For charity, the DJs of Dutch radio station 3FM locked themselves up in a glass house for a couple of days while starving themselves, and you could make a small donation and request a song. One of the most, if not the most, requested song was "Chelsea Dagger" by The Fratellis, causing a gigantic hype around the band. Luckily, the Fratellis were going to play three concerts in Holland, one in Het Patronaat, one in Doornroosje, and one in De Melkweg, the latter being in Amsterdam. The latter was the first date known, but the last date they would play, and the one where I would be present.Reports from the earlier shows talked about Chelsea Dagger fans, and not Fratellis fans. In other words, they were standing around until Chelsea Dagger would set in, and then the crowd would go bananas. So I was kind of worried that the hype around the band would also have a negative effect.Luckily, the Amsterdam crowd is one of the hippest crowds around, and they didn't disappoint this time. In a small and sold out room, I actually recognized some faces of people I swear I had seen while attending previous gigs in Amsterdam. And those young but experienced concert goers, that's a good crowd to have.The supporting act was a Dutch act, and I didn't like it very much as a concert, thinking it would be more appropiate for a club setting or so. Then the Fratellis came, opening frantically with Henrietta. You thought they couldn't play faster than they did on the record? Well, you're wrong, and this concert was the evidence.They rocked quite hard, harder than on the record, and I think that wasn't a plus this time. The songs are ideal to bring with a bit of theatrics and acting, but they would have none of that and Jon Fratelli even added a couple of rock guitar solos to the mix. it's too bad really, because if you look at the clips and the lyrics, you'd think they would add a bit more fun and theatrics to it, instead of all-out rock.And all-out rock isn't bad, although "Whistle for the Choir" suffered some, but it could've been more fun, imho. Maybe the record is too good, and then it suffers a tad live.With that said, it was a good concert, because at least they knew how to rock, and they have good tunes, which always helps. Stand outs were "Baby Fratelli" and the slower (and in contrast with Whistle for the Choir, played without any rock bits) "Ole Black 'n Blue Eyes". When Chelsea Dagger set in the crowd went bananas, but luckily most of the songs could count on jumping around and raised hands.They closed the set with a rock version of Goldfrapp's "Ooh la la", ending a good gig.As said, I personally would've preferred a bit more theatrics, as the songs are ideal for it and they really would distinct themselves from all the other rock bands. But even though they didn't, they are better than most of those other rock bands, because they can rock, and certainly have some addictive tunes. A good concert.It ended not so great though, because I had put my luggage in a locker at the train station, and whereas on any other train station in The Netherlands you can access your luggage at any time, you can't in Amsterdam, so when I arrived at the train station to take the train back, the section with the lockers was closed 5 minutes earlier... Minor setback after a good gig.Although this wasn't the gig in De Melkweg, 3voor12.nl has put up the gig they played in Het Patronaat sans opener "Henrietta", something with Jon's strings that caused the song to go awry I believe it was. Nevertheless, you can listen to 95% of the concert, so enjoy!http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/32955604
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