Buckcherry has embarked upon a headlining tour this fall, bringing along an up-and-coming band called Drew Cagle and the Reputation as the opener and Nashville Pussy as the second act to hit the stage. Right from the get go, I have to tell you that Nashville Pussy is a last-minute fill-in on the tour, replacing the act that I really wanted to see when I bought my tickets, and that was Michael Monroe (formerly of Hanoi Rocks). It seems Michael Monroe, one of my favorite artists, injured his knee and had to withdraw. I was disappointed when I heard, but Buckcherry is worth the price of admission, so I continued to look forward to the show.
My wife and I opted to buy tickets for the tour stop at a venue in Waynesboro, VA called the Foundry for October 9th. The tour also stopped at the Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, VA on October 10th which is roughly the same distance from my house, about an hour and a half. We had never been to the Foundry and wanted to try a new place. We stayed at a B&B called Heritage Hill, which was excellent. Shortly after checking in there, we caught a ride from my brother-in-law who lives relatively nearby and we all ate at a restaurant called The River. The food was great. After dinner, we were dropped off at the venue where we joined a line of early arrivers. Once inside, we grabbed a table on a reserved balcony which had a perfect view for the show, as well as a much nicer bar and bathrooms than what we would have had down on the floor. The extra cost on the ticket was more than worth it. The Foundry turned out to be an excellent venue. It is attached to, and affiliated with the Basic City Brewing Company, which is really good beer so that was another bonus. That’s enough about the venue. It’s a very fun place to see a show.
Drew Cagle and the Reputation hit the stage at 7:00 p.m. I had checked out their stuff ahead of time and my expectations were pretty high based on what I was hearing from their recorded output. They played a tight, hard-rocking set. They had plenty of energy and they looked good. They played about seven songs, all from their new LP called Bad Attitude. The last song they played is an excellent one called “All Figured Out” which is the first track on the album. Another stand out was “She Said.” This is a band I will be a fan of for a long time I am certain. Check them out if you get a chance.
Drew Cagle and the Reputation
Up next was Nashville Pussy. They are a long-established act with a bunch of records. I don’t particularly like any of them, so coupled with the fact that I was a little bitter about not getting to see Michael Monroe, it was a pretty good bet that I was going to be very disappointed with these guys (and gals). They were loud. They were humorous at times. They weren’t awful. That’s the best I can say about them. The highlight for me was a tune the singer said was a “true story” with a chorus that said “I went down to Cincinnati to kick the shit out of your drunk daddy.”
Nashville Pussy
Headliners Buckcherry came on around 9:20. This was my third time seeing the band and I was pretty confident that we would get a good set from them. They are a professional rock n’ roll outfit for sure. They busted out of the gate with one of their most well-known and hardest-rocking tunes from their debut record, the song “Lit Up.” The title track from their new album, Roar Like Thunder was next and they just kept charging from there. Lead vocalist Josh Todd came out in a black jacket but it wasn’t long before he was down to his signature tight pants and boots with no shirt. He is covered with tattoos and he’s in tremendous shape for a man in his fifties. The ladies in the crowd didn’t seem disappointed about the jacket disappearing. They slowed down for their big hit, “Sorry” about twelve or thirteen songs in, and they played about seventeen songs all together. The closer was “Bitch,” which everyone seems to love, but it’s not one of my favorite tracks. I’m sure the setlist can be found if you want the details.
Buckcherry
Josh Todd
Overall, it was a great evening and a good show at a venue I will definitely be going back to. The only hiccup was the fact that you can’t get an Uber in Waynesboro, at least not easily. After trying and failing, we simply bummed a ride home from a nice guy we met at the bar earlier in the evening. Our B&B was less than five minutes away so it was no big deal. We actually met a lot of nice people on our trip. Visit Waynesboro and go to Basic City Brewing if you get a chance.
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital. He grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. His earliest musical memories are tied to a transistor radio with a single earphone that he carried everywhere listening to AM radio. He is now retired which gives he and his wife of 34 years even more opportunities to travel far and wide to see good live rock n roll.