I still remember the joy of discovering The Fratellis and their debut album Costello Music back in 2006, when I was only 15 years old. They had the pub-rock formula down to pact, with plenty of memorable jams coming out one after another.
Although I wasn’t as favorable on their follow-up Here We Stand, I was still sad to see them break up after its release, mainly because I never got to see them live. I thought I never would, until they announced this year that they had gotten back together with a new album called We Need Medicine.
On Friday night they stopped by Webster Hall to make their return to not only NYC, but to the U.S. I was glad to finally get to see them, and they didn’t disappoint. Their set was a healthy 105 minutes, consisting of many new songs, but many classics as well. We got “Flathead”, “Vince The Loveable Stoner”, “Henrietta”, “Whistle for The Choir”, “Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night”, “Got Ma Nuts From A Haippy”, “Baby Fratelli” and of course, “Chelsea Dagger.” The latter of which was the highlight of the night, and lived up to its reputation as a stadium anthem thriller, as literally everyone on the floor was jumping up and down, fist in the air. It was an awesome thing to experience.
Based on how long the set was, and that they already broke up once, this could very well be a farewell tour of sorts. I spoke to Jon Fratelli in an interview, and although he didn’t outright say that, I didn’t get the idea that they necessarily have long term plans. If that’s so, I’m just happy I finally got to see them perform. It was a good old rock and roll show that was a damn good time.
Check out more photos from their set below.
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