There is no superlative in saying that a live set from Fever 333 injects a unique kind of energy into the room. The trio’s brand of electrified release not only offers thematic weight in it’s subject matter but is equally as persuasive in the kind of power that emits from the stage - or some times even offstage.
Poised with the hometown advantage for the LA edition of Knotfest, Fever 333 did the city proud with a performance that no only met their earned reputation of showmanship - it shattered it.
To provide some context as to just the kind of charge Fever 333 conducted onstage, while barreling through their opener in “Bite Back,” Jason Aalon Butler was so compelled by the music that he tried to flip a stage riser. Later he would perform a portion of the set from inside of a trash can. For “Burn It” Butler brought out and centered a gigantic ladder - of which he would scale and leap off of while bellowing, “I am a gun on the run”.
If it sounds like shit got wild, it should be emphasized… shit was wild.
Jumps, kicks, dives - those come requisite with a Fever 333 set but this time around, Butler managed to furnish a few more props and pulled out a skateboard. While clobbering the crowd with their closer in “Hunting Season” Butler hit a rail grind off the drum riser ghat sent the stadium into a conniption. Shit. Was. Wild.
Yet for all the physicality and spectacle packed into the Fever set, few frontmen speak with the kind of articulate stage banter as Mr. Butler. Providing context to the messages at the core of the music, Butler praised his hometown, championed the diversity of the crowd and dedicated “Made In America” to the day laborers he attributed as the backbone of Los Angeles = “because we built this shit.”
Reiterating his value on inclusion and community, Butler proved he not only knows how to ignite a crowd, but galvanize them just the same with songs like “One of Us” - a track that emphatically disregards the narrative of divisiveness and marginalization. This message seems especially profound among a subculture like metal.
Completing their run on the Knotfest Roadshow with the Los Angeles showcase, Fever 333 not only did their city proud, they asserted their importance as voice of reason and collective of consummate showmen - standouts in the space of heavy music.
