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FADED THEORY/ BEAST WITH A GUN
29th March 2004
By Terry Bullen
The fifth week arrived and the crowds were a little sparse, compared to previous weeks. The ones who did decided to turn out this week, were treated to something insanely special…………..read on!
Faded Theory:
The five piece indie rock band Faded Theory took to the stage, with a massive fan base already present at the front. The band kicked off their set with a meaningless drum & bass intro, which wasn't really the opening I was expecting from this band. Once this was out of the way the band absolutely exploded with a fantastic version of the RATM song “Bombtrack”. The female vocalist was exceptionally energetic and was already hell bent on whipping this crowd in to a frenzy. The rest of the band followed her lead, as the drummer stamped his authority on proceedings early on. For me the band delivered a good mix of songs in their set, with some high standard originals and well chosen covers. The best of these originals were “Treejuice” and “Lost Without Cause”. The song “Treejuice” was injected with some delightful work by both guitarists and the opening to the fantastic “Lost Without Cause” was very catchy. You couldn't help but like the talented, ickle bass player in this song! The bands achilles heal was noticeable mid set, when the band attempted a cover of the Chilli Peppers classic “Under The Bridge”. The song was delivered exceptionally well from a musical point of view but the vocal harmony between the female vocalist and the guitarist was not always in time. This was evident in a few other songs, but this can be worked on and improved. The best song in the Faded Theory set was an incredible cover of the Incubus song “Have You Ever”. This song really suited the vocalist, as she gave her strongest vocal of the night and really got the crowd buzzing as she walked up and down the stage, interacting with the fans as she sang. The band brought the curtain down on their set with another energy fuelled performance, as they belted out the Lost Prophets song “Burn Burn”, to which the singer cried “Give me a mosh pit” and the crowd duly obliged.
Faded Theory surprised me with how good they were for such a young band. They delivered a good set, which contained some very good originals. As far as areas for improvement go; the vocalist sometimes needs to concentrate fully on her vocal, as she occasionally lost it, while playing up to the crowds. Overall, if the band can improve the harmony vocals they will grow to become a good, tight knit band. The competition this year seems to be hard and I certainly don't envy the judges on picking twelve for the next round. Will Faded Theory be in the next round? I should think so!
Beast With A Gun:
Second on stage were Beast With a Gun, who were meant to be a three piece garage punk band, but because of an “army call up” the band courageously took to the stage as a two piece. Some people may have wished that they hadn't, but for me what was to follow, left me unusually speechless.
I can only but use the following words to try and describe the event that unfolded in front of my eyes. This band were unbelievable, mental and damn right absurdly magnificent. The duo can only be described as a “twisted version” of the White Stripes, as they captured the crowds attention with their insanely original style. The vocalist/guitarist had a gravelly voice, which was impressive in most songs and seemed to work well with the bands unusual style, as the drummer thrashed away like the duracell bunny off the adverts. Both band members were real characters, with the drummer sporting a white shirt and black bow tie and the front man gazing down on the crowd in his stylish shades. Some of the crowd seemed unsure and promptly left, but the majority remained to experience what was an unforgettable spectacle.
Midway through the set saw the band members switch roles, as the vocalist laid into the drum kit and the drummer squawked into the microphone. This just seemed to add to the performance, as the remaining crowds were by now fixated by this bizarre duo. The band passed a vodka bottle between themselves, which they swigged at between songs. This took its toll though, as the vocalist did stop and start on a few of the songs, unsure of what he was actually playing or singing! The band brought the set to a close with a song called “She Said”, which was full of devilish lyrics like “she had a face like a Rhinoceros”. The singer really let himself go for this final song, as he propped his guitar up against the amp and threw himself about the stage floor like an epileptic lunatic.
Beast With a Gun were the sort of band you wish to never stumble across, but when you do, you love every single minute of it. I'd love to see this band go through, just for making this an unforgettable evening, which will go down in Battle of the Bands history. But in all seriousness, this is likely to be the end of the road for this extraordinary duo.
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Other reviews:
Steven Mccreery wrote:
Faded Theory, fronted by a very lively and confident female lead vocalist, started very impressively. The drummer and bass player seem very young, and they started off the set with a great piece of intricate music. Extraordinary for their age. The first few songs were delivered, especially by the singer, with real energy and passion. Their group of fans flocked to the dance floor from the very beginning. This looked like a hopeful band. But, however, after a few songs, the set really did tail off. The songs became weaker, the band – in particular the two guitarists – seemed to lose interest, and even the before mad singer calmed down. A shame, as they started so brightly. As their performance waned, the crowds interest did too, and the dance floor became scattered and the cheers became quieter.
