I would consider myself to be an extremely avid concert attendee. I have seen everybody from Andrea Bocelli to the Dave Matthews Band to, much to my surprise, a significant amount of heavy metal. I thought that I had truly seen it all and that my live music repertoire was more diverse than the average music appreciator’s. But on Monday night at The Door right here in Dallas, this all changed very quickly.
It changed because I saw Foxy Shazam, the self-proclaimed “Evil Knievel’s of rock ‘n’ roll,” in concert and can now officially say that I have seen everything live music has to offer.
Foxy Shazam, a quintet rock-pop band from Cincinnati, was formed in early 2004 and quickly began tooling with different musical aspirations. As evident by the band’s concert and album “Introducing,” which is to be released Jan. 22 on New Weatherman/Ferret, the band still has trouble putting a specific genre to its music.
Foxy Shazam creates a unique blend of rock, pop and soul and even manages to attract a large fan base usually centered around heavy metal. Throughout the concert, I found myself dancing to the pop, nodding to the rock and singing to the soul all at the same time. It was instantly intriguing, to say the least.
However, when I wasn’t dancing or singing, I was simply observing, watching every step the band took during its live set. I have never seen anything like it in my life.
At one point in the show, the singer was suspended upside down by his microphone that was thrown over a power cable in the roof of the venue. He was literally singing upside down 15 feet in the air above us while keyboardist Sky White was standing on top of his keys, yelling into the crowd. I was mesmerized and shocked.
Aside from its in-song antics, the band somehow managed to fit skits and modern soliloquies into the set between songs. The lead singer would sing or tell stories to the audience that had no relevance to the evening whatsoever, but somehow managed to keep everyone eccentrically entertained. Surprisingly, not once during the show were the antics overboard or done in excess.
“We’ve always gone over well with our live shows. Whether playing to a bar full of old guys or a VFW hall full of hardcore kids, we also draw a positive reaction,” explains lead singer Eric Nally.
Similar to the concert, the band’s album was a blast to listen to as well. The album, which features 10 original songs composed by the band, boldly captures the energy of the live set and the musicianship, which every member uniquely offers. Lyrically, the album even manages to capture the peculiarity the lead singer so boldly establishes with his own persona.
One song, “Red Cape Diver,” tells the story of a bullfighter who, before his epic battle, tells his family how much he vehemently loves them and wishes them well. Obviously not something of the normal sort, the band’s lyrics and stage antics sometimes seem synonymous with one another.
For someone who is truly seeking a good time and a theatrical performance, look no further than Foxy Shazam. There are many bands that can put out great music, but there are few that can deliver it in such an enthusiastic and intriguing manner. For five guys who just want to show everyone a good time, they seem to push the limits of modern rock ‘n’ roll to new levels of excitement.
“We tend to be theatrical because we are so passionate about the music,” says Nally. “It really moves us and we don’t need props to show it.”
