The Sounds with Foxy Shazam

Posted 13 October 2009 Live Music Review

September 30, 2009

Revolution Live, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

The show was advertised as a “Triumphant Return”. But was it really? Who made that up? Who decided (before the first note was even played) that it would be a success?

Even before the first note was played by the opener, Foxy Shazam, the energy coming from the crowd was intoxicating. The excitement kept growing and growing until the building felt like it was going to explode. When the front man of Foxy Shazam, Eric Nally, emerged from the wings, the crowd erupted. With each bar of The National Anthem that he sang (a capella), the sound coming from the crowd was quickly becoming deafening. By the time the rest of the members of the band joined Nally on stage, the crowd could no longer be contained. For their entire forty minute set, Foxy Shazam had the entire audience wrapped around their finger. No one was willing to take their eyes off of the stage; the opportunity to see more antics from Nally and keyboardist Sky White was not going to be missed. Little did everyone know, that the heat was about to be turned up exponentially.

By the time the house lights went down, the crowd was becoming restless. When Jesper Anderberg, Felix Rodriquez, Johan Bengtsson, and Fredrik Nilsson took the stage, everyone seemed to forget about the amazing act that preceded them. But someone was obviously missing; their bombshell of a front woman did not follow the quartet of guys onto the stage. Instead, the foursome warmed up the crowd with a haunting rendition of “Crossing the Rubicon”. It wasn’t until the boys were done that Maja Ivarsson finally emerged from the wings. The sound coming from the crowd was other worldly. It was obvious that she was the reason why everyone was there. From the moment the quintet played the first chord as a group, the audience was their puppet with Ivarsson as the puppet master. The crowd bowed down to her, each time she flicked her light cigarette into the pit, everyone begged for more.

But it was certainly not “The Maja Show”. The Sounds were a cohesive unit with each member getting equal time in the spotlight. The talent(s) of Anderberg, Rodriguez, Bengtsson, and Nilsson were front and center, and no matter how mesmerizing Maja Ivarsson was, her band mates were just as captivating.

The Sounds are a perfectly wrapped package; a bombastic combination of raw talent, flawless Swedish looks, and appealing “rough around the edges” personalities that everyone fell in love with. From the first note of “Crossing the Rubicon” to last chord of “Hope Your Happy Now”, every pair of eyes was focused forward and it seemed like the entire world stopped moving while this powerhouse of a group was in charge.

So I wouldn’t label it a “Triumphant Return”; even though it obviously was. I would label it COMPLETE and TOTAL DOMINATION.

Photos by Christina Mendenhall