A sold-out Chicago crowd crammed into the Metro on Saturday night, escaping the unseasonably cold even for Chicago weather to experience one of indie’s up and coming acts, Frightened Rabbit. While the band are hardly rookies, they’ve been together for over 6 years and have 3 albums to their credit, they’re only now beginning to hit their stride and gain some exposure. The masters of the heartbreak anthem, as described by Jim Derogatis, the band plowed through a 75-minute set that featured some of the band’s most popular songs, from “Old, Old Fashioned,” “The Twist,” and closer “Keep Yourself Warm” and mixed in new favorites from their new disc “The Winter of Mixed Drinks,” such as “Living in Colour” and “Swim Until You Can’t See Land.” New songs and old songs drew the same responses throughout the night, 1,100 people fist pumping, jumping, and singing along to everything the band performed.
So how does this happen to a band that has zero radio hits, a band that has been relatively obscure throughout their existence, to play a sold-out show at one of Chicago’s best known venues? A lotta fucking hard work. This is a band that tours relentlessly. In the last 2 years alone, the band released an album, toured in support of it, wrote and released ANOTHER album, and are currently out in support of that album. That’s a lot of work within 2 years. They’re gaining their fame and success the old fashioned way, by going out on the road and making it themselves. They’re not whoring themselves out, waiting for that one song to make it on the radio and ride that wave of success. No, they’re going to whatever venue will let them showcase their skills for 75 minutes and delivering one helluva performance that have concertgoers clinging to everything they do. Their drummer alone is worth the price of admission, just to see him sitting back there sweat flying, screaming all the lyrics and banging away like a madman, driving the beat for each song.
Be sure to catch these guys if you can. They’ve put together a string of sold-out shows and are hitting the festival circuit this summer. It’s probably only a matter of time before they graduate from small clubs for $20 to larger venues and charging double that.
PD
Setlist
Skip the Youth
The Modern Leper
Old, Old Fashioned
The Loneliness and the Scream
The Wrestle
The Twist
Swim Until You Can’t See Land
FootShooter
My Backwards Walk
Nothing Like You
Heads Roll Off
Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms
Encore
Poke
Living In Colour
Keep Yourself Warm
