By Jonny Bakes
For what is perhaps a first for me during my time at Über Rock, I found myself heading down to Manchester to see an artist who recently held the number one slot in the ÜK album charts – Frank Turner And The Sleeping Souls. I’ve always found that Turner appeals to a real variety of fans due to his blend of folk music and punk tendencies over his 17-year solo career, and the lineup for this show really does reflect that. We’ve got Mash P – a young hip hop artist from Sierra Leone who has managed to get a scholarship in the ÜK (with a little help from Turner), Truckstop Honeymoon, a folk/country duo, and Pet Needs – who had their recent album ‘Primetime Entertainment’ produced by Turner and which will appeal to those who are more punk inclined. Turner is a man who is absolutely passionate about music and touring, so it’s no real surprise that was using this tour to showcase these up and coming artists and friends.
Unfortunately, some poorly placed roadworks scuppered my plans of completing the 100 mile journey after work in time to make doors. This meant I missed out on checking out Mash P and only caught the very end of Truckstop Honeymoon as well, which is a real shame as it seems like both of these acts went down incredibly well with the Manchester crowd judging by the hoots and hollers that accompanied the shout outs during the rest of the evening. I did, however, make it in time to check out the merch stand before Pet Needs took to the stage.
When Pet Needs entered the room there was a sudden rush of energy provided by vocalist Johnny Marriott who spent the whole set bounding across the stage without pausing for so much as a breath. The set itself was dominated by tracks from debut album ‘Fractured Partying’ with songs such as the popular ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’ and ‘Overcompensating’ both making an appearance. But this was also an opportunity to show off some of their new material from the latest album which dropped last month. And it’s this that has some of the greatest reception of the evening, with ‘Ibiza in Winter’ generating significant movement within the crowd who clearly enjoyed this punk-tinged track! The music was interspersed with the odd laugh to keep the mood levels high, including taking the time to point out that their drummer had to spend the set in wet shorts after a bit of a laundry mishap!
At the end of the set, Pet Needs announced that they were due to return to Manchester for a headline show at Gullivers on 14 December and only had 38 tickets remaining. Apparently, they’ve noticed fans getting out their ‘phones and buying tickets during the final song of the night, ‘Get on the Roof’, which is an absolute banger so I wouldn’t have been surprised if the same happened after the Manchester show! Lo and behold, after checking the following day, it looks like they have indeed sold out, which is testament to the energetic performance of Pet Needs.
Obviously the majority of fans in the room were here for Frank Turner as the room absolutely erupted as soon as he and his band of Sleeping Souls took to the stage after, bizarrely, a round of sing-a-long to Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’. After a very speedy changeover there was no time wasted with introduction tracks, instead the band launched straight into ‘Four Simple Words’ and the reaction from the crowd was huge!
This was immediately followed with ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’ which has been appearing frequently on the radio since ‘FTHC’ hit the number one spot and became a real favourite of mine too. We were also treated to the stories behind some of the tracks in the setlist as well, like ‘The Work’ which started out as a gentle folk melody that Frank wrote for his wife before it was…polished somewhat in the studio to become the energetic punk number that made it onto ‘FTHC’ – prompting the response “what the fuck have you done to my song?!”
The crowd participation throughout the set was fantastic as well, with at least 90 per cent of the crowd knowing the words for most of the songs, especially the big hitters! The classic ‘If I Ever Stray’ had the whole crowd belting out the words, myself included, as did ‘Miranda’ which is clearly a very personal song to Frank that depicts his father’s outing as a transgender woman and the positive effect that had on their relationship. What really struck me was the sheer respect from the crowd during ’Wave Across the Bay’ which is another very personal song about the loss of close friend Scott Hutchison. Despite them knowing all of the words, I assume, the crowd stood in respectful silence before joining in at the appropriate moment where the song turns to celebrate Scott and his legacy.
We even had a short solo section in the set where Frank took the stage to offer some deep cuts from his back catalogue, the most important (to me) was the rare appearance of ‘Thatcher Fucked the Kids’. I’m sure that it was only recently that I had read an interview with Frank where he stated that he opted not to play the song anymore as he didn’t want to get too political, but for this tour he felt that it was the right time to bring it back. And given the current state of affairs I would say that it’s perfect timing! The regular set ended with another belter of a tune, and personal favourite, ‘Get Better’ which again had the entire crowd joining in and getting into the real community spirit that is fostered within a Frank Turner show.
Naturally, we were treated to an encore as well which was filled with more big hitters from the impressive 17 year FT back catalogue and continued to carry the vibrant energy of the rest of the set. ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’, ‘Recovery’ and ‘I Still Believe’ all made the cut to bring the set to a crescendo of a close. It was an incredible evening of community, belonging and an awesome mix of hardcore punk (from the latter album) and folk melodies.
If you weren’t been able to get along to this tour run and, after reading this, you’re thinking “I wish I could get to a Frank Turner show because Jonny makes this sound awesome” then you’re in luck! The absolute grafter of a musician has announced another ÜK tour starting in January, for which tickets are now on sale, so there’s no time like the present to get tickets and get involved. Perhaps I’ll see you there (if you’re going to Lancaster that is).
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