Fruit Bats

Saturday 19th August. Fruit Bats. Oslo, Hackney. It’s Saturday night in Hipster Ville and after a disappointing Arsenal result we take solace in the fact we are seeing the mighty fine Fruit Bats who came right back on form last year with the excellent ‘Absolute Loser’.

It’s been nearly six long years since Eric D Johnson and chums last graced these shores and that’s six years too long. Thanks again to the Green Man festival this date has been thrown in for us. Rewind 6 years and I remember a short and sweet set that night in Hoxton. Tonight it’s an early start due to the usual Saturday night disco afterwards

It’s a reasonable but not full crowd tonight but given the long absence from England that’s not too surprising. What we lack in numbers we make up for in enthusiasm and noise and every song is greeted with whoops and hollers.

It’s a beautiful stylistic blend of rock, psychedelia, country and pop and Johnson’s unique voice suits them all. He is ably supported tonight with a full band who provide the perfect backing to Johnson’s lead. The interplay between the guitars is good and the keyboardist provides subtle harmonies throughout.

The set is predominantly from the last three albums but thankfully there is space for ‘When you Love somebody’ from my favourite Fruit Bats album ‘Mouthfuls’. The pace of tonight’s set is judged perfectly moving between foot stompers like ‘Humbug Mountain Song’ and ‘Dolly’ to the delicate ‘Baby Bluebird’. A great night had by all and don’t leave it six years next time please Eric.

I’m not sure that ‘nearly men’ is really the appropriate term to apply to Fruit Bats - because, honestly, they never really were all that ‘near’ to any kind of significant success - but suffice to say that I doubt anybody who gave their records a chance could really hold the view that their level of recognition, both critically and commercially, was in any way in genuine correlation to the level of their ability. The band were fronted by Eric Johnson who, for his own part, made a brief foray into the limelight when he joined The Shins for a short while, touring with them for Wincing the Night Away, but his raw talent as a songwriter largely flew under the radar with Fruit Bats. After releasing five genuinely gorgeous records over twelve years, the band called time on their endeavours last year, playing a handful of farewell shows in the process. They packed out intimate rooms, finishing up in Portland, Oregon, and played career-spanning sets that highlighted the strength of their back catalogue, with Johnson’s wistful lyrics never more appropriate. He’ll likely continue to record and tour in his own right, and will be well worth keeping an eye out for; Fruit Bats really were a hidden gem.

I saw Fruit Bats with Credit Electric as their opener at Valley Bar PHX. The show was absolutely amazing! Fruit Bats were so into the music - you could feel how passionate they were about playing. It was really lively and the band was super interactive with crowd. Credit Electric was amazing as well! The venue was great. It felt more intimate and had great staff.

This band is freaking amazing. Their one of the best live bands I've ever scene! Their songs translate so well to a live show and I think anyone who sees them who didn't know about them will leave a fan.

The Fruit Bats show was awesome and was the first time to see them live. The venue was perfect for this performance and provided an up close perspective of the band's talents and sound.

Awesome performance is a surprisingly intimate venue with tops sound. Opener was also a pleasant surprise. Will definitely be trying to make it to more Fruit Bats shows in the future.