Saturday 14/10/06 The Fratellis, The View @ Brixton Academy, London

The Xfm Big Night Out events at Brixton Academy have been a huge success over the last couple of years and thankfully tonight’s line up far from disappoints. Two of the most hyped new bands to emerge from Scotland this year are here to rip it up, The View and The Fratellis. Brixton is suitably rammed tonight with a buzzing young crowd who are dancing all over the place, not just because the first band Milburn have just come on, but because slap bang in the middle of the foyer is a DJ booth. Inspired. Even the coat queue is bouncing.

Just after ten a large crowd converge on the main room to catch the unlikely looking Dundee lads The View. Their youth isn’t evident in nerves or their sound, which is energetic and exuding in confidence from the offset. They are obviously enjoying themselves and this translates to the audience who eagerly anticipate ‘Wasted Little DJs’, which is of course worth waiting for. It’s an amazing track and even more so live but a translator might be needed for this London crowd who attempt to sing along all the same. The set ends with the new single ‘Superstar Tradesman’ which with its catchy chorus gets a fantastic reception. These boys from Dundee are truly set for big things.

Sandwiching the two main stage acts is a DJ set by Alex Zane in the foyer. Sporting a vest and a trilby, the Pop World presenter has attracted a large mob, mostly female of course.  He plays a faithful Xfm mix of classic and new tracks including ‘Charmless Man’, ‘Debaser’ and the obligatory ‘Mr Brightside.’ One girl even climbs up onto the decks and takes a perch for a while. It doesn’t seem to go down too badly.

Later those Editors start flexing their DJ skills, but it’s more tempting to grab a good spot for the next band onto the main stage, The Fratellis. This trio from Glasgow have had a whirlwind year and toured so relentlessly they could be forgiven for being on autopilot tonight. Thankfully they’re not. As they step onto the stage they are greeting with a roar of appreciation and launch into a set that is light on conversation, but big on stomping tunes. With no introduction or fuss they start playing ‘Chelsea Dagger’ and it is a moment before the crowd cottons on, but when they do it all goes pretty crazy with the entire main room jumping around and singing “Na na na… na na na… na na na na na na na…”. It’s no wonder this track has had so much airplay, it’s undoubtedly an anthem, and as Jon with his mad shock of curly hair grins broadly out into the academy, you can tell that its not only the people who have bought the tickets who are having a great night.

As the clock approaches 3am Gigwise takes the weight off and gets chatting to one bloke who has been to every one of these events since they began and he “will never miss one in the future because the bands are always so good”. This pretty much puts the seal of approval on a fantastic night. So as the final sets are finishing up and a satisfied and danced-out crowd head home, all we can do is look forward to another Xfm Big Night Out very soon.