Sunday began what I like to call my Day of Fratellis. I was going to have the opportunity to see these Scottish lads twice in one day and I couldn’t wait. The first performance was an in-store at The Electric Fetus in Minneapolis. It was an acoustic set, which to me generally confirms whether or not there is any talent in the artist. The Fratellis started off their set 20 minutes late, and there was a growing crowd along the edges of the raised stage and back into the aisles of The Fetus. It was the biggest crowd I’d ever seen there for an in-store performance, and was mostly made up of teenage girls squealing for their new favorite band. Even though the album dropped in the US early this spring, I still feel a bit of a heart skip when I listen to the poppy tempos and ridiculous lyrics.

The Fratellis - Photo by Stacy Schwartz

The Fratellis are upbeat, and by their music you expect their show to be three guys bouncing around the stage, yelling into mics, running into each other and thrusting their fists into the air—all with the crowd in front of them going insane and creating a hole in the Varsity’s floor by swirling about. The feeling was there, but few of those activities actually occurred. The majority of the set found lead singer Jon Fratelli standing at his mic on one side of the stage, bassist Barry Fratelli on the other and drummer Mince Fratelli was stuck in the back. It would be nice if they would move Mince a bit closer to the audience as the space betweenJon and Barry was quite great and made the show seem a bit less involved than it could have. 

The Fratellis - Photo by Stacy Schwartz

That’s not to say that this wasn’t a phenomenal show. The Fratellis sang the majority of their album, Costello Music, as well as two new songs. They also sang “Cigarello,” a track only included on the US version of the CD. The end of the night was the best part, as it should be. The boys broke out my favorite song “Creepin’ Up the Backstairs” as the crowd finally realized it was okay to move a bit and began spastically jumping along to the beat. Most of the crowd seemed to know each song, and that made it loads of fun during songs like “Chelsea Dagger” when there are lots of “da-da-das” to get the crowd whipped up and singing along. At times, it was a bit like karaoke with the band providing the music and the crowd providing the vocals—it was wonderful. 

The Fratellis remain the epitome of brit-pop that some call “sell-out” music because the majority of the people who hear them like them (god forbid), and after all, they were in an iPod commercial. Regardless of what you think of musicians who allow their music to be used by large corporations (I love you Apple!), The Fratellis have the power to be around for a long time by continuing to create hooks that entice even the most fickle of music lovers. 

Set List from The Electric Fetus:
Ole Black ‘n’ Blue Eyes
Flathead
Vince the Lovable Stoner
Whistle for the Choir
Chelsea Dagger

Set List from The Varsity:                                       
Baby Fratelli
Everybody Knows (You Cried Last Night)
The Pimp
Vince the Lovable Stoner
Whistle for the Choir
Flathead
Doginabag
For the Girl (acoustic)
Cuntry Boys & City girls
Pretty Like a Girl
Henrietta
Ole Black ‘n’ Blue Eyes
Got My Nuts From a Hippy
_______________________
Johnny Come Last (acoustic)
Creeping Up the Backstairs
Chelsea Dagger