Show Review: Foxy Shazam (opening for The Sounds)
The Showbox @ The Market – Seattle, WA 10/27

October 27, 2009 – Walking into this show I had no idea what to expect. When I got there, the line to get in was around the block – a very good sign for the show! Just outside the venue sat an RV that no doubt belonged to the Ohio based band Foxy Shazam, who was one of the opening bands for The Sounds along with Semi Precious Weapons at Seattle’s Showbox Theater.

For the most part, The Showbox Theater is very intimate; there isn’t a bad seat in the house unless you’re standing behind someone extremely tall. I’m short but I opted to set myself smack dab in the middle of the floor crowd anyway. After all, how can you really review a show unless you feel the energy of it?

And energy, there most certainly was! When Foxy Shazam got on stage, the crowd was energized and excited. The guys jumped right into their set, which was extremely fast paced and even a little crazy at times. Lead singer Eric Nally was running and crawling back and forth on stage immediately as the first song began. At the same time, the rest of the band was spitting water into the air and moving around like crazy. The keyboardist, Sky, was extremely animated and even jumped up on top of the keyboard at one point. It was funny and not like anything I’d ever seen before.

The highlight performances of the night were most definitely “Wannabe Angel,” “The Rocketeer” and “Bye Bye Symphony.” All three songs sounded great.

The finale was nearly indescribable. I’m not sure that there are any other bands who have comparable finales and unfortunately it caught the crowd by surprise and they weren’t really feeling it at that point. It was…wild. Daisy was tossing his bass up into the air and then trying to catch it just before it hit the ground while Eric was lighting and smoking a handful of cigarettes, jumping on another guy’s head and essentially gyrating while singing. It was an energy that I can only describe as “different”, but I certainly have nothing against a band who dares to be different. If you’re a fan of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ live shows and you like Freddy Mercury, I think Foxy Shazam will be an excellent fit.

The final verdict: If you go to a show it’ll be crazy, it’ll be wild – that’s just Foxy Shazam’s style. If you don’t want to be in the middle of the wild stage performance, steer clear of the front row and just listen to the music.