Fratellis: Glasgow ABC, September 26 2012

Sep 28 2012 By Nina Glencross

Fratellis 2012 Image 2

“WE'RE The Fratellis”, mumbles frontman Jon before the band head straight into classic hit ‘Henrietta’, a strong choice to open with as it gets the crowd instantly pumped.

It’s been a long time coming but Glasgow’s finest rock trio are finally back and they intend to deliver the goods.

‘Creepin’ Up The Backstairs’ and ‘Everybody Knows…’ follow swiftly, keeping the audience bouncing, even in the confinements of an unusually packed O2 ABC.

After a few songs from the band’s second album ‘Here We Stand’, including ‘My Friend John’ and ‘Lupe Brown’, the crowd are treated to ‘For The Girl’ with a country folk twist and sing-a-long favourite ‘Whistle For The Choir’.

The band don’t take to interacting with the audience between songs much, concentrating instead on their performance and letting the music do the talking. It’s clear that their performance isn’t just fuelled by their own driving passion and enjoyment but even more so by that of the audience, which is exactly the way it should be.

Although the set features many songs from the band’s debut album ‘Costello Music’, the trio offer a couple of new songs to the audience which are very well received. The first, ‘This Old Ghost Town’, even has a bit of a Meatloaf feel to it – with the addition of Will Foster on keyboard – which may sound strange in theory but somehow it works.

This is soon followed by an old Fratellis song ‘Johnny Come Last’, a rare treat for diehard fans. This range of old and new makes for a refreshing setlist. There is a good mixture of styles, with no two back to back songs sounding similar so that there is always something new for the crowd to sing, dance or, indeed, cheer along to.

The Fratellis finish their set with another crowd favourite ‘Baby Fratelli’, which, as they leave the stage, only leave the Glasgow crowd hungry for more, living up to their expectations as one of the best crowds in the world.

The trio return to deliver four more including the very song most of the crowd had been waiting to hear all night – ‘Chelsea Dagger’, of course! But that wasn’t the end of it. With the audience still buzzing after an almighty sing-a-long, the band tore into ‘A Heady Tale’ for one last rock out.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fratellis are back and Glasgow could not be happier.

4/5