The Flashbacks are a four-piece rock & pop covers band which has bookings all over the country for a variety of functions. I saw them in The Wild Man on a Friday night as a band. Are they a function band or are they a band? That is the question.
Four professional, clean looking guys with great technical ability. Their sound was great: clean, sharp, produced and I didn’t hear any bum notes. Drum sound was gorgeous, different but gorgeous. Their range of tracks was wide, from 50s right through to current chart music and they played all the songs to pretty much perfection – almost record produced quality. You cannot fault their musical ability.
There were a couple of tracks which had a bit of their own spin to it, and there was a mini mashup or two, but in general they played it safe. They rocked up an Adele song, which was great but still safe. There wasn’t a particular flow to the tracks, well not that one I could tell – they played tracks in no particular order or ‘themes’ which means you get up & dance to a great track and then the next one is too different to remain on the dance floor, however if you know me, you’ll know I am a fussy bugger to what I dance to!
They played the tracks, they got people dancing. Ideal scenario, right? However, for me there was no real personality to the band as a whole. They certainly seem nice guys but together nothing really came through.
I always find it interesting when a band doesn’t know who they are: just a group of people playing instruments together without any idea of what they are about or what their band personality is. It can happen when they are starting out, or thinking of a change of direction, or they may just be a group of people playing instruments out there enjoying themselves, nothing wrong with that – but as a ‘band’ you need to know what you’re about in order to fully engage the audience.
I think these guys certainly do know who they are. Their instruments are shiny, their set-up is high quality equipment: professional, clean, technically accurate and they produce what they need to produce for the crowd. They do the job. And this is the thing, they were doing a job – don’t get me wrong, they did the job well.
Therefore, the answer to my initial question: Yes, they are a function band and very good at it. I wouldn’t hesitate in booking them for an event as they can produce the goods: play a range of popular tacks and get the crowd on the dancefloor. As a band…I want more from my ‘group of people playing instruments together’….I want a personality to come through. Maybe it will next time I see them.