Photo credit: rockstarimages.co.uk (via Yahoo!movies)
Words by David Roux
The crowd are up for it tonight at the O2 Academy Bournemouth and Scarlet Rebels have no problem in storming into rock 'n' roll fifth gear. Guitarist CJ Jones’ riffs are filling every corner of this illustrious venue with the sweet sound of a Les Paul at full tilt and frontman Wayne Doyle is on form, delivering the perfect rasp to match the band. The Rebels have maintained their garage band rough edge but polished it enough to flex it on the big stage and look damn comfortable with it too.
A quick beer break and its time for Escape The Fate. Frontman Craig Mabbitt stares right down the barrel of his mic and hits screamo notes almost breaking the glass dome above us, then in the same breath creates angelic fluidity in his melodies. It’s a pleasure to witness their slick professionalism and by mid-set the crowd are moshing, all ages are in there working up sweat and bruises.
Next up is the main event Fozzy. "Its Fozzy F******* Friday" shouts lead singer and former wrestler Chris Jericho and the audience go nuts.
There is a healthy cross over in the Venn Diagram of metal heads and fans of wrestling so a former WWF (WWE) superstar turning metal singer is a match made in heaven. Jerichos famous tirades at Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson have made being a semi clad motor mouth an easy transition when raising the roof on 2,000 rock fans and the addition of a dry ice hand gun enveloping everyone in the pit in clouds of white smoke is pure showbiz.
Mid-set the band has to hit pause on proceedings as the crowd took over in British football chant style; "We love you Fozzy we do, we love you Fozzy we do…” which has Jericho opened mouthed: "Well that’s a first for us....ever! If I have to die on stage then I’d make it Bournemouth". Love is definitely in the air.
A slamming version of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax has the audiences singing growing louder. Fozzy just command the stage like giants, like the larger than life rock stars. They've a few grey hairs and few more lines around the eyes but they look like road worn men who are here to win the day and they look great for it.
They sign off with an AC/DC cover of Dirty Deeds and the deed is done - new fans won over and old fans ecstatic. There’s a reason that they headline; they are rock stars and they'll return again to the UK to larger and louder audiences. That’s how you do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment