Rock-n-roll will never die, and that truth reigns supreme well into 2014 with a slew of killer rock tours on the horizon. One of the hardest working bands in rock today is perhaps Californians Buckcherry. Spending exuberant amounts of time on the road, the band are wrapping up another string of dates, this time with heavy metal act Fozzy. Kicking off the weekend in style on May 30th, the tour came to The Paramount in Huntington, NY for a rock-n-roll party like no other.
Launching the evening were NYC based band Mother. Relatively new to the scene, the story of Mother began when Nick Fargo (Vocalist) and Johnny Bass (bassist) had a previous musical relationship in the New Jersey based band Zodiac. Upon the band’s dissolve, the two added guitarist Mike Gowen to the mix, and in 2013 brought in Marshall Castaneda on drums to form a fresh new project. The band’s music incorporates aspects of pop, progressive rock, classic rock, and blues rock all into one package. On the heels of releasing their new EP A New Life, the band rocked out a series of tunes off it to the audience. Mixing things up, they also broke out into a stunning rendition of “Reign On Me” by The Who. Rock fans should keep their eyes open for Mother as they have a lot to offer in style and sound.
Next up were the Atlanta, GA Fozzy. Not your typical rock band, Fozzy is lead by professional wrestler Chris Jericho on vocals. Together now since 1999, the band has consistently toured and pumped out one quality album after another. Often described as the bastard child of Journey and Metallica, Fozzy have a classic metal style to them one cannot help but love. Walking onto to the stage with a massive smile, Jericho greeted the audience with open arms. Starting out with two new tracks in “Do You Want To Star A War” and “Lights Go Out”, Fozzy gave The Paramount a good taste of their forthcoming album to be released July 22nd. Possessing a large amount of energy, the entire band moved around the stage enticing the audience and playing their hearts out. As the set moved out, Jericho and the guys kept the crowd going playing favorites likes “Enemy” and “Sin and Bones”. At one point lead guitarist Rich Ward sat down by the end of the stage to play a riff right in the face of fans which had everyone in high spirits. As Ward played, he grab the arm of a very serious cross-armed security guard to raise his hand up in excitement, obviously wanting to keep the mood loose and fun. Jericho exhibited a very strong voice that took notes deep and throws them up to a screaming highs. Concluding their set with “Sandpaper” and “Eat the Rich”, Jericho jumped down into the photo pit to hug and sing with people in the front row for a wonderful show of affection to their fans. Fozzy was all about having a good time, hyping the crowd up, and just having harmless rock-n-roll fun. Be sure to check out their new album Do You Want To Start a War come July.
With The Paramount jumping with rock fans of all ages, all gathered for the return of Buckcherry. Playing around the Long Island area for many years now, this crowd look at the team led by Josh Todd (vocals), Keith Nelson (guitar), Stevie D. (guitar), Xavier Muriel (drums), and newest member Kelly LeMieux (bass) as extended family. After the brief three year hiatus of the band between 2002-2005, their return with 15 (2006) started a whirlwind of success greater than before. Now back together and stronger than ever for almost a decade, Buckcherry continue to release quality rock material with their latest conceptual piece Confessions (2013). With chants echoing through the air, it was time for the climax of this rock shindig.
Blasting out with their lightning bolt hit “Lit Up”, the tone was set for the rest of the evening to follow. Playing off the energy of the room, each member of Buckcherry personally gave head nods to fans and throw out loads of guitar picks in appreciation. Playing through songs like “Dead Again”, “All Night Long” , and “Broken Glass” were ear-candy which had a nice chemistry flowing through the room. Known to be a firecracker on stage, Todd exerted the energy of a true frontman and even grabbing a tambourine at points, adding flair to the performance.
Breaking into the beautiful tracks “Everything” and hit “Sorry” had The Paramount in a frenzy. Rocking and rolling by mid-set, Todd and Stevie D. were so heated in stage show they were both shirtless and sporting plenty of colorful ink to keep viewers eyes engaged. Riddling out great tracks “Dirty Mind”, “Next 2 You”, and “Ridin'” had the ladies dancing and the guys bopping their heads. Showing appreciation for their loyal fans, Todd thanked the crowd for sticking with Buckcherry since the 90’s and that it has been such a trip to travel, do all of these show, and to keep making music is a blast. Certainly the feeling is mutual judging by the people that keep coming back for more Buckcherry each time they hit the road. With that said, the set moved along with a series of new tracks such as “Gluttony”, and “Water”. During the magical “Dreaming of You”, couples could be seen slow dancing and sharing a touching moment together on the floor. That is what is so great about Buckcherry, they can tug at your heart strings one minute and the very next rattle your cage with “Crazy Bitch” which immediately had everyone hooting and hollering again. Exhausted from the adrenaline rush, the set concluded with the band’s interesting twist on Icona Pops “I Love It” changed to I Love It (“Say Fuck It”) and “Too Drunk..”
As always Buckcherry did not disappoint with a red hot set of their best tunes and an emotionally driven stage show. It is no wonder no matter how many times a year the band tours around, the fans continue to come out in droves to support this modern rock treasure.
Awesome pics! Man, I should’ve been a photographer!!!!