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    Show Review: Foxy Shazam at The Bunbury Music Festival

    Photo by Keith Klenowski

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    A few hours before bringing Cincinnati to their knees, I had the opportunity to speak with two members of Foxy Shazam, drummer Aaron McVeigh and vocalist/trumpeter Alex Nauth. Both seemed exhausted and cited non-stop touring as the culprit. This will be their last stop before taking a break for a couple of weeks only to go out on the road all again. But this round they will support the legendary Slash. When asked about how the tour with Slash came about, McVeigh quickly perked up and noted it was his Guns and Roses tramp stamp that prompted the tour. He would not show me said tramp stamp. Of course, when mentioning Guns and Roses, it’s important to ask about people’s stance on Axl Rose. I said I’d keep their comments off the record, but they both touched upon how amazing Slash is. We’ll leave it at that.

    The tired two seemed excited to have some time off to spend with their families. Nauth, a newlywed, plans to go on his honeymoon, where McVeigh, who will be going to Maui, hoped that Nauth’s honeymoon would not end up like the horror film, Cabin Fever.

    The show

    The band opened with “Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll”, only after lead singer Eric Nally, whined to the audience about needing a piece of gum. Throughout the performance, it was extremely hard to miss the long-beard stroking, Sky White, who continuously and progressively had the crowd on edge. White’s performance was that of a crescendo, starting off (for about 20 seconds) subdued, to crowd surfing in the crowd, while entrusting his keyboard to randoms in the audience, and playing all at the same time.  At the end of the show, White showed no fear (although I did) about jumping onto his keyboard, while the stand bent with every stomp he did of his left foot. I mean, no other words besides “shit” or “fuck” came out of my mouth during the whole entire thing. I guess the only bad thing I would have to say is that I spend a lot of time watching White, rather than the band as a whole.  But that’s not to say they were not memorable.

    Photo Jacob Drabik

    The recently married vocalist/most sensual trumpet player I have ever seen, Alex Nauth was another member I gave a lot of my attention. Homeboy just oozed sex. From contouring his body in ways that I believe every man now should learn, and perfectly belting out harmonies with Nally, it made me a little upset that he performed so much in the background.

    Some memorable moments of the show included a Gatorade bottle that was thrown onstage that nearly missed Nauth and Nally. Immediately, Nally threw the Gatorade bottle in the direction it came from and said “Whoever threw that fucking Gatorade bottle is going to fucking pay”. They went on to play another song, and Nally brought up the Gatorade bottle again asking who the culprit was, and to come on stage to beat him up. Nally also asked for a pack of cigarettes from members of the audience to which a pack was thrown directly to him.  One by one, the flamboyant lead singer placed the cigarettes (seven?) in his mouth and sparked up. The rest is just something that needs to be seen in person.

    Power headbanging were the only words I could think of whilst watching Nally and Nauth thrust their heads up and down in between their legs.

    I stood next to some 30-somethings in the crowd, and I overheard a guy standing next to me say to his friend, “These guys are amazing, right?”, to which his friend responded, “Yeah, unbelievable”.

    If there has even been a time where you have teetered on whether or not to join a band, seeing this one live will make up your mind. The live show will make you feel as if there is nothing else you were meant to do. Some one-liners from Nally fell flat, but that did not shake his confidence. At all. Just when I thought his tiny body would give out, another burst of energy would erupt. He danced, tumbled, and headbanged across the stage for the whole set. There isn’t an exact word to describe Nally. He’s ridiculous and amazing, narcissistic and charming and wants all the attention he can get.

    I’ve never been religious, and the word of Foxy Shazam has been preached to me many a time, but hearing the sermon in person has made me a convert to The Church of Rock and Roll. Since the performance ended, I’ve been tapping my arm with two fingers, just wondering when I’ll be able to get another fix of Foxy Shazam. C’mon guys, do it again, just to make me feel good.

    More info about the band can be found online at www.foxyshazam.net. More info about Bunbury can be found at www.bunburyfestival.com.

    Photos by Jacob Drabik and Keith Klenowski via BunburyFestival.com.

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    Briana Henry
    Briana Henryhttps://columbusunderground.com/
    Briana is an intern writer at Columbus Underground who writes concert and live music reviews and previews, local band spotlights, album reviews, and other featurettes related to the local music scene.
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