The weird, wacky and wonderful circus that is the Rockin’ Rolla Coast Tour ambushed Crescent Ballroom this week. Foxy Shazam’s latest road trip was joined by The Number 12 Looks Like You and Lobby Boxer that seemed to have one critical goal- never let the audience know your next move.
St. Louis noisemakers Lobby Boxer opened the show with a ferocious energy that had the early crowd standing at attention. Singer Zach Fendelman- in his cheeky crop top and messy curls- demanded the room’s attention during his shredding guitar solos while the rest of the band crashed through their fast-paced setlist. It was a sprint to the end of their brief set but certainly not a moment that anyone was soon to forget.
This tour was also joined by three Coney Island sideshow performers known as the Hot Fix Sideshow and they were eager to show off their injury-defying acts. From sword swallowing between sets to stapling everything from stockings to rose petals into their skin, these three performers had the room gasping at the unexpected stunts. They also emerged during the show itself to fling sparks into the crowd, stand on a bed of nails and so much more- the audience was in shock but more than willing to cheer them on.
Having The Number 12 Looks Like You back on the road is a huge deal for longtime fans of the band and, with over 20 years under their collective belts, it’s safe to say that this is a group that has not lost a step. Providing a heavier element in the middle of the lineup was a departure for any newcomers but singer Jesse Korman’s energy and positivity was contagious. He spent more time in the middle of the floor than onstage, getting the crowd moshing along as he scampered around the room. For the final song, the band invited as many fans as possible to sit on the stage and rock out with them, once again eliminating the line between artist and fans for a truly immersive experience.
Foxy Shazam came blazing out of the greenroom, firing on all cylinders for the chaotic “Yes! Yes! Yes” and “Killin’ It”. Like the band members themselves, the fans threw their bodies into the show, headbanging and dancing to “Holy Touch” and “Oh Lord”. Keyboardist Sky White didn’t keep those keys on their stand for long, preferring instead to place his instrument on top of the crowd to play from there. Guitarist Devin Williams balanced his guitar on his face while trumpeter Alex Nauth whirled both his trumpet and his hips in time with the music.
All of this was happening in one continuous, explosive moment but it was singer Eric Nally who was impossible to look away from. With his cutout butterfly tee and perfectly groomed mustache, the flamboyant frontman is as outrageous as ever. From crawling around the stage floor, jumping atop White’s piano stool or clinging to Nauth’s leg through trumpet solos, he was never in one place for long. The band has a new album out but preferred a mix of older material for this tour’s setlist, throwing in “Pink Sky” from the new record and revisiting original favorites like “Ghost Animals” and “Intro/Bombs Away”.
Nally was soft-spoken at rare intervals, telling a hilarious anecdote about almost certainly discovering a jetpack at a vintage sale as a child that inspired “The Rocketeer” at the start of the band. Their final song was- in Nally’s words- a little raunchy but had everyone singing and getting down to “The Only Way to My Heart…” and the sensual solos it contained. Raucous cheering brought the gents back for an encore of “Unstoppable”, sending the audience home covered in sweat and coursing with the adrenaline rush that inevitably comes with a ticket to see Foxy Shazam.
