The Fallen: By Katie Mishner

The Fallen – The Black Bull Gateshead

By Katie Mishner

Too often, smaller venues don’t get enough credit for showcasing off the new local talent, and normally everyone jumps to think that good shows can only be at bigger venues. The Fallen fromCountyDurhamproved that wrong, despite not playing to a sold out academy, they managed to keep the crowd happy whilst displaying some great potential for their future.

As The Fallen took their positions, it was obvious they’re meant to be a band. Looks aren’t everything but everything just fell apart, and it was a warm atmosphere which really does give you something to think about – music isn’t about how much money you can make, how many shows you sell out. It’s about the feeling you get by making music.

The Fallen’s set was composed of original songs and a few covers, they showed off catchy hooks and powerful drum beats in original songs, and following each a great round of applause, which in effect put a great smile on their faces.

The four played covers from the bands Lower Than Atlantis and Deaf Havana which displayed their diversity, taking into consideration the difference in the voices of these bands. However the cover that stood out the most was their cover of “Good Feeling” by Flo Rida, it’s always refreshing when rock goes pop, the young band put their own stamp on proving themselves to the small yet warm crowd as much more than a “Cover band”, it consisted of cleverly placed dynamics – especially among drums and vocals and gave off a real feel good vibe.

Finally, the song that stood out the most to me and evidently the rest of the crowd was their original “Friends” which (hence the title) is about making and keeping friend, which is always a relatable topic. The lyrics really felt relatable, and I was able to connect with what they were singing about, which is what I feel is missing from music at the moment. The song was very pop punk esque with a hint of harder rock, which was a nice touch. Not only that but it was upbeat, but also using a riff that really did show the talent within this band, complex & catchy.

To conclude, The Fallen worked well with what they had, showing the crowd and themselves what they’re capable of, sharing vocals between bassist and guitarist, and just generally having a good time.

I’d give the Fallen’s performance 7.5/10 justified by these reasons

• They gave a strong performance.
• They worked with what they had.
• They have genuine potential.
• I feel they could do a lot more with a longer set and larger crowd, however.

Like The Fallen on Facebook here and check out their live dates: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fallen/149020588537504