Frightened Rabbit is the kind of band that you go to see repeatedly because they fulfill your every expectation. They always come through, and occasionally they even surprise you. They're kind of like your thickly accented, but reliable Scottish buds.
Elated and some-what awe-struck by the fact that they were playing at the illustrious Fillmore, Hutchison (Scott, lead vocals) jammed every hit tune to near perfection (including one in particular inspired by the Olsen Twins). You could tell they were really putting out the extra effort to impress. Visuals were on point, and every member was genuinely engaged, and having a great time. Lots of fan interaction, and the extremely eclectic crowd ranged from the middle-aged, to the very under-aged. There was an insane amount of fist pumping, crowd jumping, attempted crowd surfing, and even a shirtless boy wonder atop someone's shoulders. We were unaware that Frightened Rabbit was a rip your shirt off kinda show, but hey, at least he was enjoying himself.
Not to be discounted were Frightened Rabbit's openers, Maps & Atlases. Barsuk Records' latest addition, this Chicago-bred tech-rock band had some pretty impressive features, and we're not just talking about their epic beards. Equally experimental and classic, the four fellas have rocked festies from SXSW to CMJ and toured with big-timers RX Bandits, Minus The Bear, and Portugal. The Man just to name a few. While their latest album Perch Patchwork has been on office repeat, nothing really compares to their talent live. Grinding through each technically-evolved song, the unusual vocal style and heavy folk influences blended seamlessly on the big stage. Since they're so keen on big festies and rad tours, we're hoping they'll pop back up at Outside Lands or Treasure Island (crossing fingers!).
