TEENAGE FANCLUB & FRØKEDAL AND FAMILIEN / BLACK WATER COUNTY
When one finally gets to see a band after somehow always missing them for years and years, circumstances can conspire to make it, well, a bit of a let-down. Not bad, nowhere near bad, just not as amazing as expected. Tonight’s show from one such occasion.
First up, we had Oslo, Norway’s FRØKEDAL AND FAMILIEN, AKA folk-pop singer-songwriter Anne LiseFrøkedal and band. This was a new name on me but Frøkedal herself was a member of Harry’s Gym and I Was A King and has released three albums under her own name. She sings and plays electric guitar whilst her three familien provide keys, acoustic guitar, violin/percussion and harmony vox. Despite being drum free, this reminds me of the quieter side of Of Monsters & Men and Frances McKee’s work outside of The Vaselines. There’s also something of Lau about it. The playing was beguiling, Frøkedal’s songs are charming and I leave with a copy of latest album Flora under my arm.
Now to TEENAGE FANCLUB. I’ll admit it, I was late to the party. I was a casual listener rather than a fan until 2021’s Endless Arcade album landed on my turntable. I liked but wasn’t blown away by the early releases. Endless Arcade changed that and forced me to re-evaluate the back catalogue. Yep, I’ll admit I was wrong. All of their releases are stuffed full of bona fide classics. From the audience joy at the older numbers and the polite indifference from some – by no means all - that met the newer stuff, I suspect not everyone here was on the same wavelength.
Teenage Fanclub delivered everything I expected. Lush harmonies. A band playing at the top of their collective game. Some glorious guitar work. Some amazing songs. Newies Home and Endless Arcade, along with older tunes like Alcoholiday, were cracking. By ten songs in to the main set, however, my mind was wondering. As good as it all was, it just wasn’t grabbing my attention and I was feeling underwhelmed.
A sojourn to the smoking area/beer garden for a breather and a reset was scuppered by the Waterfront’s license requiring the doors to be closed. A quick trip upstairs to the Studio and the last two songs of BLACK WATER COUNTY’s set ensued. Oh. My. Days! I may only have caught two songs but the riotous cowpunkbluegrass thrash was just the energy boost I needed. By heck, I need to catch more of Black Water Country as soon as I can.
Back downstairs and the Fannies were closing with a cracking take on The Concept. Of course, an encore followed and The Fall, I Left a Light On, Can't Feel My Soul and particularly Everything Flows received a rapturous response.
I don’t know why this left me feeling a touch hollow and disappointed. Maybe it was how brilliant The Lovely Eggs were last night. Maybe it was missing Big|Brave at NAC. Maybe it was going to too many gigs in too short a period. Maybe it is just me being tired and grumpy. Whatever, I still love Teenage Fanclub’s music. I will try to see them again. I just wish that this had grabbed me more than it did.
