Live Review: Fat White Family At Whelan's

Wearing a baggy, crumpled grey suit, Fat White Family's frontman Lias Saoudi limped on stage with the aid of a crutch. He shuffled with a wary expression on his face, resembling a Beckett character. Within the first two minutes, a white keyboard had crashed to the ground, countless pints were spilled over anyone near the front and the singer had vaulted himself into the crowd.

"Let's turn the lights down a bit," Lias requested. By the second track, the frontman's shirt was off, revealing a small black heart tattoo on his chest. He was magnetic. You couldn't take your eyes off him. He prowled around the stage, with slightly glazed eyes, belting out 'Auto Neutron' and 'Whitest Boy On The Beach'.

Fat White Family sounded sensational, producing a psychedelic cacophony of raw guitar wailing, pounding drums and banshee-like, shrieking keyboards. They are unpolished but totally hypnotic. This gig couldn't have happened at any other venue, it had to be Whelan's. There had to be no boundaries between the audience and the band.

"If you keep fucking our shit up, we can't play," Lias announced. "Calm down." Speakers were flipped and tossed across the floor, as the audience was heaved forwards and backwards, slamming into the front of the stage. The stage floor resembled a shallow paddling pool. A variation of beer, phlegm and sweat, played havoc with the electronics, as guitars and pedals routinely broke during the sixty minute set. It was pure unadulterated madness.

As he cradled a can of Guinness, while draping the microphone over his shoulder, a fan handed the singer a plastic container, filled halfway with a very dubious looking yellow substance. "This doesn't look very good," he said discarding the gift.

The last song of the night was a fevered, frenetic performance. Lias hoisted a member of the support band Shame on stage, tore his shirt off and began to gently wrestle him. Bodies flew in all directions, as the band played faster and faster. It was bedlam. It was unpredictable. It was insanely, brilliantly entertaining.

This is a band at the tipping point, with all the ingredients to succeed.

Check out Kathrin Baumbach's phenomenal photos of Fat White Family at Whelan's here.

Ed Murphy