FRIGHTENED RABBIT, Stereo, Glasgow (21/01/12)
Frightened Rabbit are wounded pups tonight. Seven days ago, when they announced a trio of impromptu shows in Scotland's principal cities, all in venues smaller than George Osbourne's conscience, to provide the hardcore with a chance to hear material from their forthcoming fourth record for the very first time, they probably thought they were doing a good deed. Certainly, demand was high enough; this evening's show in the brilliantly ramshackle blink-and-you'll-miss-it Stereo sold out in three minutes, and queues for the Edinburgh and Aberdeen equivalents were, quite frankly, massive. Frabbits were chomping at the bit at the chance to sample the follow-up to 2010's phenomenal The Winter of Mixed Drinks... so much so, it seems, that a certain group of money-grabbing, grandstanding promoters saw an opportunity to exploit the fuck out of them.
Yes, two nights prior, at the 'burgh's Cabaret Voltaire, fans were initially told that tickets would only be available on the door. Then the venue sold 200 online. Those that were patient were told that there were 200 more available on the door. Not so, it seems. Voltaire sold all available tickets on the web and then allowed 200 more in on the night, only to direct them to an upstairs room where they were permitted to watch the performance on a television screen. When Frightened Rabbit became aware of this travesty, they promptly severed ties with the promoters, vowed never to play the venue again and gave a special acoustic performance for those who had been duped.
In all, then, a bit of a shambles. While they arguably did their level best in awful circumstances, some fans remained upset with the band for not doing anything about this sooner. Cue many apologetic tweets, Facebook messages and the like and a brief mention just prior to this evening's performance. Undoubtedly, Frightened Rabbit have been hurt by events and have something extra to prove; but still, with a triumphant show in Aberdeen yesterday under their belts and 290 rabid hometown devotees before them, this should surely be a no-brainer, right? Well, of course. Predictably, the atmosphere is electric from the off; as the pile-driving ferocity of new track Holy (we're reading solely from the setlist here guys, doubtless this is an abbreviation!) ricochets around the room, eyes gaze intently in awe, minds focused prominently on the intricacies in this most four-to-the-floor of tracks, feet and hips helplessly tapping and swaying to the unfamiliar beat. It's a response that comes to characterise the evening, each apologetically-delivered debut receiving as rapturous a response as the most well known of tracks. It helps that there are some absolute corkers in the bunch: Boxing is a beautiful ode to the lethargy and self-pity that may follow a break-up, all cracked vocals and discordant guitars, while Oil Slick is probably the most monstrous four minutes written about the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon, well, ever.
All of this bodes exceptionally well for that eagerly anticipated fourth LP, due for release (hopefully) sometime late in 2012; that every single one of these tracks sits snugly next to the older material but nevertheless manages to remain fiercely independent suggests that Frightened Rabbit aren't willing to rest on their laurels... and we should all be extremely excited about what that may mean for a new release. Tellingly, this fervor seeps through into their performance too. There's a restlessness about the band tonight, an inescapable passion that resonates from every corner of the stage, filling Scott and Grant particularly with an energy that infects everyone else in the venue. Scott scrunches his eyes and sings his heart out during a pitch-perfectly poignant My Backwards Walk, while Grant seems to play every song as if it's his last, hammering seven shades of shite out of his poor drumkit and nearly setting about the front row after a messy, fierce Square 9, screaming at all and sundry.
It's a thrilling experience and one that provides that all-important extra ingredient to proceedings. Tonight, these songs are 'wee beasties' (to namecheck an alcopop), leaping from the stage and pummeling your frontal lobes with deliciously impish glee. Glasgow loves every minute, out-singing the band on countless occasions, but particularly during The Loneliness and the Scream (the refrain of which all 290 men and women continue to sing at the tops of their voices while the band are backstage prior to the encore) and the soaring, epic finale that is Keep Yourself Warm. A jovial Old Old Fashioned, intense Living in Colour and playful Swim Until You Can't See Land are also highlights, the latter featuring a three minute drone in its middle 8 just for the hell of it. By show's end, all thoughts of 'The Edinburgh Incident' (as it will now be known) are firmly put to rest and Frightened Rabbit are once again able to stand tall and proud, safe in the knowledge that they are one of the very finest alt-indie-folk outfits that this weather-beaten country has to offer. Album four can't come soon enough.
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