I first discovered Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes by complete accident when I saw Foo Fighters in Gothenburg back in 2018. They were the first support band of the night and honestly, support acts can be a gamble. More often than not, I’m not blown away by them.
But Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes proved me completely wrong.
We were at the barricade, and early in their set, by the second song, I think, Frank left the stage, climbed down into the crowd and stood on the barricade right in front of me.
It was a total WTF moment.
1. The show had barely started and he was already in the crowd?!
2. Since when do support bands go down in the crowd and crowd surf stir things up like this?!
3. What the hell were we in for?!
One thing was clear: I was hooked. The rest of the set was just as wild, and I’m pretty sure they won over the entire crowd, gaining a lot of new fans that night.
When Lollapalooza Stockholm announced they’d be playing in 2019, it was just another reason to go. I had to go.
The day came, and I was overly excited. I had my Leica V-Lux with me to shoot from the crowd, and as soon as the first song kicked off, it felt like déjà vu: the same wild energy as at Ullevi. It felt like Frank spent more time in the crowd than on the stage. At one point, he somehow got one side of the crowd to move to the other side to get the party going there as well (as it was apparently a bit boring on that side). When he told them they had to hurry up they all started running.
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes aren’t just a band you watch, they’re a band you experience. And if you ever get the chance to see them live, don’t even hesitate. Go.
Setlist
- Tyrant Lizard King
- Kitty Sucker
- Heartbreaker
- Love Games
- Why A Butterfly Can’t Love A Spider
- Lullaby
- Crowbar
- Devil Inside Me
- I Hate You
