A very diverse crowd of roughly 200 people came to the Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie on Friday May 9. Some people there were huge WWE fans there to support their idol Chris Jericho. Some people were hardcore Hatebreed fans there to support Jaime Jasta’s side project. Others were there for a killer rock show. Whatever the case was, doesn’t change the fact that Fozzy, Jasta, and Kyng blew the roof of the Chance Theater.
This was actually my first time at the venue. The place may be a little run down, however, the sound is great, the staff is personable, and there is not one bad view of the stage from anywhere in the building.
After a set from local Anti-Mortem, Kyng played a loud 40 minute set around 8:40. With their new release Burn The Serum out, Kyng is continues to play songs off the album very hard and loud, and of course never afraid to give the crowd a good laugh between songs. Couple of highlights of their set was their latest radio hit “Electric Halo” and their cover of Van Halen’s “Hot for the Teacher.” And of course it’s not a Kyng show without someone being picked on that’s standing there with their arms crossed.
Jasta stormed the stage around 9:50. This was my first time seeing Jasta’s solo project. Let me be the first to point out that it’s NOTHING like Hatebreed and it’s NOT hardcore. It’s a different side of Jasta. It’s more of the melodic metal side of him. I actually found it pretty amazing that outside his hardcore grunts, screams, and brutal vocals that we are used to hearing, he’s actually a damn good singer. In this band he really showcased that. He even joked to the crowd saying “oh my god, the Hatebreed guy can actually sing a note or two!” He also stated to the crowd that this was only his twelfth time EVER, that he played live with this solo project. His set consisted of his solo CD Jasta, (which was released summer 2011.) with songs like “Something You Should Know,” “Scream From The Sanctuary,” and “Enslaved, Dead, Or Depraved.” Also, props to his solo band. Jasta confirmed that they got together just this one show and really didn’t rehearse much. No one ever would have known that if it wasn’t pointed out. The band was so on key and so clutch that it felt like they were together for years. Towards the end of the set, Jasta played Kingdom of Sorrow’s “Enlightened to Extinction” which I thought was the best part of the show. Closing the show, Jasta aimed to please the wrestling crowd by playing the Hatebreed song “Last Breath” which they dedicated to The Ultimate Warrior, who just passed away recently. Overall an awesome set from Jasta. Hopefully Jasta will get the chance to do a full tour with this outing soon.
Fozzy finally graced the stage around 11:15PM. Frontman and WWE Superstar Chris Jericho had his famous jacket on with all the lights on it. Fozzy opened up with 2 new songs “Do You Wanna Start a War?” and “Lights Go Out” which is off their upcoming album Do You Wanna Start a War?, due out in July. At first it almost seemed the vocals were overpowered by the loudness of the band but the sound crew adjusted accordingly. Jericho is a very charismatic frontman, and Rich “The Duke” Ward and the rest of band looked like they were having a blast on stage. Throughout the entire set, the crowd kept chanting “Fozzy!” over and over so the band was feeding off of that. Most of their set consisted of songs from “Sin and Bones” which the band toured heavily for the last couple of years. Highlights from their set include “To Kill a Stranger” and my personal favorite, “Martyr No More.” Another fun moment during the set, Jericho demanded crowd participation for “God Pounds His Nails.” The band wrapped up their set with their anthem “Enemy” and “Sin and Bones.” But came back for a two song encore of their radio hit “Sandpaper” and a cover of Krokus’s “Eat The Rich.” A very stellar 13 song set from Fozzy. They’re rapidly growing as a band and seem to breaking the mainstream rock and metal scene with the more material they are releasing. I also believe that Chris Jericho is slowly becoming known for the frontman for Fozzy than the WWE Superstar.
Overall, a great show. Kind of an odd combination of bands, but that’s what made the experience much more unique and exciting.
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