Frightened Rabbit/Augustines/Fatherson
HMV Picturehouse Edinburgh, February 10
It’s been a long wait for yours truly to see Frightened Rabbit. I’ve enjoyed their music for many years – and yet somehow the chance to see them has eluded me. To the extent that earlier on in the day of this gig, I had been drafted to help out at Avalanche Records in Edinburgh where the band were doing an instore -and I had to leave before they arrived.
First up tonight on the bill (and at a gig that’s full to the rafters, by the way) are Fatherson. Fatherson are equal parts ninties grunge, scots indie and epic folk. Whilst I can’t quite catch the song titles, it doesn’t matter – they win me over and I’m eager to see the Kilmarnock band again soon.
The Augustines seem to be in thrall to U2 circa The Joshua Tree. Very passionate performance and all, yet bordering on being overwrought. One song sounds like The Jam’s ‘That’s Entertainment’ meets The Cure’s ‘Grinding Halt’ without much of the greatness of either. They are well-received by the corwd though, so it’s possible that the joke may be on me…
By the time Frightened Rabbit come on, it’s not just me but pretty much the entire venue that’s ready to explode with anticipation. Early on in the set former single ‘Nothing Like You’ sets the tone. It’s now an anthem and the excitement can be felt even right at the back. As the Frabbits tear into ‘Old Old Fashioned’ it’s clear that whilst yours truly has failed to see them before tonight, this is a band who now inspire mass clap-and-singalongs, They won’t be playing venues this size for much longer. The set is drawn mainly from their last two studio albums, which have been seeping into the consciousness of their ever-growing legion of fans.
There’s no firm news on a fourth album yet, but the delight that occured when ‘Swim…’ became their first big breakthrough will be nothing compares to when this long-awaited release hits the shelves/download service of your choice. Towards the end of the set the band go off after an excellent ‘Love In A Hole’ with Scott returning to do a solo ‘Poke’ before the whole band rejoin him for ‘Good arms versus bad arms’ and ‘Loneliness In A Scream.’ We’re literally left wanting more as the house lights come on.
Scottish band most likely to do a Biffy Clyro in 2012? That’ll be the Frabbits, then.