I’ve always felt like Frightened Rabbit are one of those bands who fit into one of two categories: either you’ve seen them live and rave about them, or they’ve slipped under your radar and you’ve never really heard of them. They’re a band whose Scottish folk sensibilities seem to have connected to a growing audience over the last ten or so years, with 2013 seeing the release of their fourth LP, Pedestrian Verse; their first release with a major label.
Though such a big change may have come around late in the game, given the growth of the band through the albums prior, the timing couldn’t have worked better for the band – nor felt more natural. After all, the reason they were signed was because the new A&R guy at Atlantic UK was “a fan”. They seem to have that effect on people. And back in our own country to play Groovin’ The Moo and a slew of sold out shows – this their second in Sydney in the same number of weeks – it seems that Australians have finally joined the rest of the world in recognising this fact.
Supporting the band were fellow Scots Admiral Fallow, who they brought along for the trip down under. The Glasgow based group definitely fit into a similar category musically to Frightened Rabbit, though with an extra dose of flute to spice things up, not to mention their own unique flair. Like the Rabbits, they are impressive songwriters, and being unfamiliar with the group prior to the performance, I’m curious to see how this translates on record.
But it was indeed Frightened Rabbit who the crowd came to see, and with the band performing eight tracks off their latest record, alongside a healthy dose of their most loved material from The Midnight Organ Fight and The Winter of Mixed Drinks, no one would have left the room disappointed, nor without a sore throat; this was a crowd who for the most part knew every word to every song.
It’s hard to review a gig like this without straying into superlatives, but Frightened Rabbit are truly a world class band. They are tight on stage, fill themselves up with a healthy dose of entertaining banter courtesy of charismatic frontman Scott Hutchinson, and easily win over a crowd. But it might be fair to say they achieve this before they even walk into the room. I doubt there were too many in the room who were unfamiliar with the band’s craft, even if it might have been their first time experiencing them in the flesh.
For me, this was my fourth time, however my first in a non-festival environment. Seeing them in a bar is definitely appropriate given the nature of their music – it’s best enjoyed with a nice whiskey in hand, surrounded by good friends (and said bar at an arms length). The set opened with “Living in Colour” ahead of a 17 song set and a further three songs in the encore, “The Woodpile”, “The Twist” (which one person had been requesting the entire show, which Scott got a bit sick of after a while, to our own amusement) and “The Loneliness and the Scream” which ended the night, and their run of shows in Sydney.
Highlights of the set included “Poke”, which saw Scott remove himself from the electrical constraints, performing acoustically and unplugged, something which certainly hasn’t been possible at any of their festival performances. On the utteration of the word “cunt” in the song, which everyone in the crowd screamed along to with great passion and laughter, Scott mentioned that a journalist had told him she would be playing a drinking game during their set, taking a shot every time the band swore. He digressed that she was no longer alive, and said that people shouldn’t tell him such things.
With phenomenal lyrics, great stage presence and plenty of singalongs, Frightened Rabbits are one of the world’s must see live bands; not to mention a band who have released one of the finest records of the year. Missed out this time around? Don’t make the same mistake next time.
SETLIST:
Living in Colour
The Modern Leper
Old Old Fashioned
Late March, Death March
December’s Traditions
Nothing Like You
Backyard Skulls
Holy
Fast Blood (for Danger Dave)
The Oil Slick
My Backwards Walk
State Hospital
Poke
(Scott acoustic and unplugged)
Scottish Winds [Scott acoustic]
Good Arms vs. Bad Arms
Swim Until You Can’t See Land
Acts of Man
Encore:
The Woodpile
The Twist
The Loneliness and the Scream
