Frightened Rabbit are one of those bands that have kinda bypassed me for reasons that I’m not wholly clear about. So I was quite shocked to arrive at Fat Sam’s to find the gig a complete sell-out with people being turned away. I felt a bit guilty with my wee guest list place and scant knowledge of their music at gaining entry to a show by a band that appear, without any hype or serious airplay, to mean so much to so many people who looked genuinely gutted to be turned away. Sure, I’d enjoyed both albums, but I’d never really spent quality time with them. Then again, sometimes it’s fun to experience something for the first-time, almost utterly devoid of preconceptions.

The Phantom Band I had seen before and, to be candid, while I liked a few songs, overall they had left me feeling pretty under-whelmed when I saw them a year ago, especially after headliners I Like Trains followed them with a devastatingly gorgeous set which left most bands I’d seen previously sounding a little inconsequential. However, tonight I find myself being charmed and swept-up by their dense but spacey songs and really enjoy their set. The Phantom Band mix-up a tough, grooving Krautrock influenced sounds with beautiful melodies and song-structures producing a breathtaking sound that appeals equally to the head, heart and feet. Occasionally they remind me of Happy Mondays around the time of their first two albums with a loose feel combining with tight, forceful rhythms and, at times, there is a joyful, euphoric feel to their songs particularly the set-closer ‘Left Hand Wave’ which stretches effortlessly towards the ten minute mark yet seems to end all too soon. It’s a brilliant five song set that is wildly appreciated by most of the crowd including myself.

The audience are pretty wild for Frightened Rabbit who stumble onto the stage to rapturous applause looking less like conquering heroes and, well like rabbits caught in the headlights. They launch into ‘The Modern Leper’ and the room goes mad. The sound, crystal clear during The Phantom Band is pretty muddy and dense with the three guitars at times meshing together the songs are carried by the intensity of the rhythms and Scott Hutchinson’s impassioned howl of a voice. Despite the blurred at the edges sound, the dynamics of the songs carry them through and the set is a pretty frenetic, at times exciting one, drawing heavily from the second album The Midnight Organ Fight. Quite a substantial number of the crowd tonight seem to know the words to most of the songs and the response towards each song is ecstatic. The band throw themselves into each song as though they are playing for their lives but between songs appear nervous and hesitant despite the reception being given to them including the frequent chants of “Frightened, Frightened, Frightened fucking Rabbit” between songs. Admittedly, in print this sounds like a potential threat but really indicates a band that have been taken to heart as returning heroes. Two new songs from the forthcoming album are given an airing and sound pretty damn good as the audience welcomes them like long lost friends. The set ends with a raucous version of ‘Square 9’ from the debut album, Sings The Greys, the only song from that album to get an airing. The band slip-off before Scott Hutchinson returns for an acoustic song and then the rest of the band return for the final song ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ which sounds pretty moving especially when sections of the audience take over lead vocal duties for the first verse with great gusto.

The gig leaves me thinking that Frightened Rabbit stand poised to break big with their forthcoming album, that they are a band standing close to the peak of a mountain. At times though they give the impression that they stand not near the summit but on the edge of a precipice, collectively wondering how they arrived there without a road map. However, what ever the future holds for Frightened Rabbit tonight was a highly enjoyable show and on the evidence of tonight they have an enthusiastic enough following to propel them to greater heights. As for me, I’ve dug out the albums and found myself falling for them properly. A little late in the day but not too late to be looking forward to the new album.

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