Event: The Fratellis Kerrang RAW gig
Venue: Birmingham Barfly
Support Act: The Rumblestrips

Fratellis Set List:
Cigarello, Henrietta, Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night, Flathead, Vince the Lovable Stoner, Dog in a Bag, Baby Fratelli, Whistle for the Choir, Chelsea Dagger, Creepin' Up the Backstairs, Got Me a Hippy,Gutterati, Ooh La La [Goldfrapp cover]


As you know I am all about the free music, especially when an e-mail arrives in my inbox saying, "You have won an invite for yourself and one guest to the exclusive Fratellis Kerrang Gig!" That's proper free music. So it is no suprise that after I'd recovered from my hangover, I found myself on a bus replacement service to town on Sunday. Well the bus replacement service isn't really a surprise either. Nor is the fact that once we found the Barfly we queued for an hour. But as soon as we got in I decided that I was going to be at the front, even if it meant we were less that a metre from the four speakers on the right.

More waiting. Then Kerrang's Emma Scott came on stage to introduce the Rumblestrips.

*
I'd already seen them with Cat at Boro Live in the Empire. At that time, I'd got a bit bored of all the brass and Cat and I left after a few songs. This time however, I really liked all the brass. They did a really good set, complete with the set list written on paper plates**. Highly entertaining later when some of the front row had procured them and proceeded to point them in Jon [from the Fratellis]'s general direction, much to his confusion.

I then settled in to wait for the Fratellis and watched the amount of electrical tape they used to tape the equipment down. The answer being a lot. Eventually the Fratellis came on, and they were fucking awesome.


The crowd were really getting into it, lots of jumping about and even some crowd surfing. I know I'm normally not that good at conveying music in words but I am finding it near impossible to find words to describe just how good the Fratellis are live.

"I was fucking relieved they were pants...I thought it was a bra...hope they weren't expensive."

At one point, a pink bra was thrown towards the stage. Jon promptly picked it up and put it on Mince's drums. Then someone threw some boxers. He was playing guitar. They landed on his shoulder. It was very funny. He threw them on the floor and someone threw up a pink thong - that ended up on the drums too and then later on Barry's bass guitar.


At some point I thought I'd lose my voice during Chelsea Dagger. It didn't happen. Not that I would have known anyway because the speakers were probably contributing to me going deaf. The gig finished, and I knew because in true ND style, I had had my eye on the set list throughout the gig and the moment of the last chord of Ooh La La I asked the rather embarassed security bloke to procure it for me. I later discovered that it is written on the back of their August schedule so if anyone wants to know what days they had off that month...





*Yes I have a thing about band names on drums. What's your point?
**Clearly taking tips from Griffin then...