Diandra and I saw We Are the Fallen at the Sonar Club in Baltimore on May 27th. The Sonar is a converted warehouse with standing room for 1,000 at their main stage. We Are the Fallen is a "new" band fronted by Carly Smithson. For me, Carly was one of the best singers ever on Idol is spite of her unjust 6th place in Season 7.
A little history for context is in order. We Are the Fallen is essentially the original Evanescence band from their first album with Carly as the singer in place of the mercurial but utterly captivating Amy Lee. Evanescence's 2003 album Fallen sold 15 million copies worldwide and was nominated for six Grammy awards (winning two) including Album of the Year. The band went through a variety of break-ups and was essentially a different band by the time of their second album especially with the absence of co-founder and co-songwriter Ben Moody. Calling themselves We Are the Fallen seems to be a statement that this is the Evanescence band of the Fallen as opposed to the work that followed that album. This was the second stop on their U.S. tour opening for the Finnish metal band HIM.
While it was fun to see Carly it would have been better if we could have heard her, too. The sound was very challenging and whether it was the mix or the loudness of the band, Carly's voice was drowned out far too often. There was also some question we had as to whether the songs were written in slightly too high a key to perfectly fit Carly's voice. However, musically this sounded like what I imagine Evanescence's second album would have sounded like had these musicians, in particular with Ben Moody, had stayed together. A highlight of the evening was a goth-rock version of Madonna's Like a Prayer. It was very clever and totally worked especially with gothic choir sounds replacing the original's gospel choir.
I had an opportunity to talk to Ben Moody after the show and told him how happy I was that this group of musicians was back making music together again. Others in the band overheard me and agreed they were happy, too! As a lover of the Fallen album, I am looking forward to hearing the music again and want to hear what Carly really sounds like with this band. For a 6th place Idol finisher, this could be a big deal. Quick - how many 6th place finishers are really doing anything that we know about with the exception of Kellie Pickler? Carly is working with a band that sold 15 million albums and whose songwriter not only co-wrote those songs but also has written for Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, and Avril Lavigne. This is quite a opportunity for her and also for a great band to re-establish itself at the top of the charts again. We Are the Fallen's album will be released on May 11.
3 comments:
Great review of your evening, Ray...I'm sorry that Carly's voice was drowned out by the instruments. That's always frustrating when you're at a live concert, and Carly's voice definitely should be the highlight! Hopefully the band will get all the kinks/sound issues worked out as they progress through the tour. You're right that this is such an incredible opportunity for her and I hope she goes far. She was always one of my favorites -- Blackbird is still my favorite song of hers from American Idol. Stunning!
I always felt Carly was better than a sixth place. She was definitely better than more than one in the top five.
I felt she fell victim to a bias against her fulsome tattoos.
I loved her voice and her lack of amateurness.
I wish her well. Her voice deserves notice.
Ha! Nana said what I've been saying! I think Carly got voted off so early (a vote-off which, it should be noted, I was ANGRY about for a full week afterwards and am still livid about years later) because of her tattoo sleeve and whatever else people perceived as non-befitting of a proper female. Which of course is a shame since she has such a POWERFUL voice.
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