As the world is now well into the eighth month without live concerts, the best a fan can ask for is an internet live stream concert from their favorite band. At this point, tons of bands have tried some version of the live stream show, from full production on a club stage to an acoustic guitar in the living room. Some of these shows worked well, others not so much. On November 14, the members of Fozzy convened at Madison Studios in Atlanta, GA to throw their hat into the live stream ring.
Starting off with the technical aspect, the band chose to use the Veeps platform for the show. Veeps has been a leader in live stream shows during the pandemic. It’s an easy platform for the fan to use and works well technically with no glitches on this particular night. The price of basic admission is only $10 with other packages available for a higher price. While live stream prices vary among bands, kudos to Fozzy for keeping the base price low.
The show starts off with the premiere of the new documentary Fozzy Across America which documents the three shows in three time zones in one day that kicked off the tour cycle for Judas, the band’s most recent release. The doc was well done with a ton of behind-the-scenes footage and even a few live clips. The only issue was that I wasn’t there to watch a documentary, I was there for the thing I’ve been missing the most, live music. A few other live streams I’ve seen have had similar documentaries or interviews after the live performance. At around 35 minutes it felt a little long, but then maybe I was just ready for music.
Finally, the show itself started. Fozzy took a unique approach of setting up to play live in the studio. The band was set up in sort of a circle so that each member could see and feed off of the others as they played. The show kicked off with the title track to 2012’s Sin and Bones. Immediately you could tell that despite a long layoff, the band was in fine form. Fozzy took full advantage of the intimate studio setting to turn the night into a sort of Storytellers type performance. Frontman Chris Jericho served as the host in between each song, bringing up topics to throw out to members Rich Ward, Frank Fontsere, Billy Grey, and new bass player PJ Farley (Trixter, Ra). Early on, Jericho did mention the documentary with the added context that the doc showed the band at the start of the Judas touring cycle and this performance is the end of the cycle.
The band was clearly enjoying themselves which led to a really energized performance, even without an audience. A few times through the night Jericho encouraged audience participation from home. The setlist was made up mostly of tracks from the band’s last two records, Judas and Do You Wanna Start a War, with two cuts from Sin and Bones, one from All That Remains, and the 2019 single “Nowhere To Run”. The home audience felt like a fly on the wall as the band talked about what tracks they have to play each tour, which ones will drop out of the setlist, and why certain tracks will never be played. Discussions like that are one of the things that made this a really successful event. At times it felt like the band forgot they were alone in a studio as opposed to being on the big stage, the incendiary solos in “Wolves At Bay” being a perfect example.
Overall, a very successful production by Fozzy. The sound was flawless, the camera work spot on, and the band kept its audience engaged, which can sometimes be tough in the live stream format. The recording will be available until November 29, tickets are available at FOZZY.Veeps.com and good for 48 hours after purchase.
Setlist:
Sin and Bones
Drinkin with Jesus
One Crazed Anarchist
Burn Me Out
Nowhere to Run
Elevator
Do You Wanna Start a War
Lights Go Out
Painless
Wolves at Bay
Enemy
Sandpaper
Encore:
Judas
