Frightened Rabbit (acoustic) & Gregory and the Hawk @ (Le) Poisson Rouge, NYC - pics & setlist

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Posted in music | pictures on February 4, 2009

Frightened Rabbit (acoustic) & Gregory and the Hawk @ (Le) Poisson Rouge, NYC - pics & setlist

words and photos by Jonny Leather

Frightened Rabbit

The Frightened Rabbit show at Le Poisson Rouge on Monday night (2/2) was a very special performance. With blank setlists at their feet, the Scottish quartet gave fans complete control over what they'd play. That was pretty obvious when "Backwards Walk" was the first song chosen, to which singer Scott Hutchinson questioned, "You really wanna start with 'Backwards Walk'?" It was an odd choice, and would have worked better later on, but the choose-your-own-adventure style set brought out a really fun, relaxed mood with the band, which was a fair trade for the complete lack of flow with the set. Normally a bit more rambunctious live, the set was toned down and acoustic, giving an extra feeling of intimacy to a song like "Poke." The best moments of the night came late as the packed crowd began singing along, especially on "Modern Leper" and "Keep Yourself Warm." People really like to sing along when one of the words is 'fucking'.

The most amazing thing about the set, which Hutchinson pointed out midway was the lack of requests for ridiculous/ironic covers. No one yelled "Freebird" until Hutchinson pointed out that no one had. And even after that moment, the one real cover request was the National's "Fake Empire" which the band played despite Hutchinson's reaction that he didn't know all the words to the song.

For an encore they played a cover of N-Trance's "Set You Free," which is featured on the second volume of the Guilt By Association compilation series. Scott Hutchinson's emotional Scottish wail even made this UK dance song seem deeply infused with pain and sorrow, in that same great way that makes his own songs so moving.

Fat Cat labelmates Gregory and the Hawk opened. Impeccably cute Singer/songwriter Meredith Godreau's sweet adorable voice was so soft it often drowned beneath the subtle guitars of the duo, sucking the crowd into a deep lull.

Later this month Gregory and the Hawk are playing three shows with Swirlies. That includes February 27th at Mercury Lounge (a show Takka Takka is also playing). More LPR pictures and the FR setlist below...

Gregory and the Hawk...

Gregory and the Hawk

Frightened Rabbit...

Frightened Rabbit

Frightened Rabbit Setlist:

Backwards Walk
The Twist
Old Old Fashioned
Square 9
Snake?
Fast Blood
Music Now
Poke
The Greys
I Feel Better
Good Arms vs. Bad Arms
Modern Leper
Heads Roll Off
Go-Go-Girls
Keep Yourself Warm
Be Less Rude
Fake Empire/Christmas Song
Floating in the Forth

Set You Free

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Tags: (le) poisson rouge, Frightened Rabbit, Gregory and the Hawk, Guilt by Association

Posted on February 4, 2009 12:38 PM

Comments (13)

amazing show, including Joe Pug (who played before Gregory and the Hawk).

Posted by anonymous | February 4, 2009 12:51 PM

Really good show, my first time getting to see them and I was impressed.

Posted by tremags | February 4, 2009 1:21 PM

was there anyone taping this?

Posted by Anonymous | February 4, 2009 1:41 PM

any videos of the fake empire cover?

Posted by Anonymous | February 4, 2009 2:37 PM

the crowd was terrible for gregory and the hawk. "sucking the crowd into a deep lull" is horribly inaccurate - it was seriously impossible at times to hear her because people were talking so much. meredith probably noticed that herself, and i'm inclined to think that the reason she left the stage so suddenly after her last song (no "this is our last song" or "thanks" or anything) was because the crowd was so disrespectful.

too bad though - she was fantastic, and really adorable as always.

frightened rabbit was great though - really good bunch of guys, and a lot of fun.

Posted by Jason | February 4, 2009 3:09 PM

frightened rabbit was fantastic. Show was really great, and special. I thought gregory and the hawk was really terrible, and yes, the audience was loud for their set, but as an opener for FR, I much preferred whoever it was a few weeks ago at Bowery Ballroom.

Posted by baby genius | February 4, 2009 3:41 PM

Jason,
i was all the way up front, and the crowd in my area wasn't overly talkative, but i could definitely hear plenty of chatter in the room.

that said, her voice is so soft and was mixed so low, it made it tough to make out her vocals anyway.

and you're totally right about the abrupt end to their set. it was pretty awkward.

Posted by Jonny Leather | February 4, 2009 3:50 PM

@ Anon 2:37: Click on my profile and you'll see my blog. I posted a short clip of "Fake Empire" that I took at the show.

Posted by tremags | February 4, 2009 3:51 PM

it looks hot as hell in there

Posted by Anonymous | February 4, 2009 6:55 PM

what about Joe Pug? I thought his set was way better than Gregory and The Hawk. first time I ever really paid attention to an opening band. astounding.

Posted by anonymous | February 4, 2009 8:33 PM

Hi,

I filmed this show. I'm uploading the videos now but 2 songs are live so far:
http://www.vimeo.com/3086375

I will indeed upload the Fake Empire cover.

Cheers,
Ray

Posted by Ray Concepcion | February 4, 2009 9:56 PM

great show, esp the fake empire cover. agreed that Joe Pug was a highlight. tough room for a solo acoustic but anyone who wasn't talking back by the bar was pretty blown away.

Posted by Pete Farber | February 6, 2009 11:27 AM

The video for Fake Empire / It's Christmas So We'll stop:

http://www.vimeo.com/3153346

Posted by Ray Concepcion | February 10, 2009 8:10 AM