One of my favorite and under appreciated touring bands of the last handful of years has to be Los Angeles’ own Buckcherry. This band has been road warriors since the release of their multi platinum release “15” in 2006, and 2 studio and one live disc later, much hasn’t changed.
The band recently stopped at a brand new place to hold shows called Gratwick Park along the Niagara River in North Tonawanda, NY. This tour is called the “Go Ahead, Make my Tour,” which include passes with Clint Eastwood and the 57 Magnum character on them; Buckcherry was about to shoot some fury all over the hot and sweaty North Tonawanda, NY crowd.
Led by their charismatic front man Josh Todd, the band played a very strong and ball kicking set that lasted about an hour and half. Todd quipped that the venue was a perfect spot to do a crime with the highway on one side and the river on the other. Josh’ partner in crime and lead guitarist Keith Nelson was locked and loaded the entire way making a fun filled set which included some of their biggest hits “Lit Up” and “Rescue Me.” Rhythm guitarist Stevie D. is a great compliment and showman and is starting to carve out his own niche in the rock and roll world. Of course there has to be a build up before their biggest hit to date in “Crazy Bitch,” and Todd obliged by asking the crowd what it wanted to hear next after “Sorry.” An almost ask and you shall receive as the band gave a stirring rendition of the song that included a snippet of Chic’s disco hit “Le Freak .”
The very underrated rhythm section holding it all together every night for your listening and viewing pleasure are Xavier Muriel and Jimmy “Two Fingers” Ashhurst. Buckcherry also played their latest release “ Wherever I Go” that was off of “The Avengers” motion picture soundtrack. Todd remarked that their next studio effort will be titled “Confessions” and hopes for a fall release. Traveling to see one of the last true rock bands who are carrying on the tradition that got lost when grunge phased out hair metal would be a good move made on anyone’s part! So, fill up your gas tank and your cooler, and plan a road trip to a venue nearest you.
Fuel opened up the show and the 2012 version of the band includes Ken Schalk on drums, Andy Anderson on guitar, Brad Stewart on bass and original member vocalist Bret Scallions. Fuel played 11 songs which included two new tracks on an upcoming release slated around the holiday season.
Scallions, who left for a short period, has been back for a few years and seemed at home in front of the North Tonawanda crowd. Scallions seem to lack power and punch at times when he needed to hit higher register notes. His overall stage presence and connection to the crowd is what pulled the band through. The new songs flowed very well into the set with the mini jam, feel good song “I Can See the Sun” serving as the highlight of the set, next to their biggest hit to date “Hemorrhage (In my Hands).”
Buckcherry Set List:
Tired of You
Rescue Me
All Night Long
Recovery
Everything
Oh My Lord
It’s a Party
Next 2 You
Lit Up
Dirty Mind
Wherever I Go
Sorry
Crazy Bitch (snippet of Chic – Le Freak)
Encore:
Out of Line
Whiskey in the Morning (snippet of AC/DC’s – Rock’n’Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution )
Fuel Set List:
Last Time
Empty Spaces
Jesus or a Gun
Never be the Same (unreleased song)
Bad Day
Sunburn
I Can See the Sun (unreleased song)
Shimmer
Bittersweet
Innocent
Hemorrhage (In my Hands)
We would like to thank the Buckcherry Tour Manager Steve Shaw for the credentials for the show.
