Date: 25th April 2005
Venue: Fusion, Kirkwall, Orkney
In all honesty, no one knew what to expect from the four pop rockers, and as Via Tomorrow kicked off the night's show with songs by Weezer and Led Zeppelin (and performed them well, may I add), I got distinctly worried that Freefaller might not have the best crowd ever to perform to.
'You all looking forward to Freefaller later on?!' Rory (lead singer) yelled. Half hearted cheers all round. 'How about 4th Dimension?!' (other local support band). Cue explosions from everyone.
4th Dimension took to the stage and kicked off, amidst the screams of rabid teenies screaming their affection for whichever band member took their fancy, with Franz Ferdinand's Michael. They ploughed through some Green Day numbers, including the full version of Jesus Of Suburbia, and managed not to massacre any of it - I was impressed. But, as usual, they did Golden Touch by Razorlight, and, as usual, the bassist didn't play it right. That shall be my only criticism of this band.
Cut to a few minutes later. Freefaller burst onto the stage and I think my eardrums burst. They were, quite frankly, freakin' amazing. Having never seen them live (properly, at least) on TV, I honestly didn't know what to expect. On stage, they weren't like a pop band, they were a lot more rock-sounding. And they did a rather fabulous rendition of Green Day's classic, Basket Case, which seemed to impress a lot of people. From their own songs, they performed fan favourites such as Freak Show (a likely contender for their third single) and Rock Chick, as well as the singles, obviously. After Freak Show, they disappeared, before coming back on - 'do ya want to hear another song?!' Ollie shouted above the screams. Cue more screams. A bit more enthusiastic than before, I must say. And so, sadly, Freefaller performed their last song of the evening, entitled 'Dude Like Me?'
Bloody brilliant. I think everyone was impressed by just how good they were. All I can say is - lads, when are you coming back?!