Fozzy brings their high energy show to Winston-Salem despite low turn outs
Johnny and June’s – Winston-Salem, NC – 8 October 2017
It was a hot, muggy night in Winston-Salem as the Judas Rising Tour made its final stop at Johnny and June’s Ultra Saloon. Tour headliners, Fozzy have been touring relentlessly in support of their newest release, Judas, which recently made a powerful debut skyrocketing to number one on most charts worldwide.
The opening act for the night was Charlotte-based band, Beyond The Fade, who delivered a powerful and energetic performance on stage to help get some energy in the air of the venue. The turnout for the show was small, even though ticket prices were more than affordable at twenty dollars at the door. This leads me to my next statement, hang with me here while I go into left field for a quick second.
I see this all the time on social media, especially in the triad area, shows are not promoted and pushed until just a few days before the date or on the flip side if things I see so many people complaining about “no shows ever come to Winston”. Well maybe it’s because, Winston doesn’t turn out to any shows. I’ve never been a rich guy, but when a band that I wanted to see even a little bit would come to town, I would make the effort to go and check them out. There is no reason for a turnout of 250 people to a concert at ANY venue. Venues need to a do a better job promoting the shows and fans need to do a better job at showing up at said shows, and then maybe we will have more bands that want to make stops in our city, now back to the review.
The second band of the night to take the stage was Atlanta’s own, The Stir. The trio took the stage trying to help keep the energy levels high, but their overall performance was a bit underwhelming. It seemed like the energy wasn’t there, but this was the last show of the tour so they could have been gassed out and exhausted.
The main support act for the night was a band that I have been a fan of for many years, Gemini Syndrome. Taking to the stage with their new axeman, former Coal Chamber guitarist, Meegs Rascon, the band delivered one of the most energetic performances I have seen live. Everyone on stage looked as if they truly enjoyed being there. That energy continued after the doors closed and the band delivered their very special acoustic VIP experience after the show. Frontman Aaron Nordstrom and I chatted before the show about the acoustic sessions and why the band decided to include them into the shows, you can hear his response in our exclusive interview.
It finally came time for the night’s headliners to take the stage, the small crowd began to chant “Y2J” as the lights slowly dimmed and the band’s intro began to play. As members of Fozzy walked out onto the stage the crowd erupted as the band began to play their heavy hitting single and title track off the new record, Judas. Fozzy is one of those bands that you must see live, the amount of energy they deliver to the crowd and quality of performance makes them one of those top tier live performers, with everything from jumping and kicking on stage, to a LED jacket adorned by Chris Jericho, you can really tell that the band puts focus on developing their live shows.
Overall, I must say that even though the crowd turn out for the night was unimpressive, the show was one of the best to touch down in the city over recent years.
Fozzy
Gemini Syndrome
