This Thursday, the Vans Warped Tour (now in its 17th year) returns to Las Vegas, and in so doing, brings a veritable punk-a-palooza to Downtown; specifically, the Parking Lot at the soon-to-be-reopened Plaza Hotel & Casino.

As there are more than a hundred bands, performing on a dozen stages around the venue, I’m gonna take a novel approach, and tell you about the band about which I’m most excited.  And that band is (drum roll, please…) Foxy Shazam!

The soulfully glam sextet of Foxy Shazam

Hailing from Cincinnati, OH; and one of the “Spotlight Bands” on this year’s Warped Tour, Foxy Shazam takes its name from a slang expression for cool shoes at vocalist Eric Sean Nally’s high school, where he was “one of two white boys in an all-black high school” (to which he attributes his having “a lot of soul”).  There’s Alex Nauth on horns, Loren Daniel Turner on guitars, and “Daisy” on bass.  The, you’ve got head-standing, bearded Schuyler Vaugn White, on keyboards, and the band’s newest member, Aaron McVeigh, on drums.

Equal parts post-hardcore punk, glitter rock, soul, and glam metal, the band’s draws its influences from the likes of Queen, Elton John, and Meat Loaf (to whose last album, Hang Cool Teddy Bear, Nally contributed as a songwriter), and The Darkness, as well as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Evel Knievel.

All in all, Foxy Shazam is all about giving the people what they want; assuming that what the people want is a kick-ass live show.

Ernie Ball SLINKY strings

One thing I find especially cool about the Warped Tour, is the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands.  Named for the creator of the “Slinky” guitar strings used by some of the world’s most legendary axmen (think: Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townsend, Jimmy Page, Dave Navarro, John Mayer, Slash, and The Edge), the winners of the EBBB get to play on the Ernie Ball Stage when the Warped Tour comes to their hometown.  This Thursday night, local bands Aurora, Battle Born, Damnear Divine, and The Rocturnals will be playing for their Las Vegas peeps.

When asked about the Warped Tour’s decision to return to this market, Frederic Apcar (who is co-producing Thursday’s event, in conjunction with Live Nation) credited the evolution of Las Vegas’ music scene, “…especially the Fremont East District and the Rock the Block Live shows in the Downtown area.”

If we take nothing else from the teachings of Foxy Shazam, remember these lyrics from their song “Bye Bye Symphony,” that tell us “Life is a bitch, but she’s totally doable.”  Because, if we get right down to it, at the end of the day, that’s what the Warped Tour is all about.

Vans Warped Tour 2011
Parking Lot – Plaza Hotel & Casino
Thursday, June 30th
11am
Click HERE for tickets

Get into it!