Scotland's best kept secret play a show in support of their new acoustic album.
Frightened Rabbit are an incredibly talented band, who are fast gaining critical acclaim since the release of their second album Midnight Organ Fight. Following support slots on both Death Cab For Cutie’s tour of Britain last November, and Biffy Clyro’s pre-christmas jaunt around the UK, Frightened Rabbit have since spent a large chunk of 2009 making waves playing headline shows in the States. Now, back in ol’ Blighty, Frightened Rabbit are preparing to release Quietly Now! The Midnight Organ Fight Live & Acoustic which was recorded last year at the Captains Rest. It’s the eve of its UK release (fans in America had the pleasure of an October 08 release date), and Frightened Rabbit arrive in Leicester for some acoustic goodness in an oddly long, but tightly packed out venue.
Taking to the stage in the low-lit Musician, singer Scott Hutchison is very apologetic to the crowd, as he has realised the poster advertising tonight’s show doesn’t mention it’s going to be an acoustic affair. The crowd doesn’t seem to mind, and the four-piece begin the evening with My Backwards Walk. This stripped-down song sets a precedent for the rest of the evening, which promises to be an evening of real music, played by salt of the earth musicians. And the crowd just lap Frightened Rabbit right up, who seem far from frightened tonight. In fact, Scott is a rare frontman; quietly confident, incessantly witty and brimming with genuine charm. Making jokes between songs and finding quirky new ways to store his guitar on stage, Scott really embraces the crowd. And the whole band are just so warm, and it feels more like a gathering of friends than an indie band playing to a faceless crowd.
FR play through Midnight Organ Fight’s highlights, including The Twist, Heads Roll Off and Fast Blood before support act and good friend of the band Ross Clark takes to the stage to play the mandolin on Old Old Fashioned. Spirits are raised, both onstage and in the crowd. Small laughs are stifled when Ross’s red strap on his mandolin breaks and he misses his part to fix it. Its no good however, as it just won’t stay attached. He does his best to make the best out of a bad situation, and is an entirely good sport!
Midway through their set, Frightened Rabbit break the rules of touring bands and give the crowd a magic ticket; the band will take requests for the second half of the show. Shout-outs for tracks from their debut album Sing the Greys are made, and Scott is pleasantly surprised to hear that people in the crowd have that album. The band happily oblige and play Go-Go- Girls and Square 9. There’s a lot of instrument swapping throughout the show, with each member of the band (apart from the drummer) having a go on the Nord Electro 2 keyboard, showcasing what a multi-talented band the really are. And anyone who can take N-Trance’s god awful Set You Free and turn it into a quality piece of music deserves a great deal of praise!
An entirely honest band, Scott announces that Modern Leper is their ‘last song’ but they’ll be back for an encore afterwards. And a few minutes later, Scott returns to the Musician’s stage alone and gets right up to the front of the crowd to play Poke. Scott’s guitar is out of tune, and he comedically tries to tune it, before the crowd hushes as he opens his mouth to sing a song which, in my opinion, is the best on the album. His voice rings out delicately in the quiet, quiet room, his strong Scottish accent sending shivers down my spine. And I’m just as surprised as he appears to be when the crowd take up backing vocal duties, even if in a slightly out of tune manner, which Scott picks up on and cheekily halts the song to tell us all so! But he encourages us to improve, and he carries on playing the song. This is a poignant moment is tonight’s show, and completely and utterly the highlight. They really could have stopped there. However, his band-mates come out from the fire-escapeless backstage area to play the remainder of the set, which is chosen from crowd requests. Oldies Be Less Rude and Snake get a run out, and there’s a rather funny story to go with Snake, in which Scott tries to convince the crowd that the song isn’t about his penis. Nice try, but I’m not sure the crowd were convinced! But the song certainly raised some smiles.
Finally, Frightened Rabbit are ready to say goodbye, and they play fan favourite Keep Yourself Warm, which prompts a mass sing-along which hears the crowd chanting ‘You won’t find love in a hole’ in unison. They leave the stage to claps, whistles and whooping before five seconds later having to come back onstage to get into the crowd as its their only escape route! Classic. It won't be long before the whole world is adoring this band. 10/10
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