And what a ‘joyous’ night it was. A good friend of mine told me to make sure I see Joyous Wolf live when they came to my area and as luck would have it Buckcherry was announced with Joyous Wolf supporting. I got to the venue a little early and briefly spoke with vocalist Nick Reese before their set and asked him to name one of his influences and he said Elvis Presley and I was surprised as no musician has said Elvis in a long time and I knew this was no ordinary rock band right away. As Joyous Wolf began their set Nick acrobatically came tumbling in reminding me of Freddie Mercury or James Brown, the musical energy of the whole band was amazing from the start and I immediately thought I was at a throwback rock and roll show from the 70’s or 80’s. Guitarist Blake Allard played a mean guitar and on their cover version of “Mississippi Queen” he made that song his own, maybe even better than the original by Mountain. Joyous Wolf engaged the audience from beginning to end with their onstage performance and when they were finished, I wanted more and so did many others as they chanted “Wolf, Wolf, Wolf” until the lights came on for the set change. I briefly spoke with Nick again after their set and told him that Joyous Wolf’s set was very inspiring and the future of rock and roll was certainly safe with them. If you have a chance to see Joyous Wolf live, I highly recommend you go now, you will thank me later.

Review By: Rodney Davis (Goblin King) who has seen over 8000+ artists live since 1978, world record holder for concerts attended, spend life going to live shows, etc.

Photos By: Scott Nathanson