Live: Ugly Kid Joe in Indianapolis
June 1, 2023
It’s been 27 years since Ugly Kid Joe toured the United States and they don’t take it lightly that fans have come out in droves for the shows, with UKJ bringing Fozzy and Pistols with Dawn along for the ride.
The tour is a full-fledged North American trek and recently hit Indy’s Hi-Fi Annex with Pistols at Dawn kicking things off with a party of a set. Singer Chris Hodges engaged the fans perfectly, with his hand gestures and body language that of a seasoned veteran who’s been working fans and crowds for decades while drummer Adam Jaffe commanded the involvement and energy of every fan in the Annex.
To top it off, guitarist Will James hit the crowd with some of the most impressive and untouchable guitar work and solos you’ll ever hear.
Fozzy was up next and kept the party going in every way. This was the first time a lot of fans were seeing the band’s new songs live from the new record, Boombox, which came out last Spring and they came ready to rock with Fozzy.
Even though almost every single they release becomes a hit now- and Fozzy threw them all into the set- they still found a way to play all of the new favorites but throw in some Fozzy classics too- “Spider in My Mouth,” “Do You Wanna Start a War” and “God Pounds His Nails” and “Enemy,” the latter of which featured a long dual guitar solo from PJ Farley and Rich Ward that left everyone speechless and received a devastating applause from the fans.
The set saw Ward dancing and strutting around the stage as always and Chris Jericho bringing out a CO2 gun, a peacock-styled jacket, and ended with him climbing the lighting rig and singing “Judas” from near the top of the lights on the side of the stage.
Ugly Kid Joe closed the night out with a near-20 song set that featured virtually every UKJ classic with a few new tracks from their latest record- Rad Wings of Destiny thrown in.
Singer Whitford Crane found his way down into the security pit and got up close with the front row a few times during the set and made sure fans who’d been waiting 27 years to see them again- or who’d never seen them before had memories to last a lifetime.
Early in the set, Crane made a connection with a very young fan in the crowd, who was sitting on his dad’s shoulders. Throughout the night, he would come back to banter with the young fan and, before “Cat’s in the Cradle,” made sure to tell the boy’s dad how great of a parent he was for bringing him to the show.
It was a night that any UKJ fan will remember forever and, for anyone who wasn’t a fan going in, is now.
-Reggie Edwards