CONCERT REVIEW: The Fratellis at World Cafe Live

By: Blake Jarvis

Every few years, there seems to be an artist that comes out of nowhere, takes the populace by storm with their relevance, promise, and potential, but just as quickly fade back into obscurity. Whether you are a fan or not, The Fratellis are a Scottish rock band that experienced this unfortunate phenomena around the mid-2000s. If you claim you have never heard of the band before, it’s almost a given that you have heard their drinking-song hit “Chelsea Dagger” from a plethora of beer commercials (you can hear the track below). After the tremendous acclaim and attention they received from the band’s debut album Costello Music, they released a follow up soon after titled Here We Stand, which was as mediocre an album as they come. The defeat of the album coupled with bitter relations between band members forced the group to split apart. Now in 2013 alone, The Fratellis have released a new album under the moniker We Need Medicine! And have been selling out venues all across the US and Europe. Last Monday evening they played at the local loved World Café Live! and delivered a friendly, intimate show. With a bare bones set up and only three members on stage not including the touring keyboardist, it felt more like a show at a friend’s house than an actual concert, in a good way. The crowd sang and chanted along to fan favorites like “Baby Fratelli”, “Whistle for the Choir”, and “Flathead”. Even some of the band’s new songs assumed a new sense of life when performed live, such as “Seven Nights, Seven Days” and “She’s Not Gone Let but She’s Leaving”. It was a show centered on the company of good friends and reminiscing together on fond memories. Friends and strangers alike swung arms around one another, drink in hand, as the basement stage area turned into everyone’s favorite local bar. The music of The Fratellis is about, for a moment, leaving all your baggage at the door and having a good time, and that’s exactly what the band did that evening.