Photo: WENN
What do you think of when you think of The Fratellis? 'Chelsea Dagger'? That mid-noughties classic of 'I Predict a Riot' proportions that seems to supersede the band itself? The decade-old track so ubiquitous with drunken students and football fans on terraces that, unfortunately, it’s become more a millstone around the neck than the centre piece for which the band can doff their trilbies?
Last night at Soho's Borderline, Mince Fratelli on drums introduced the classic with a resigned, “Here it comes” and the quartet’s rapid-fire punk version with mish-mashed melodies and vocals seemed more an attempt to get it out the way for the sardine-packed crowd than a loving spin on an old number.
But disappointing and distracting as that one track may have been, the rousing revelry of a set laden with new tracks from their upcoming Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied LP says much about the regard with which the band are still held four albums in.
Beginning a near-two hour stint in the cramped Borderline venue by declaring it'll either be the best or worst night of your life (“Because it's going to be loud”), Jon Fratelli, behatted, fresh-faced and black vested, immediately struck a reverberating chord with 'Baby Don’t You Lie To Me!'
'This Old Ghost Town' from 2013’s We Need Medicine inspired the first lairy movements among the previously nodding number of twenty-somethings at the front, before the chorus “So, if you're lonely, why'd you say you're not lonely?” from 'Whistle For The Choir' rang out smilingly in the first mass sing-along of the evening.
Those pesky tracks from their new album were entertaining, if lurching at times into a classic rock sound. Among the airing of an old, personal favourite, ,Henrietta,, standout newbies included ,Me and the Devil, and ,Dogtown,, with its Icky Thump-era intro precluding a descent into a mad psychedelic nightmare.
Maybe it was the velvet curtain lining the stage behind them, or the Bat out of Hell and frequent T-Rex echoes, but the quartet veered closely at times to pub band territory – which is not to detract from the enjoyment derived. Theirs is a music not designed to reinvent the wheel, but more the sort that'll keep everyone on their feet long enough in anticipation for the classic number to drop.
And the fact 'Chelsea Dagger' proved a confusing let down says much about the nostalgic impact of that track, and what the expectations might be from The Fratellis. So, while it was neither the best nor worst night of my life, it was still more than enough to give an adequate thumbs up.
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