Fletch Cadillac/ Stone Idols
Week 2 - 25th February 2005
By Sharkey

After the “Cease and Desist” order I’m perverting justice once again to bring you another review from Battle of the Bands.

Fletch Cadillac - The lineup was supposed to be Faded Theory but due to some band related illness they could not play so they were replaced by ‘fletch Cadillac’ at the last minute.

Just to clarify Faded Theory have been put in the backup bands list, so if another band drops out then Faded Theory will replace them.

Fletch Cadillac kicked off the night playing a mixture of melodic punk songs both covers and originals. Their overall style reminded me much of the misfits, as well as their on-stage presence (though maybe not quite as forthcoming). The colour coordinated singer in his yellow trucker hat and guitar to match sung very well and pulled off a good performance.

Though at some points it was hard to see the expressions on the singer or bass players faces as they seemed to wear their hats so low across their face’s and I think some of the attitude was lost there. Posing in the classic rock guitar stance (legs 3ft apart, guitar forward, movement optional) they pulled off a variety of punk and classic rock songs quite similar to First Motion the week before.

They did have some good crowd interaction by joking between themselves and talking to the audience (although at some points I think they were making on-stage decisions but they had been pulled at the last minute). As the set progressed they seemed to get into the music more and put some more effort into it even though they weren’t moving about much. The guitarist pulled off a classic rock lead soloist pose (legs 3 ½ feet apart, crotch forward suspending guitar, add widdly guitar line here) and defiantly put on more of a show for the audience as the night went on. The drummer participated in giving some backup harmonies for the lead singer and even took over lead vocals for a couple of songs, which is not an easy task.

The songs they played were defiantly catchy and fun as well as the majority of them being fast. One song they self proclaimed as “Spooky” and changed styles slightly for a slower song but eventually it sped up to the normal punk speeds.

Although they ended their set half an hour they pulled off a good performance.

Interlude - Simon of Mills music now providing as well as the glow sticks some blow up guitars for the audience to play with. Walking around, I saw loads people playing along to the bands with these plastic toys. Although there are other uses for a blow-up toy but I shall not go into this now and lead onto:

Stone Idols - My first impression was that Stone Idols was starting their set with a sound check and looking at the stage I thought “wow, they are good, they’re invisible” until realising they were in fact behind the curtain. So as to not look stupid, I dipped behind the curtain to take picture’s of the band (saving my credibility for another day), all posing for the press.

When they did kick off they launched full scale into a Kid Rock song, immediately getting the attention of the crowd (as you don’t see Kid Rock being played live in bands often). The singer had an incredible attitude on stage and defiantly put a lot of effort into his performance.

The songs they did were very competently played although the bassist didn’t seem to move about or put much emotion into the performance (but I think that’s like most bass players everywhere, heads down concentrating on what they are playing, or jumping around like a lunatic, you never get a compromise).

The singer however was quite different, posing for the crowd whilst not singing and holding the microphone stand above his head, a defiantly good showman. Although I thought at times his voice didn’t quite set the tone for some songs (especially the softer one’s) he still put everything into his performance and pulled off a brilliant show.

Their original songs were a blend of soft rock to aggressive nu-metal, ranging from Kid Rock to Puddle of Mudd. Competent solo’s from the guitarist and hard hitting drum beats from the drummer gave a lot of impact to the sets.

When they played the Puddle of Mudd song, ‘She fucking Hates Me’ it seemed like the whole audience rushed to the front to head bang to it, the most we’ve seen on the dance floor this year (but it’s only the second week so far). They also played the classic Walk This Way by Aerosmith and Run DMC and did it very well, keeping the audience up and dancing.

They played extremely well and had the right attitude to go with their music, attracting the audience’s attention and giving 100% to the music. Very professionally done.

Well that’s all from me this week, next week is classic metallers The Divide / girl punk group Violet Violet. Hope to see you there next week.

Jo writes:

So I was spared the embarrassment of reviewing my old band – but commiserations to you guys, and especially Jack, get well soon dude.
Fletch Cadillac had about 12 hours’ notice for this gig, and they put on an admirable show – it appeared they played all originals (to my untrained ears, at least) and they made a fair attempt at engaging with the audience between songs. Sadly however, they hadn’t brought any Norwich posse with them, and their fast-as-f**k punk numbers rained down upon a largely unappreciative audience. They made a pretty chunky sound given their diminutive threepiece set-up – kudos, Dale – and yet the similarity of their songs and the fact that their caps prevented any eye-contact with the audience contributed to their not-quite-hitting-the-mark, in my very humble opinion. With a bit of local experience and a perky audience they’ll be shithot.

“Should’ve played the Killers!” – Anya
“Preferred ‘em to the second band” - Chris

The sound check to the Stone Idols foretold an impressive set-up – a bit of funky dance always goes down well with me. When revealed, they presented themselves as charismatic, with a wide-ranging repertoire and pretty damn loud. (Isn’t the sound impressive this year?) The inclusion of a few covers warmed the audience much more – or perhaps by that point it was the alcohol – however I thought they could have made more of this and involved the audience, keeping them wanting more. An experienced and proficient outfit, they weren’t to everyone’s taste that I talked to but I predict they’ll go up and up.

“S**t! Now give us a snog” - Pancho.
“They weren’t bad” - Laura

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