We Are The Fallen at Cain’s a Disappointment

A show that should have easily been very well attended, the We Are The Fallen was much more of a disappointment than anything else.

I have to be sympathetic to the band here and say it could not be any fault of their own.  The one thing I could possibly say is there is just no real buzz surrounding them.  As I spoke to people about going to the show most were asking who they were.

It could have possibly been a venue issue or maybe just poor promotion.  For the 200 in attendance (and most of them were either with the bands or got free tickets from radio stations) it was a rather drab night at ole 423. 

It was a four band bill that started at 7:30 pm, and probably shouldn’t have started at all.  Why this show wasn’t canceled I do not know. 

First opener was a local band whose name I never did really catch, something about Vegas.  Doesn’t really matter, they were a garage band at best and jumped around on stage like they needed to get back on their meds.  The set was like all the others on this night, way, way, way too loud for the venue and the size of the audience.  Let alone the lead singer pleading with the small grouping of people there to get involved.

Aerias was up next, again way too loud and the same old stage show as most emo bands.  Cody, (lead vocals) for some reason felt the need to tell the name of each song in their set.  Must of been because you couldn’t understand squat.

I was seated at the back of the house for both of these bands and realized very soon that the people around me were family members of both bands.  So these weren’t even fans, they were mom, dad, grandpa, grandma and the siblings that were drug along to support.

Next up Red Line Chemistry, these guys had some talent, unfortunately the sound again was too loud and just drowned out the set.  Highlight of this was the famous Johnny Cash middle finger shirt that the vocalist was wearing.  The music was tight and the energy was there, but if you don’t really have anyone in the crowd (loosely put) to play off of or for it just falls to the ground.

Finally, there is We Are The Fallen.  This is a band that for all reasons should be playing to a packed house.  What happened here?  I realize the album is only days old, 12 to be exact, but where was the promotional push.  Doesn’t Universal Republic have a public relations department? 

Fallen are a band that has been assembled from some pretty heavy hitting talent, the fallout of Evanescence and the vocals of former American Idol finalist Carly Smithson yet seems to not be able to create it’s own identity.  In all ways it looked as though Evanescence had just been shuffled and re-dealt.  Other than the stellar cover of Madonna’s "Like A Prayer" I am not sure it would have mattered if it were Carly or Amy Lee on the delivering end of the lyrics.

Now I will say this, Carly has a hugely powerful voice and was giving it everything she had.  She has some real talent and lays it all out.  If this happens with each show she is either on the road to a blown out voice or just has some incredible control.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

I realize I have not given any of these bands any slack, I am not sure that I am supposed to as a critic.  It was definitely a show that had greater potential than what paid off.  We can only hope that they get polished and blow up the scene or just fade away.