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The Fratellis Invade Mercury Lounge

Currently riding the success of a high-profile iPod commercial, the release of their buzz-worthy debut album Costello Music, and a landmark set at Spin‘s SXSW party that found them sharing the stage with Pete Townshend (read more), Glaswegian rock outfit the Fratellis and their undeniable swagger packed a larger-than-life presence at the Mercury Lounge Thursday night.

Playing the first of two NYC shows, the dynamic trio, led by Jon Fratelli’s gritty vocals and ringing Telecaster (and his curly fro), rummaged through some of Costello Music‘s finest. Songs such as the jaunty hip-shaker “Flathead” and Kinks-like sass appeal of “Henrietta” were incredibly tight. As the acoustic guitar beauty “Whistle for the Choir” hushed things a bit, it was the sing-a-long of “Chelsea Dagger” that unleashed the audience’s tameness into swelling mosh pit hysteria. When all was said and done, sweat-drenched fans were still chattering on about the Fratellis’ infectious live show, certainly one of the year’s best. ELIE Z. PERLER / PHOTOS BY DANIEL ARNOLD

>> Listen to the Fratellis on Napster

We asked: Steven Spielberg’s classic The Goonies features a three-person gang, also named the Fratellis. If you had to name your band after a movie character, who would it be?