The Cockpit is absolutely rammed for the first gig on Frank Turner’s latest UK tour, a sign the ex-Million Dead man is moving up in the world. When I saw him in Sheffield in April the venue was barely half full and people appeared to be there more in interest as to what Frank was doing with himself these days, rather than being their to hear the songs they love. This time it’s different, everyone here is here to see, hear, and sing their hearts out to, Frank’s perfect blend of folk music with his punk rock heart.
Opener The Ballad Of Me And My Friends proves this point. Every word is sung back at Frank, excluding the iconic line “we’re definitely going to hell, but we’ll have all the best stories to tell” for which Frank leaves the crowd to do his job for him. It’s and epic to start to what is clearly going to be a special night.
The rest of the set comprises all his classics, as well as a few surprises. Inclusion of Worst Things Happen At Sea from his 2007 debut is a particular highlight for me, and made even better when the crowd sing back every word of this lesser known track, the same goes for the airing of Substitute, one of my favourite tracks off his latest album.
The main highlights of the set are epic renditions of album tracks A Love Worth Keeping and Father’s Day, linked by a great little piano solo, and the timeless The Real Damage, accompanied by the crowd at deafening volume.. The (apparently unplanned) encore of Love, Ire & Song is a perfect ending to a perfect gig.
From watching Frank, there’s a huge part of me that wants to see him back in a punk/hardcore band, and it’s this that makes him such a brilliant live act. To quote Frank himself, “I know I don’t break new ground, many have travelled this sound, but I try to make it sound like home” (from Nashville Tennessee), his music is hardly original but it’s the perfect combination of the angst and passion of his days in a hardcore band with his genius folk-rock lyrics that make Frank Turner one of the best acts in England today.
Frank Turner played:
The Ballad Of Me And My Friends
Reasons Not To Be An Idiot
Imperfect Tense
Nashville Tennessee
Worst Things Happen At Sea
Substitute
Back In The Day
Vital Signs
Once We Were Anarchists
The Real Damage
A Love Worth Keeping
Father’s Day
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
Long Live The Queen
St Christopher Is Coming Home
Photosynthesis
Love, Ire & Song
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