TEENAGE FANCLUB + FRØKEDAL & FAMILIEN – CHALK, BRIGHTON 16.4.22
The very concept of an indie band being ‘veterans’ still seems a bit strange to me, but thirty-two years after the release of their debut album ‘A Catholic Education’, that is precisely what Teenage Fanclub are. Moreover, in 2018 they suffered a cataclysmic change to their line-up when bassist and vocalist Gerard Love announced his departure after twenty-nine years. This was due to the bassist’s reluctance to frequently fly around the world on tour. Apparently his departure was seen by bandmates Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley as something of a betrayal. Tonight the Fannies play none of Gerard Love’s songs, but whether this is a deliberate act or not is a matter for conjecture.
On a more positive note, Gerard Love’s departure gave the band the opportunity to revamp their line-up. Dave McGowan who had played keyboards since 2004 moved over to bass, and former Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci leader Euros Childs joined on keyboards and vocals. With his input to the band’s harmonies, he is more of a direct replacement for Love than McGowan is.
Support tonight at Chalk in Brighton comes from Frøkedal & Familien, which is a vehicle for the songs of Anne Lise Frøkedal, a folk-rock singer-songwriter. As well as Anne Lise on guitar and vocals, the band consists of a keyboard player, another guitarist, and a fiddle player. The rhythmic quality of Anne Lise’s guitar playing obviates the need for a drummer. The other guitarist plays an amped-up distorted acoustic, upon which he solos quite demonically. They have one song that was apparently influenced by black metal, not that I could tell. I listened carefully for references to Norwegian churches being burnt down, but couldn’t hear any. Joking aside, this is an impressive band who I’d definitely see again.
Teenage Fanclub are subject to a 10pm curfew tonight, so when they take the stage they tell us that they are going to play some songs from their new album ‘Endless Arcade’, and waste no time in doing precisely that, commencing with album opener ‘Home’. Tonight is the first time that I’ve seen this particular line-up of the band, and I’m immediately impressed. I suppose the most telling sign of how good this new line-up is, is that they sound pretty much the same as the old line-up, which I suppose has been the intention.
When they commenced with track one of the new album, I was concerned that we were going to get a goodly chunk of new songs in one chunk, but this proved not to be the case when the second song played was ‘About You’, from 1995’s ‘Grand Prix’. We end up getting four songs from the new album (‘Back In The Day’ being one of the encores) whilst the rest of the set represents a pleasant tour through the band’s back catalogue.
Norman Blake is on top form throughout: chaperoning the newer members of the band with a grin or a wink. He keeps the chat to a minimum as he is mindful of the curfew, but being a sociable chap he clearly finds this difficult! The harmonies are superb, and everyone participates in them apart from bassist Dave McGowan. Raymond McGinley’s lead playing is absolutely searing throughout.
The set almost has too many highlights. They’re not afraid to play some deep cuts either, a prime example being ‘Did I Say’ which was recorded specifically for 2003 compilation ‘Four Thousand Seven Hundred And Sixty Seconds – A Short Cut To Teenage Fanclub’. There are a surprising number of songs from 1991 album ‘Bandwagonesque’ too, with ‘Alcoholiday’, ‘What You Do To Me’ and ‘The Concept’ (which closes the main set) all getting an airing. For the encores we get ‘Back In The Day’ from the new album, also ‘Middle Of The Road’ which was quite inexplicably left off the new album, and their wonderful debut single ‘Everything Flows’, which is an awesome end to an awesome gig.
There are those who may have thought that Teenage Fanclub would have difficulty carrying on without Gerard Love. The band themselves may also have thought that, but if they did it doesn’t show. I would hesitate to say that Mr Love isn’t missed, but the band sound in no way hobbled due to his absence, and that’s very good news.
Teenage Fanclub setlist:
‘Home’
‘About You’
‘Start Again’
‘Alcoholiday’
‘It’s A Bad World’
‘Did I Say’
‘Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From’
‘The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’
‘Everything Is Falling Apart’
‘What You Do To Me’
‘Only With You’
‘I Don’t Want Control Of You’
‘I’m In Love’
‘My Uptight Life’
‘The Concept’
(encore)
‘Back In the Day’
‘Middle Of The Road’
‘Everything Flows’
For more information visit Teenage Fanclub visit www.teenagefanclub.com.
