Josh Todd
Live at the Crazy Donkey
Review By Keith McDonald
To be honest, if Josh Todd’s publicist hadn’t emailed me about this show, I
not only wouldn’t have known about it, I wouldn’t have known that he had a solo
album out already. So I made my way to the club and got in just in time to see the former
Buckcherry frontman hit the stage with his new band. Before I get into the show itself, I
just wanted to touch base with his new band members. The band, with the exception of the
drummer, had the same look. They were all young, under the age of 25, had dark hair that
fell in front of their face and pretty much wore the same clothes. But they were good and
provided a more than capable backbone for Josh Todd. I knew before going in that Josh was
not planning on doing any Buckcherry material, with the exception of ‘Lit Up’
and that he was concentrating on promoting his new material and showcasing his band.
So basically it was like going to see a band who’s music I had never heard before,
which is something I haven’t done in some time. Josh’s new material is heavy,
dark and moody touching on all subjects including his indulgence of cocaine. There
wasn’t a bad song in the set. He did wet the appetites of the Buckcherry fans by
playing ‘Lit Up’ with a little twist, playing it a little slower than the
original version.
Buckcherry was a great rock band that never got it’s due. Yes, they made some
noise with their self-titled debut album and the hit song ‘Lit up’ yet never did
much afterwards, almost being ignored by radio and MTV. When the band released ‘Time
Bomb’, their follow up and best material, it did very little while seeing minimal
promotion from their major label, Dreamworks Records. Their songwriting was solid and
seemed to be growing in the right direction. Too bad when major labels with all their
money and marketing power refuses to develop a band that had the capability to be
something special. Now all we have is a Josh Todd solo album and tour. Hopefully this is a
project that goes somewhere.
Setlist
Blast
Burn
Slave
Afraid
Mind Infection
Broken
Flowers & Cages
Circles
The Walls
Wasted
Lit Up
Catastrophe
Famous
Encore
Shine