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Thursday January 13, 2011 -- Fozzy featuring Chris Jericho plays the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Hollywood, CA...and this PWInsider Elite subscriber was there on a VIP pass!
Fozzy has been doing these VIP things before their shows for a while now, so when I found out last December they were playing here in Los Angeles I jumped at the chance! The passes weren't inexpensive ($75 ahead of time, and $75 at the door) but being the Jerichoholic that I am I had shelled out money for a "Fozzy Survival Pack" last year and it included a Fozzy backstage pass. Turns out, with that pass my additional $75 at the door was waived!
We arrived at 3pm, met our contact Marty (none other than former WWE ref Marty Elias) and waited for the Madness to begin. The VIP experience was supposed to include sitting inside while the band sound-checked, but they were using borrowed gear from their NAMM sponsors, and it all arrived late so instead we stood outside on the street and chatted with Marty. Finally, they let us inside and we all got autographed pictures of the band, autographed VIP t-shirts, and VIP passes. Then we posed for pictures with the band (mine is blurry) and mingled. I talked to Rich Ward (Fozzy guitarist and an all around awesome guy) and got autographs from the rest of the band. Finally it was time to meet Chris. Lo and behold he remembered my friend and I from when we used to go watch his Groundlings shows...so he hugged us! He also took the time to have a rather lengthy conversation with me, which was very cool.
After that we all walked up the street to the Rainbow Room where we had pizza and got to mingle more with the band. We met Chris's wife, and she was so sweet!
Back down the street to the Whisky where we stood through 2 other bands...ZO2 (the guys from Z-Rock, Chris had a guest appearance on their show once) and Jeff Scott Soto (who killed it!). Both bands were great!
Fozzy hit the stage at 11, and played roughly 16 songs, including one with a guest appearance from Phil Campbell of Motorhead. The show was amazing...so much energy! They played a lot of songs from Chasing the Grail as well as some from their other 3 releases. A really fun part was the build up to "God Pounds his Nails" where Jericho coached us on saying "eh eh eh" when he raised his right hand and "1, 2, 3" when he raised his left, but we were supposed to wait for him to raise his hands. They were all amazed that we actually (everyone in the crowd) waited for him to raise his hand instead of yelling out "1, 2, 3"...LOL!
The Whisky is a landmark to the LA club scene, they're celebrating their 47th birthday this Sunday. Motley Crue and Jim Morrison have played there. When they first hit the stage Jericho said that when he was 12, in his first band in his mom's basement, he dreamed of playing the Whisky...and now here he was! I've been going to the Whisky for shows since 1980, and have never seen a bad show there. During dinner I talked with Fozzy's drummer about the venue, telling him that I went on my first date with my husband there (he'd never heard of The Selecter, the band we saw that night).
The Miz showed up just in time for the show, and Jericho acknowledged him from the stage before they played "Enemy"...he asked us if we wanted to hear it, then he said "Does the Champ want to hear it?"
All in all, it was a fantastic time, and I am SO GLAD to have had the opportunity to go!
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