Not many artists can pride themselves knowing how many concerts they played during their career. One of them is Frank Turner.
Today, Turner, who originates from Hampshire played in Liverpool his 2601st and 2602nd concert, I went along to the second of the day to check what form he’s in.
This concert in quirky Arts Club is to promote his ninth studio album, FTHC, which was released on 11th February 2022. The album peaked to top of charts as soon as it was released.
Frank is better known for his gigs with his backing band The Sleeping Souls. This time however, he’s part of an acoustic duo with one of the regular band members, Matt Nasir who’s providing mandolin plucking services.
The duo are playing two consecutive concerts in Liverpool, both sold out. The first concert took place in Jacaranda Phase One, a fantastic record store right in the centre of Liverpool. The second, as you already know is here in completely full Arts Club.
A long line of fans started forming well before doors opened, some of them had to wait even 30 minutes to even get into the Arts Club. Finally, at 8pm on the dot, Frank and Matt appear on stage. Starting off with ‘The Gathering’, one of the strongest on FTHC the audience are hooked in immediately.
The new album forms the backbone of the whole set which is only to be expected given that the tour is promoting its release. The audience was not disappointed as we also heard some older songs like ‘Photosynthesis’, ‘Recovery’ or ‘Still Believe’.
Both musicians were are in a great mood which they show after every song. They are engaging, entertaining and make the audience laugh to tears. Not everyone has such a great rapport with their fans but it’s one of the qualities Frank is well known for. He never separates himself from his roots or let success go to his head.
He’s always mad himself available to his fans so you can always walk over to him for a chat and share a beer. He always been a humble, sincere, genuine guy. A clear example is the tour he organised after the pandemic to raise money for independent music venues.
Thanks to tonight’s performance we’re transported from a boring Wednesday evening to that Friday night feeling,
We witness mandolin solos, snippets of Guns and Roses, Rage against the machine and Nirvana songs, all well arranged tracks and great deal of humour which is worthy of its own stand comedy show.
Is Frank the best singer on the planet? For sure he is not…
Is he one of the most talented lyricists in UK right now? For sure yes!
His connection with his unique musical talent and being an all round nice guy with a great sense of humour, he creates a the winning mix for a perfect evening.
If there is anybody who has not been to one of Frank Turner’s 2062 concerts, I would definitely recommend to see him this autumn when he’s back out on the road with Sleeping Souls.
UK Tour starts on 21st September in Reading and finished on 14th October in Southampton.
Words and pictures: Tom Adam @tomadampics