Photos and Review by Maia Kennedy
Buckcherry photos HERE
Fozzy photos HERE
Red Sky Mary photos HERE
May 10, 2014
The weather was perfect and it was a great night to be on the beach! Hampton Beach was filled with people waiting to go to the Buckcherry show at the Casino Ballroom. It wasn’t hard to pick these people out of the crowd; most were adorned with their 80’s hair metal attire and looked ready to party! The club is bigger inside than you’d imagine, but it was packed, both on the floor and in the seats above.
Red Sky Mary opened the show. They are a local NH band, calling their style a “fire-driven brand of rock-n-roll [that] combines early 1970’s high voltage swagger with grunge influenced sludgy brutality.” Their description of “fire-driven” is spot-on: they brought their fire on stage. They were all playing hard with an energy that glowed. They were a fun band that managed to further warm up an already excited crowd.
Fozzy ran onstage next as the crowd yelled their approval. Lead singer Chris Jericho commands the stage. He caught everyone’s eye as he entered wearing a leather jacket festooned with flashing led lights. Also a pro-wrestler, this big blonde is a natural-born showman. He lead the band and interacted with the audience, whipping them up into a frenzy. The excitement in the crowd got so amplified that a fight broke out between two girls, drinks in hand, eager to get closer to the stage.
Formed in 1999 by Jericho and lead guitarist Rich Ward, Fozzy has made 7 albums since. This band’s music may be 80’s inspired but it has a really hard edge. Their sound is fast and high-energy, sounding like the music that might greet a wrestler as he walks into the ring. Looking to tackle the world of heavy metal, they have toured through North America and Europe. Preparing to release a new album this summer, they have already put out one single, “Lights Go Out.”
Buckcherry graced the stage last and the crowd went wild when they came in. Josh Todd strolled on wearing sunglasses and a crazy tight black suit, with a piece of leather covering his crotch like a codpiece. They started the show off with a bang, playing one of their singles, “Lit Up.” Traditionally, bands hold-off playing a hit song until the encore, but this band has enough singles to throw around; they wanted to get their audience hot and bothered right from the start. These guys bring their hard rock with a steaming sexuality. The lyrics of the songs are all about having a good time, boozing it up, partying it up, and sexing it up! Early on, Stevie D., lead guitarist, whipped off his shirt, showing the myriad of tattoos covering his taut muscles. Todd played coy, deciding not to disrobe and show off his tattooed muscles until later. He teased the audience, taunting them and playing with them throughout the show. The band played a bunch of songs off their latest album, Confessions, as well as their hits from earlier ones, “Crazy Bitch,” being an obvious favorite.
One lucky young girl, there with her father, had the experience of a lifetime! She was in the front row and her big smile caught the eye of the guys in the bands. At the end of their set, Fozzy pulled her up onstage to join them and wave to the audience. Later, Keith Nelson, lead guitarist for Buckcherry, kept throwing his guitar picks to her. Drummer Xavier Muriel even gave her one of his drumsticks towards the end of the show, which she held onto tightly through their encore. The evening was a memorable experience not only for one little girl, but for everyone there: that night they exited with a bigger smile than they came in with.
Buckcherry
Buckcherry Setlist
Lit Up
Dead Again
All Night Long
Broken Glass
Everything
Sorry
Slamin’
Porno Star
Tired of You
Gluttony
Wrath
For the Movies
Crazy Bitch
Say Fuck It
2 Drunk
Fozzy
Fozzy Setlist
War
Lights
Addiction
God
Intro/Spider
Enemy
Sin & Bones
Sandpaper
Eat the Rich
Red Sky Mary