT". Jared James Nichols joined the band on stage to perform "TNT". The oldest song in the set was "Enemy". To close out the night, the band played "Sandpaper", and the set ended with Chris telling the crowd that we "just made the list!"
In conclusion, Fozzy and the fans gave a Wednesday night at the Rockpile a weekend feel with a fun-filled, high-octane rock show. I honestly wish the band included a couple of songs from Chasing The Grail like "Martyr No More" or "God Pounds His Nails" because that's my favourite Fozzy record, but that's just me. Hopefully next time, right?
Even though that was the only flaw of the show, that didn't take away from the incredible energy and fun vibe the band put on. We were treated to a number of tracks from the Judas, Do You Wanna Start A War and Sin & Bones records like "Painless", "Burn Me Out", "Lights Go Out", "One Crazed Anarchist", "Sin & Bones" and "Spider In My Mouth". There were quite a few standout moments during their set, which included VIP members getting the opportunity to join the band on stage during "Burn Me Out", Chris wearing a jacket that lit up with blinking coloured lights during "Spider In My Mouth" and using a CO2 blaster during "Do You Wanna Start A War". During the first couple of songs, Chris wore a Fedora hat, along with his leather jacket and leather pants, which gave off an Axl Rose vibe. The band also treated the crowd to a couple of covers, which included ABBA's "SOS" and AC/DC's "TNT". Jared James Nichols joined the band on stage to perform "TNT". The oldest song in the set was "Enemy". To close out the night, the band played "Sandpaper", and the set ended with Chris telling the crowd that we "just made the list!"
In conclusion, Fozzy and the fans gave a Wednesday night at the Rockpile a weekend feel with a fun-filled, high-octane rock show. I honestly wish the band included a couple of songs from Chasing The Grail like "Martyr No More" or "God Pounds His Nails" because that's my favourite Fozzy record, but that's just me. Hopefully next time, right?
* We unfortunately don't have pics of Farewell To Fear. Our apologies *
| FOZZY Chris Jericho - Vocals Rich Ward - Lead guitars & backing vocals Frank Fontsere - Drums & percussion Billy Grey - Rhythm guitars & backing vocals Randy Drake - Bass & backing vocals Label: Century Media Records Website: www.fozzyrock.com | JARED JAMES NICHOLS Jared James Nichols - Guitars & vocals Gregg Cash - Bass & backing vocals Dennis Holm - Drums Label: Listenable Records Website: www.facebook.com/Jaredjamesnichols www.twitter.com/jjnicholsmusic www.instagram.com/jaredjamesnichols |
| DEADSET SOCIETY Reid Henry - Vocals & guitars Dane Hartsell - Guitars & vocals Brendan McMillian - Bass & vocals Mike Langford - Drums Label: Unsigned Website: www.DeadsetSociety.com www.facebook.com/DeadsetSociety | FAREWELL TO FEAR Mike Craig - Lead vocals Tony Lucero - Guitars, keyboards & vocals Jimmy Adams - Drums Jeremy Sevens - Bass Dirk Mercer - Guitars & vocals Label: Pavement Entertainment Website: www.farewell2fear.com |
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