Download Festival 2005: Fozzy - 10th June 2005
Fozzy – "We are huge rock stars!" - Moongoose McQueen (Singer)
By the time we arrived at the Snickers tent, Fozzy had already taken the stage and were blasting through their set. I don’t know how long they’d been on, but I wasn’t sure what time it was when we got there. The thing that really surprised me was the number of people watching them! I was expecting a sparse crowd, but instead the tent was packed and we couldn’t even squeeze in at the side. I guess the best-kept secret in the heavy rock world is finally out. And, quite rightly so. Fozzy is a bloody good band and deserves some mainstream attention and recognition. You see, they might have started out as a bit of a joke, a professional wrestler’s sideline, just a bit of fun, but they really are a quality turn. Musically, each is quite capable of holding their own with any band on the bill and, believe it or not, Chris Irvine can actually sing. At Download, his vocal was a little off at times, I have to say, but, it was early in the day and not a good time to be belting out full-throated heavy metal songs for any singer. Secondly, if the on-stage monitors were not doing their job, it would be difficult to pitch the vocal, which I suspect was the case here; I have seen Fozzy before and I know Irvine can sing in tune.
By the time we arrived at the Snickers tent, Fozzy had already taken the stage and were blasting through their set. I don’t know how long they’d been on, but I wasn’t sure what time it was when we got there. The thing that really surprised me was the number of people watching them! I was expecting a sparse crowd, but instead the tent was packed and we couldn’t even squeeze in at the side. I guess the best-kept secret in the heavy rock world is finally out. And, quite rightly so. Fozzy is a bloody good band and deserves some mainstream attention and recognition. You see, they might have started out as a bit of a joke, a professional wrestler’s sideline, just a bit of fun, but they really are a quality turn. Musically, each is quite capable of holding their own with any band on the bill and, believe it or not, Chris Irvine can actually sing. At Download, his vocal was a little off at times, I have to say, but, it was early in the day and not a good time to be belting out full-throated heavy metal songs for any singer. Secondly, if the on-stage monitors were not doing their job, it would be difficult to pitch the vocal, which I suspect was the case here; I have seen Fozzy before and I know Irvine can sing in tune.
When my daughter first introduced me to Fozzy, I was less than complimentary. I have been watching the wrestling exploits of Mr Jericho for more years than I care to mention and, whilst I appreciate his skills as a sports entertainer, I didn’t hold out much hope for his ‘second job’. So, I was pleasantly surprised by songs such as To Kill A Stranger, End of Days, and Stand Up and Shout. I quickly became quite enamoured of this band of ‘huge rock stars’ and liked their spin on their origins; they injected a little bit of humour into a business that can be surprisingly serious at times.
Their set at Download was well-received and they drew an enthusiastic crowd. My photos are poor, as the closest I could get, in what amounted to no more than the arse-end of their set, was still a long way away; two Fozzy gigs down and only about one decent picture to show for it. I hope they return to the UK soon, as I would actually welcome the opportunity to see them in a decent venue, with a good view of their performance.
If you get the chance to see this band, go along and be pleasantly surprised.
After Fozzy, we had a couple of hours to burn before the next act I was interested in, Megadeth. So we walked around, took in the ambience and marvelled at some of the weirdos and ugly people wandering around in various states of undress and drunken stonedness.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
14th June 2005
If you get the chance to see this band, go along and be pleasantly surprised.
After Fozzy, we had a couple of hours to burn before the next act I was interested in, Megadeth. So we walked around, took in the ambience and marvelled at some of the weirdos and ugly people wandering around in various states of undress and drunken stonedness.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
14th June 2005