Live Review: The Fratellis – 3rd April 2014 – The Tivoli, Brisbane, Australia
4 min read
It’s been a crazy 5 years since The Fratellis performed for their fans from the land down under. The presence of the Scottish boys were greeted by a cheering crowd. A sense of relief took over the room, as the band who during their hiatus had been rumoured to have broken up, were now up on stage beaming and ready to perform.
The show itself included a whopper of a setlist. As the gig was a part of the We Need Medicine Tour, a good chunk of the songs played were their newer stuff. But there was enough of Costello Music and Here We Stand to go around. The crowd welcomed every song, new or old, with as much gusto and energy as the band put into their own performances. The infectious track The Old Ghost Town opened the show and set the bar high for the rest of the night.
While the venue wasn’t completely full, it made the atmosphere quite intimate and laid-back. This gave plenty of room for crowd interaction between The Fratellis and the fans. There were many song requests from the viewers (mostly Henrietta), and made the band on stage giggle and coyly say ‘No’ about a million times, until they finally replied with ‘A little bit later’.
There was also plenty of space for the guys move around on stage, and they knew how to use it. Only after a few songs Jon was already covered in sweat. He pranced and danced around at every moment he could, using some of his signature footwork and a little bit of jazz hands, before quickly running back to mic. There also seemed to be an endless supply of picks, as the guitarist found himself having to grab a new one for almost every song.
A song that was undoubtedly one of the crowd favourites of the night was Whistle For The Choir. As Jon teased the crowd, slowly playing the first few chords of their hit song, a buzz of anticipation filled the room. The crowd eagerly joined in as soon as Jon started singing. Another favourite was Seven Nights Seven Days which induced a clapping frenzy during the bridge of the song, and later on Jon encouraged some slow dancing with a special someone during the song Babydoll.
Once the band finally played Henrietta it seemed to hit the crowd that the end was to come. Like a force to be reckoned with, the drive from the audience was nothing like the way they acted before. This dynamic energy kept on going through the song Baby Fratelli, and led to the crowd aggressively chanting along to the track We Need Medicine. After they played the track Until She Saved My Soul, Jon said a quick farewell, but the crowd wasn’t easily deceived. Demanding an encore, everyone in the room collectively sang Chelsea Dagger in the dark, and only stopped because they cheered for a roadie who came on stage that they mistook as a band member.
But nevertheless the crowd got what they wanted, and The Fratellis were back on stage for an encore. Jon decided to introduce their newest song All The Long Live Day, and announced that it was the first time they played it for the Southern Hemisphere (shortly after he asked the crowd if Japan isn’t part of the Southern Hemisphere, to make sure we were really the first). The track followed suit of some of their more mellow songs, an easy listen, and kept the good vibes around.
Next up was a cover of Dion’s Runaround Sue that kept the momentum going and soon enough Chelsea Dagger was played. The passion in the room was contagious and both the band and the crowd gave this song their all. The Heady Tale was dubbed as the closer for the night and the audience made the most of it by singing along to the very end. The polite frontman, who made it a habit of saying thank you after every single song he played, gave the crowd a warm farewell before they played themselves out. The show ended with a bang as the guitars, drums and keys all howled together until they couldn’t howl any longer. The boys walked off stage waving good-bye at their fans who enthusiastically waved back.
With their Australian leg of the We Need Medicine Tour about to make it’s way to Melbourne and Sydney, The Fratellis’ comeback has been an amazing journey. Fans at The Tivoli were privileged enough to enjoy such an easy-going show, and by the end of the night it was clear that they didn’t want the Scottish band to go. The countdown for The Fratellis’ next Australian tour begins!
Setlist:
This Old Ghost Town
Flathead
Whisky Saga
Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night
Lupe Brown
Vince The Loveable Stoner
Halloween Blues
She’s Not Gone Yet But She’s Leaving
Whistle For The Choir
Shotgun Shoes
Seven Nights Seven Days
Babydoll
Henrietta
Jeannie Nitro
Too Much Wine
For The Girl
Baby Fratelli
This Is Not the End of the World
We Need Medicine
Until She Saves My Soul
Encore:
All The Long Live Day
Runaround Sue
Chelsea Dagger
A Heady Tale
