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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

Gregory and the Hawk

Gregory and the Hawk

Gregory and the Hawk

Gregory and the Hawk

Gregory and the Hawk

Gregory and the Hawk

Frightened Rabbit…

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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