BROOKLYN, NY—The Church Of Rock And Roll had taken to the road under the guise of the rock band Foxy Shazam. It would have been a sin if you missed out on seeing The Tabernacle Tour headlined by Foxy Shazam, one of the best live shows touring now, if not of all-time. But you would be forgiven if you missed their New York show, as the chosen few caused this to be a sellout event.
I just cannot resist the religious comparisons, but now I’ll continue on with what an incredible show I witnessed from Foxy Shazam. With the release of their new album, The Church Of Rock And Roll, there was plenty of new material for the band to take to the stage with. Also along for the ride were Cadaver Dogs and Maniac. Walking in on the end of Maniac’s set, the full band seemed to almost fall of the stage. But with fans right up against the stage and caught up in the merriment, no one was in danger of getting hurt.
Having to push my way through the crowd that congregated by the doors leading into the Knitting Factory’s inner sanctuary, I soon found that there was plenty of room to dance to the right of the stage. Extra room on the floor was appreciated because Foxy Shazam had me dancing the whole night. I’ve seen them a couple times before, usually ending short because of singer Eric Nally’s stage antics causing worry for security, but thankfully not tonight.
In past performances, Nally made his way up into the rafters and swung about, but apparently, he has toned down his ways to handstands and somersaults and collecting six cigarettes to smoke all at once. Most songs received lavish introductions, as done with the song “Bombs Away,” which apparently was written at high speeds in the back of a pick-up truck with Rob Zombie.
Zombie would also play another part in the set with his song “Dragula” being added to the end of “Unstoppable,” which also had Gary Glitter’s “Rock And Roll” kicking it off. New and old material intertwined, with the new single, “I Like It,” bringing down the house and causing Nally to really explode on stage. And one cannot recount a Foxy Shazam show without mentioning the over-the-top moves of each band member, particularly keyboardist Sky White. He even took his keyboard to the audience, which held up the instrument while White played.
Turning things down a notch towards the end, Nally went into a long story about camping with his sons, ending with a joke about the stars. There were many pearls of wisdom that were told to the audience that night and the balance of dialog and music in this set was exquisite with the audience hung on every word. Things wrapped up with the dramatic “Freedom” and if you had been looking for a band that was ready to walk alongside the legends of rock, this would have been your discovery moment.
