The Beat Surrender

Anyone would think that the Fratellis were having a good time. As the toast of music fans around the country and considered one of the next big things for British rock ‘n’ roll, they’re currently riding the crest of a wave and obviously loving it.

Following the buzz around their eponymous debut EP, produced by Owen Morris, the man behind Definitely Maybe, The Fratellis have been giving hugely well received performances across the length and breadth of Britain, tearing up the country supporting acts such as BRMC and Evan Dando.

From the first moment of listening, it’s obvious that Morris has worked his magic once more with the Glaswegian trio – the EP and all their proceeding releases are stacked with ballsy swagger, similar to that portrayed by their Mancunian counterparts with such glorious youthful exuberance in those early Oasis days. This was perfectly channelled to ensure a pulsating and overtly enthusiastic live performance, well suited to the smaller venue in which they were playing in Middlesbrough.

Vast amounts of their success can be contributed to the new wave of music marketing through Myspace. One look at their page and you can see they already have their own set of groupies– their songs have been played over 300 000 times and 15 000 believe themselves to have befriended the band. They have also benefited from being championed by the current musical father, Zane Lowe, who regularly gives them airtime on his Radio 1 show.

All this hype and early success resulted in a packed house for the gig at the Middlesborough Empire. Admittedly, I doubt the crowd was quite as raucous as that at T in the Park. Nevertheless, the volume of young teenagers who had amassed in great number seemed excited enough.

From the outset, the crowd lapped it up. Thanks in part, no doubt, to Myspace and the internet revolution, the crowd knew just about all of the songs played, despite the band having only released an EP and two singles. The Fratellis’ tunes appeared to be the perfect platform to show off Jon’s boyish charm, not least on tracks such as ‘Creepin’ Up The Backstairs, with Jon howling, “When you’re creepin’ up the backstairs, mother’s nightmares, falling in the front door, my my”.

Obviously the released tracks such as Henrietta, The Gutterati and Stacy Anne went down particularly well with the lairy crowd, but there really weren’t any troughs to think of. The Fratellis constantly had the crowd on a knife-edge, no matter what song they were playing – a testament to the enjoyment they provided. The certain peak of the concert, however, was ‘Chelsea Dagger’, the soon to be chart topping single. Jon needn’t have sung – the crowd did it all for him, united in their love for their new favourite rock ‘n’ roll band.

Whilst being professional and musically on song, The Fratellis revelled in not taking themselves too seriously and having a good time, which certainly rubbed off and endeared me, not too dissimilar to a certain Arctic Monkey. The band seemed to connect and translate to the crowd with their witty lyrics – a virtual bragging of all the amusing stories that have got them to the point they are now. The fans look up and see themselves up on the stage – and that is where the connection lies. Where with bands like The Strokes, you can look up to them for their sheer cool, with The Fratellis, you see them as your mates who you go out and get drunk with.

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