Mike Singer

Norwalk, Connecticut is not the first place you would think of if I said, “There’s a rock and roll show in Connecticut.” But, that is where the Anaheim, California native band, Buckcherry stopped on Tuesday, Aug. 1 on their “Vol. 10 Tour” which is also the name of their brand new record.

Prior to Buckcherry hitting the stage, there were two bands that warmed out the crowd. New Haven’s Chaser Eight was the first band to play and for an unknown band from Connecticut, they weren’t that bad.

The band that went on after Chaser Eight, Reach NYC was a completely different style than the band before. The lead singer announced that this was their first show in about one year since they were recording a new record. To answer your question, yes, the band did seem like they were playing for the first time in a year. I’ll just leave it at that.

Finally a little after nine, Buckcherry jumped on stage to a loud, rock and roll-charged house that was less than half full.

I overheard one fan tell another “two years ago, Buckcherry filled this place up.”

That was rather odd to me that two years ago, a band filled a giant theater to capacity yet this time around, on the back of a new record, failed to fill it up three-fourths of the way. It could have been that it was a Tuesday night and people had work the next day so let’s give Buckcherry the benefit of the doubt.

Usually, I would not mention whether or not the venue was packed from wall to wall or if it was empty. I mention it because for the crowd of maybe 100 people, which includes five, yes five different photographers, the Norwalk audience was in for a special treat. If you snooze then you lose.

From the moment the band stepped on stage for their two-hour set, they did not quit and or seem down that they were playing in front of a half-to-capacity-filled room.

In the Connecticut August heat, the place was hot. The answer to that solution was for lead singer Josh Todd and lead guitarist Stevie D. to take off their shirts and show off their body tattoos.

Throughout the night, Buckcherry played a mix of some of their older and popular songs as well as a mix of songs from their newest album, the aforementioned “Vol. 10.”

Two of the coolest things the band did was play two covers. The first one is “Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams which also appears on “Vol. 10” as well as playing “Proud Mary” as a tribute to the late singer.

Throughout the night, the entire crowd was on their feet, singing, dancing, and head-banging along to every one of their songs.

I was really glad that I was able to see Buckcherry and for them to be my 40th concert and to be able to shoot them on the second of three straight nights with a show (yes, I know, 40 concerts are a lot and to see three in a row is another!).

It takes a lot of heart to be able to play in the conditions that Buckcherry did and they sure did it with style and passion for their craft. Their love for what they do was obvious the entire night as they were able to play around with the audience and have a smile on their faces the entire way through and I can only commend them for doing that when they easily could have turned their backs on the crowd or did a half energized performance. 

Anytime that a band can make an audience go home blown away, no matter the capacity, and leave with similes on their face has done their job to me and for that, I would, in a heartbeat see Buckcherry again on their next show in the tristate area.