Its all about the singsongs.
It wasn't the hardest thing to predict but the first night of the Fratellis homecoming Barrowlands shows was packed to the rafters with the crowd at a fever pitch long before the threesome made the stage. Just in case, the ante had to be upped anymore, a saltire and lion rampant were clearly visible over the amps, ramming home the fact that these were local boys made good. Its scary to think of how quickly the rise of The Fratellis has come about and with a support slot on next months Kasabian tour, there still looks to be further upward spirals to come.
Probably sensing that there was no point in messing about or wasting time, the first song of the night was 'Creeping up the backstairs', and although the lyrics may rattle by at breakneck speed, every word was hollered back to the band and chaos ensued on the infamous Barrowlands ballroom floor. Showcasing drummer Mince's skills from the off, the initial part of the show barely paused for breath and rattled by rather quickly in a haze.
With 'Whistle for the choir', things took a more sedate turn as the mobile phones came out and the crowd had their sway-along moment. In terms of development for the band, its been an important single, highlighting that there is more to them than the bluster shown on the other singles, and for its restrained charm and wistful melody, was an evident highlight of the evening.
However, there was no fear of the rest of the show maintaining that easy going pace and 'Henrietta' had the venue jumping and falling with vigour and bounce. For all its melodic brilliance, its place on the night, as well as its overall placing in the charts, was eclipsed by the pop juggernaut that is 'Chelsea Dagger.'
With an instrumental hook and sing-along that was made for the football terraces and the playgrounds, the crowd took this track over, bringing a touch of community to the tale of sleazy women and the gentleman that associate with them. With the chanting continuing long throughout the night, even onto the trains out of Glasgow, there was no doubt what the main song of the night was for the fans.
The encore started with Jon Fratelli strumming along to 'For the girl', which again had the crowd hollering but the final track of the night was a cover, but what a track. On first release, Goldfrapp's 'Ooh la la' bore a noteable resemblance to T-Rex but played here by the band, the similarities were monumental, as the band bridged the gap between glam-rock and electro sleaze.
2006 was a year that belonged to The Fratellis and the Barrowlands crowd was only to pleased in the good times had by the band.