The Jericho Appreciation Society was out in force last Saturday night at the Rock Box. And much like those who keep up with the current All Elite Wrestling weekly storyline and faction involving eccentric Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, local patrons sang along to the group’s smash title track to 2017’s Judas (ATM footage below).
Unlike those who may strictly know of Jericho from his adventures inside the squared circle, however, San Antonians didn’t just appreciate one Fozzy song. Heck, they didn’t just show their approval of the headliners given that John 5 and The Creatures was also on the bill.
Support acts GFM, Krashkarma and The Nocturnal Affair weren’t exactly slouches either. In fact, other than Fozzy’s contagious energy and John 5’s wizardry on guitar, it was the Hollywood-based duo of Krashkarma — by way of New Jersey and Germany — that stole the show; something no band billed second out of five has any business of doing.
But more on that later.
Backed by longtime guitarists Rich Ward (ATM interview here) and Billy Grey, Jericho was also joined by bassist P.J. Farley of Trixter fame and new drummer Grant Brooks. The show took place six days prior to the newly released Boombox, but that didn’t stop Fozzy from playing four of the album’s singles including opening the show with “Sane.” Jericho & Crew also offered up “I Still Burn,” “Purifier” (ATM footage below), “Nowhere to Run” and a fifth album track in their cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax.”
Fozzy has supported Saxon and Sevendust previously in the Alamo City, with one of those shows featuring a post-performance interview with Jericho in which he spoke about how the idea of forming Fozzy originated in San Antonio (watch here). The band has now been coming here for nine years and finds itself in headline mode, with Jericho intertwining tour dates with his ongoing AEW involvement throughout the country.
One thing the singer, wrestler, podcaster, author and Rock N’ Wrestling cruise voyage architect has always been gifted at is working up a crowd, and Saturday was no exception. At one point, Jericho told the Rock Box’s incessant chanters of “Fozzy, Fozzy” that they were the “craziest of the tour thus far.” Unlike every singer who says that to his or her audience, however, Jericho quickly invited fans to look up YouTube footage of Fozzy’s previous performance to prove he doesn’t say that at every gig before adding, “No, I’m serious, you guys are the craziest so far!”
Fozzy’s 75-minute showing also included older tracks “Do You Wanna Start A War,” “Lights Go Out” and “Sin and Bones” (ATM Facebook Live clip here) and an extended guitar jam during “Enemy” (ATM footage below). Whereas previous visits included their cover of Abba’s “S.O.S.,” this show ended with Fozzy’s version of AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” With Ward and Grey commanding the stage from one side to the other and Jericho doing his usual thing, the Rock Box didn’t take long to “become, become, becoming” the place to rock.
Fans could also be grateful for the fact John 5 was back on stage because that nearly didn’t happen. Having postponed three shows the previous week due to a Covid-19 presence within the group, only to resume two days earlier with a headlining show in Austin, bassist Ian Ross fell ill, dropping The Creatures to just John 5 and drummer Alex Mercado. An announcement was made serving as a prelude to loud and encouraging applause since “the show must go on.”
A crew member took to the dark stage in a humongous John 5 head (see 111-photo slideshow below). Then the established solo guitarist and Rob Zombie axeman followed suit as a young girl at the front of the barrier repeatedly screamed, “Oh my God! It’s John 5!”
Concentrating on instrumentals from latest album Sinner and the records that recently preceded it, John 5 didn’t speak until he had performed seven tunes (ATM Facebook LIve footage of three tracks here), a bit of a solo and wowed the crowd with a portion of “The Star Spangled Banner” courtesy of his tongue.
“Good evening, motherfuckers,” was John 5’s greeting before he added, “Well, it won’t take long to introduce the band. Our only Creature, give it up for Alex on the drums. . . . I don’t know if it’s stupidity or ballsy to come up here with only guitar and drums, but I wouldn’t cancel on you guys. I love you too much!”
Though John 5 followed his printed setlist (see slideshow), he had to omit “The Black Grass Plague” saying that he was being cut short. In truth, he was allotted a 50-minute set in support of Fozzy and performed 52 minutes, making time for his patented medley of cover-song riffs (ATM footage below). Listen here to our prior interview in which John 5 addressed the inspiration for his instrumental titles, the album he made with David Lee Roth that still hasn’t been released and other topics.
The three bands setting the stage for the famous acts didn’t disappoint.
GFM (Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh) dub themselves “Beautycore.” The trio of ladies from Jacksonville, Florida, took to the stage with one of the members’ mother tossing out mini-gifts to the crowd. The band wore cheerleader outfits, provided a mix of melodic vocals with death-metal growls and proclaimed its love for Jesus. Watch ATM Facebook Live footage of “Taking Over” plus video below of their final two tracks as GFM prepares to release two-song EP Framing My Perception on May 27.
But it was the duo of Krashkarma that made the most impressive impression.
Comprised of Germany’s Ralf Dietel on lead vocals and guitar and New Jersey resident and band founder Niki Skistimas on drums and vocals, Krashkarma signaled right away that their performance would not be typical.
Skistimas and Dietel made their entrance from behind the crowd, with the former playing a marching-band style of snare and Dietel utilizing a bullhorn. Upon taking the stage, Skistimas’ kit was set up with a side view a la Robert Sweet of Stryper, but at the forefront of the stage. Dietel, sometimes utilizing a bow on his guitar as did John 5, informed the audience upon introducing “9Lives: 1, 2 Die” that his guitar was capable of playing bass as well, emphasizing that there were “no tricks” (ATM footage below).
Skistimas, who also played in The Blue Bonnets which included Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s, shared with ATM after her set that Krashkarma was originally a quartet and that she met Dietel several years ago at NAMM, the annual National Association of Music Merchants gathering in Anaheim, California. Skistimas and Dietel definitely kept the crowd’s attention throughout their set. As if their unique entrance and setup wasn’t enough, they played dueling harmonicas with each member taking turns standing atop the drums to give the fans a better look and to encourage participation. Skistimas even brought out a mallet as a prop on “Girl With A Hammer” prior to “Tears of Gasoline” (ATM Facebook Live footage here).
The Nocturnal Affair from Las Vegas kicked off the night with its five members stretched along the width of the stage in single file. Singer/keyboardist Brendan Shane was far stage right with the drums stage left. The group released debut full-length (Meta)morphosis on March 28, which was produced by Austin resident and Disturbed bassist John Moyer. Watch ATM footage of new single “Down” and below of “Ghosts on the Horizon.”
The mixture and variety of unfamiliar bands that rocked and proved to be unique in their own way, combined with the veteran musicianship of John 5 and Fozzy, made for a stellar and entertaining night of Rock N’ Roll. And it would be remiss not to say that a large reason for this was the tireless work of venue owners Micaela and Steve Rodriguez, their security and bar staff and Twin Productions Promotions.
Not only was that good news for the ultimate sports entertainer who sings heavy metal songs on a mic. But also for those on hand reaping some favorite bands while discovering a few new ones.
