Fifteen years after their last Australian appearance, Foxy Shazam return to Sydney’s Manning Bar in a technicolour fever dream. For a group that has spent two decades treating the stage as a place for unrestrained spectacle, the intimate confines of the University of Sydney venue only amplify the sense that anything could happen at any moment.
The band’s reputation has long rested on the art of performance. Formed in Cincinnati in 2004, Foxy Shazam have built a cult following by embracing glam rock excess, soul, funk and theatricality with such conviction that comparisons to Queen, The Darkness and My Chemical Romance have followed them throughout their career. Yet, tonight it is clear that Foxy Shazam occupy a universe entirely of their own.
Arriving slightly late to the show, I am immediately taken aback by the chaos unfolding in front of me. From the outset, every member of the band is operating at a frenetic pace. Instruments are twirled, bodies are launched across the stage and keyboards are somehow carried into the crowd without missing a beat. At one point frontman Eric Nally casually performs a headstand later he asks an audience member for a cigarette and, in a moment that perfectly encapsulates the absurdity of the evening, smokes it and then proceeds to eat it. It is the best kind of mayhem.
And yet, for all the theatrical madness, none of it feels gimmicky. The most remarkable thing about Foxy Shazam is that the music is every bit as infectious as the stagecraft is outrageous. There is a reason the band have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years through James Gunn’s Peacemaker and Superman projects. These songs are built to explode in a live setting and the chemistry between Eric Nally, Sky White, Alex Nauth, Devin Williams, Misster Universe and Teddy Atkins transforms the group into something closer to a travelling rock and roll circus than a conventional band.
The release of Box Of Magic and their renewed profile have introduced Foxy Shazam to an entirely new generation. They perform with the confidence of musicians who have always understood exactly who they are. It is the rest of the world that is finally catching up with them.
Inside Manning Bar, the mood is one of delight and disbelief. Long-time fans who have waited a decade and a half to see the band again stand shoulder to shoulder with curious newcomers drawn in by the group’s recent cultural renaissance. Everywhere you look there is movement, colour and mouths agape, making the room feel like a celebration rather than a concert.
Foxy Shazam create worlds, and after fifteen years away, Sydney is more than happy to be swept up in their beautiful madness once again.
The tour moves to Melbourne next, tickets HERE.
Images Deb Pelser
