Every time I hear FF I like them even more and the June 6 show at the scene was definitely no exception. I was taken aback by the incredible presence they had, even better than Emily�s birthday party. You could tell that they really took out all the stops and just poured their hearts out on the stage. Here�s the band member performance run down: BILLY, what can I say. He is a phenomenal drummer. Most drummers are just boring and they sit behind their little kit and just bang away like the proverbial bump on a log, but not Billy Cleaver. Billy gets into it, you can just see it in his face that he is feeling the music, a prime example is when he jumps off his throne to yell �ATTENTION!� with the band. Conclusion, Billy isn�t your average drummer. JOHN, john has definitely matured as a guitar player since the homemade heroes days, he is also much more into the music which can probably be attributed the nature of the music, its easier to get emotional about emo music. My only complaint with Johnny�s performance was that he seemed to be shunning the audience. His back was constantly turned to the audience. Haven�t you learned anything from musical theater john! No one wants to see your hindquarters (well actually I�m sure that gave you a one up with many female fans). REID, much better than in previous shows. He really poured his heart into this show. He was the liveliest member of the band this time around. Another thing was that his bass wasn�t too loud this time, it was just perfect (side note: The Scene is such a good venue when it comes to sound people. I could really tell that they were on the job the whole time and always on the ball. During one of Johns more quiet singing moments they were right there to turn up the volume. Mad prizityops to The Scene) ALEX, Alex is magnificent. He has an amazing presence that just draws you to him. With his trademark fist of anger in between guitar strums he is one of the most entertaining members to watch. I have also noticed recently that Alex is one of the most talented people I have ever met. He is like a musical prodigy, he plays guitar and the drums and from what I understand a bit of piano too. If he were older I would assume he was a music major or something of that nature. Alex you are amazing, absolutely incredible. So to conclude this jumbled review, it was a great show. They seemed to be really on that night. To everyone who wasn�t there, shame on you, you missed a wonderful performance not to be forgotten.
This was my first time seeing the boys of FF in action and I was very impressed. First off I have to say (and I know Alex doesn't like hearing this) that the first thing you can notice in their music is the heavy Noise Ratchet influence. Now when I say this I do not mean it in a bad way at all. FF has taken typical loud-then-soft music and made it something all their own. For instance, having three leads vocals is pure genius. Most bands this day and age have a front man, this is usually the only guy in the band anybody knows, and the only one you pay attention to on stage; with FF you are paying attention to everyone and hearing some beautiful harmonies which they seemed to be nailing all night. One of FF's strong points has definitely got to be their magnetic stage presence. Alex is a madman on the stage, he sings his heart out and goes nuts at all the right moments and Reid's bass drum jump has highly amusing and recieved riotous applause from the crowd.
Unfortunatley (and I suppose it's understandable since the people were there for a birthday party and not a rockin' show), the crowd was very small. Most of the party guest remained toward the back of the room chatting and eating up all the food. The small crowd that was there seemed to be interested in the band. Me and several other people even got some good moshing going on during a few of the songs. We even did some hardcore dancing.
Musically, FF is pretty darn good. Reid's bass playing skills seemed to have drastically improved (no offense Reid, but you sucked in HMH). My only complaint about the bass was that it was a bit to loud and took away from the guitars slightly. My favorite song of the evening had to be Scream Out. Reids screaming was excellent (even though he was apparently not supposed to do it for fear of scaring Johns sister and parents). Some of my other favorites were Viva La Resistance and It's All the Rage.
Overall this was an excellent show and left a very good first impression on me. (Note: Alex's perfromance was strikingly homoerotic)