FAIRY BOY AT THE CROFTERS RIGHTS 12/01/2020

By Jace Hawker

FAIRY BOY 12/01/2020

With the excitement of Christmas and New Year over and the tedious routine of the every day starting to creep back in, a Sunday night rock show is exactly what everyone who filled the back room of The Crofters Rights seemed to need last weekend. Nursing my hangover, I took my place in the crowd, not knowing what to expect after the months of online hype for FAIRY BOY and support. My Grandad always told me the only true hangover cure was an ace gig, and as it turns out he was absolutely right.

In their signature black-eyed-pale-faced get up, Frankie Delta and band kick start the evening. Their songs are all politically-charged, drenched in emotion and oozing with the tell-tale grunge sound that Bristol is starting to recognise as Frankie’s own. Having seen them rock out at the BIMM live shows many times, a full set is a treat. Even including a fuzz-pedal-heavy take on a Taylor Swift record, there is something for everyone from the opening act and the crowds enthusiastic reception of the set reflects that.

Boasting six talented members, FAIRY BOY live has an energy that is hard to capture in words alone. Their hard work towards this gig is displayed through the undeniably tight performance, the anthem-like songwriting style includes catchy hooks, charmingly melodic lead lines and sing-along sections. Freddie’s powerful delivery of the emotional ‘Paracetamol’ is my personal highlight, the lyric ‘I need an emotional condom’ is greeted with laughter, cheers and solemn nods of agreement from the crowd. The songwriting is mature and each tracks meaning is conveyed perfectly as the night goes on. The band are relevant, bursting with energy and undoubtedly passionate.

They spoiled us with a lot of new material as well as revisiting the classics we recognise from their appearances at BIMM’s live shows over the past two years. Each new pop-rock banger keeps the packed out room dancing and engaged: these guys certainly know how to put on a show. Proudly repping his own Merch, Freddie bashes out ‘Pieces Of Me’ which details the stages of healing after a breakup and then ‘Assigned Fuck You at Birth’, a heavier track dripping in fuzz-pedals and chaotic energy which discusses showcasing what’s different about yourself and ‘getting up on a stage and expressing your uniqueness’. Dedicating an acoustic track to his sister makes for a beautiful break in the set as the band sit backstage and watch, they seem just as enthralled as the audience at their talent and the use of just vocals and acoustic guitar gives space for the raw brilliance of the songwriting to shine through.

Re-emerging in a tutu to perform ‘Fairytale’, we know the night is heating up! The final few songs see everyone dancing under the pale blue lights and embracing the electric atmosphere. The band sign off with an encore of ‘Germany’ and are met with a solid two minutes of applause from the ecstatic crowd.

Sorry, indie boys in painfully predictable bands, we are mugging you off for a new generation of artists: inclusive of everyone and shouting about the issues that matter to them.