Review: Frightened Rabbit

Less than a week after the release of hotly anticipated new album Pedestrian Verse, Frightened Rabbit delivered a grand performance at the Waterfront, kicking off their UK tour in style.

Washington Irving, Scottish electronic-folk quintet, got the night off to a great start considering the sparseness of the crowd early in the set. The group seemed to be having a great time on stage and this certainly rubbed off on their ever-growing audience. It always feels refreshing to watch a band play great music without taking themselves too seriously.

Second support act, Canadian indie rock outfit Wintersleep, were clearly going for a different effect. The almost melancholy vibe perfectly suited the haunting vocals of frontman Paul Murphy. Both support acts were totally in keeping with what would be expected and managed to conjure up a pretty decent atmosphere.

By the time Frightened Rabbit took to the stage the crowd had bulked out considerably, although the event wasn’t sold out. Opening their set with new song ‘Holy’ was a bold move, but it worked brilliantly, with the crowd won over early on.

It would seem us Frightened Rabbit fans are pretty swift lyric-learners: the reception of the tracks from Pedestrian Verse was far better than expected, with those unfamiliar with the newest material unable to escape the catchiness of the beat and the urge to dance (or awkwardly jig).

And dancing – usually a rare treat at gigs held in such small venues – was actively encouraged by frontman Scott Hutchison during crowd-pleaser Old Old Fashioned. The absence of hormonal fourteen year-olds ‘moshing’ (or meekly pushing each other about to express their teenage angst) made for a pretty pleasant atmosphere. The crowd was so polite my gig-elbows went unneeded for the entire show.

Old favourites Leper and Swim Until You Can’t See Land made an appearance for the encore, and the closing of the show with new track Acts of Man was a risk that paid off with its big, anthemic chorus which sounded great live.

Good-natured crowd, awesome music – but with something missing. Perhaps a little more playfulness would have been nice, a cheeky cover or two. Though on the whole Frightened Rabbit put on a great show, it felt a little tame.