A great band, certainly with their age in consideration, but need to keep together more, show the same liveliness throughout the whole set and belt the songs out as they did the first! I think this band have a chance of getting through, though, as the general quality has been better than a few bands already.
Beast with a Gun, formally a three piece, now a two piece, and they just didn't care! What an act! These guys had me in stitches with the on-stage antics, including the swigging of straight vodka, and the little jokes thrown in. Apparently the singer/guitarist taught the drummer how to play the drums in two days previous to the gig! The thing is, it worked. The most simplest drum patterns you're likely to ever hear, played on a battered snare-less kit, underneath bluesy-punk chords and a tremendously gravely vocal made this band very interesting to watch. Obviously, with the music possibly being a bit thin the lyrics were important. They were hilarious at times with the last song about waking up near an unattractive female the highlight. A fabulous set. I'm not sure organiser PJ Walsh was impressed, but in my opinion, these HAVE to be in the next round, and have a moderate chance of the semis.
Janistalis wrote:
Faded Theory:
Faded Theory certainly hit the stage with a bang. They started with a drum and bass improvised piece that gave the lead singer the chance to show heaps of ‘attitude' – just long enough to work the crowd into frenzy - and I was very impressed with this start.
RATM's “Bombtrack” was performed with heaps of energy from the lead singer who was clearly enjoying herself. Her energy continued throughout, and this highlighted the fact that the rest of the band was fairly stationary.
The bassist looked very confident and played well, the drummer had it sorted and both guitarists did really well. They gave a very full sound.
The first two originals were very much in the same style and vocally a bit of a mish mash. “Tree juice” in particular, was sung in quite a ‘wailing' manner in some parts, but still the crowd loved them and The Distillers track in the middle was quite well done. “Amniotic Fluids” was the stand out original for me. It seemed better rehearsed and more enjoyed by the band than the other originals.
There were two songs that really didn't do this bright young band justice.
“Under the Bridge” is a very testing song to cover, vocally, and I felt that this band couldn't achieve the stretching vocals for it and sadly the harmonies did nothing to help it at all.
“Everlong” just didn't sound right at all – it seemed unrehearsed, the timing is difficult to pull off and it didn't suit the lead vocalists singing key.
However, the final song, by the Lost Prophets was a good one to end on – the crowd by this time going crazy. A lot of the attention is taken by the lead vocalist who seems to be the force that will drive them somewhere, but sometimes her desire to be controversial overshadowed her better qualities.
On the whole, this band had ‘impact' and a lot of stage presence generated mostly by the lead singer. They have certainly improved and were adored by the crowd. With some more attention to their choice of material, they could do well in the future, but it's 50/50 whether or not this performance will have secured them a place in the next round.
Beast with a Gun:
A 3-piece became a 2-piece that may have been better as a solo act?! Before you all start swearing at me, I need to make it clear that I'm well aware that these guys lost a band member and that the drummer was no drummer! So please take this review with a pinch of salt – I'm just telling it like I see it.
There was little information available about these guys before their performance. This made them a bit of an enigma and it seems that an enigma they will remain!
The guys took to the stage with quiet confidence and a carefree attitude and launched straight into their set.
Their material was a constant stream of punk tracks, all sounding fairly similar due to the limited variance of the drumbeat. The vocals were strong and the singers' voice well suited to the raucous style of the music.
Considering the lack of instruments, the sound wasn't too bad! The constantly screaming guitar gave a full sound on its own. Witty repertoire (“better to die of drink than to die of thirst”?) punctuated the set.
The drumming was reminiscent of a young lady called Meg and despite being tedious was also, contradictorily, becoming quite contagious by about the 4 th song!
In the middle, the two musicians swapped places and if I'm honest, the drummer sang as well as, if not better than, the original vocalist.
The final song “She Said” was the stand out track, not least because of its ‘interesting' vocals. At the end of it the vocalist entertained us all by thrashing about on the floor and generally demonstrating supreme craziness!
I personally didn't mind the songs – I have no idea if they were all originals or not; I didn't recognise any!
If (and it's a big ‘if') these guys want to progress then they probably have the potential to do it. Even if they do nothing to their set, they certainly have potential to gain quite a cult following! And if they did play purely for the hell of it, they definitely stood out for originality.
The big question is will they go through to the next round? And the big answer, I suspect, is “no”. But, well done to them - they flew in the face of predictability and showed us what courage is all about!
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