27th Feb 2007 - Another day, another year older

As the title suggests, today is (well was, given that it's now Thursday) my birthday, 32 before you ask!, and what better way to enjoy it than to see The Fratellis live.
The gig was at the Carling Academy in Birmingham and after picking Scott up at 4:30 we made our way down there. It was a relatively easy place to get to with the Londonderry House NCP car park literally just around the corner from the Academy and so by 6pm we were having a pint (or two) in Scruffy Murphys which was about 200 yards away.
Eager Frats fans were already queuing to get into the Academy at 6 even though the doors weren't open for another hour. We took our place in the queue at around 5 minutes to 7 and were tempted by the 'buy a drink at the Academy Bar and get your ticket stamped to queue jump into the gig' promotion. Unfortunately the queue to get served in the bar was bigger than the one to get in the gig and so we left and rejoined the gig queue once more!

It wasn't long before we were in though and I was a little suprised at the type of venue it was. I now realised how I managed to get standing tickets.... there were no seats! You have to bear in mind at this point I have only ever been one gig before and that was to see Kasabian (+ the Fratellis) at the MEN Arena and so thought that all gigs were similar. Scott told me that this was the more typical gig setting, likening it to Stokes Sugarmill albeit slightly larger. Not that I was complaining mind as it all felt a lot more up close and personal than the MEN event (I could actually make out faces on the stage this time!!).

After an hour or so of getting in the support act, The Enemy, came onto the stage. I'd read bits and bobs about these guys, some good..some bad, but overall I thought they were fairly alright. They sound a little like a Babyshambles/Arctic Monkeys cross and I can't say that any of their songs really stuck in my head. The only one of their set list that I recognized is their next single, It's Not Ok, which I've heard on the radio a couple of times. You can check it out here .

The Enemy we on for around half an hour and once they had finished we were treated to a montage of 'Mon The Fratellis' pictures which had been put together by fans on the official forum. This seemed to go on forever and it started to repeat before finally, at around 9ish, The Fratellis made their way onto the stage.
After the usual "Ladies & Gentlemen, we're The Fratellis" they kicked straight into their first single, and album opener, Henrietta. After that you knew it was going to be a good night and so it was as they played all the album songs plus B-Sides: Nina & The Pimp. Baby Fratelli absolutely rocked live and I dare say that that sent the crowd even wilder than Chelsea Dagger did although it was mighty close given that the crowd were already very excitable after an amazing sing-a-long to Whistle For The Choir! After finishing with Got Ma Nuts From A Hippy, Jon eventually came back on stage for the encore. As he picked up the acoustic guitar he said he normally plays For The Girl but tonight he "couldn't be arsed" and preceded to play Cigarello (which is also a great song). Less than half a verse in and he switched it to the more crowd familiar La La La's of For The Girl which he then sang the whole song to. Barry and Mince re-entered the stage for the final two songs the last of which was the Goldfrapp cover - Ooh La La which the Fratellis did as a cover on Radio 1's Live Lounge and have now made their own as a gig ender.

The Setlist:

• Henrietta
• Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night
• The Pimp
• Flathead
• Vince The Lovable Stoner
• Doginabag
• Creepin Up The Backstairs
• Pretty Like A Girl, Filthy Like A Boy
• Nina
• Ole Black and Blue Eyes
• Baby Fratelli
• Whistle For The Choir
• Chelsea Dagger
• Got Ma Nuts From A Hippy
• For The Girls (Acoustic)
• Cuntry Boys & City Girls
• Ooh La La
  

Although the set didn't last that long (we were out for just after 10) it's nothing but pure energy with their catchy riffs and sing-a-long choruses that had everybody in there rocking along. I'd lost my voice by the end of the night but it was worth every piece of my vocal chord in doing so.

Scott and I decided that a good way to end the night would be to find a curry house in Birmingham and grab something to eat. After walking up and down the entire city centre it seems that there is not an Indian to be found anywhere. This is in stark contrast to our local city centre, Hanley, where you can't walk more than 50 yards without having your nasal cavities bomarded by the smell of Bombay!!
So, back to car and a drive back along the A34 towards Walsall where there was bound to be some restaurants open, we eventually came across the 'Basmati' about two miles outside Walsall. This was after, despite being told by Scott to *stay* on the A34 I managed to come off it by accident not once but twice and ended up having to backtrack around unfamiliar territory to get back on it again (my navigational skills are somewhat lacking outside of Stoke-on-Trent!!). Anyway, we eventually got our curry, which was very enjoyable and all that matters (:p), and made the trek back home which had us arriving back at around 1am.

All in all a very enjoyable birthday and all that's left for us to do now is to figure out which gig we're going to next ;)