On Wednesday night I headed to Bowery Ballroom for a much needed night of live music. A sold out gig at Bowery Ballroom is something that feels much more of a treat then actual work, especially when it’s a band that everyone can’t stop talking about such as Foxy Shazam.

Before I get into the headliners though it’d be criminal to not go into how great the opening act, New York Rivals were. The band started their set at 8pm and could be seen sending quick smirks towards the eager crowd while they plugged their instruments into their amps. New York Rivals provided a straight forward rock show full of energy, catchy tunes, and guitar solos that simply demanded the crowd to stomp their feet, clap their hands, and continuously tell their friends throughout the night how good of a band New York Rivals were. You could just tell that the band members spent their days listening to records while imagining the stages they were destined to play, such as Bowery Ballroom, and seeing that confidence being exerted onto the crowd was a tremendous fucking pleasure.

The crowd took to them well and seeing the front-man being so gracious towards Foxy Shazam asking them to support them was also a great thing to see.

Speaking of Foxy Shazam, this gig featured the band selling out their second headlining show in New York City and after seeing the sweat, shouting, and stomping the band and their fans produced throughout the night it was highly apparent how Foxy earned their fanbase. Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll (the opening tune to their most recent album The Church of Rock And Roll) kicked off the night and band leader Eric San Nally could be seen jumping onto the backs of his band members and doing cart wheels throughout the entire set! Unstoppable and I Like It were major stand out tracks that caused the crowd to go into an absolute frenzy. Watching the gig from the balcony of Bowery Ballroom after dancing like a mad man in the crowd and seeing the carnage that took place just made the night that much sweeter.

This review was written/photographed by Ken Grand-Pierre, a writer/photographer/graphic designer/bear fighter in New York. If you want to see more photos from this show and more be sure to visit his flickr. Also if you like what you see and you want to hear about more than be sure to follow on  twitter and tumblr