Frank Turner at Winchester Guildhall :: Wessex Scene Online

Frank Turner at Winchester Guildhall

17th December 2009
Rik Sharma

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The biggest ever indoor gig in the history of Winchester – the signs were there from the start that tonight was going to be a good night.

London’s Beans on Toast, a singer songwriter (read more comedian than musician) opened the gig, with a ramshackle display that was as hilarious as it was messy. And believe me, it was more than messy. With songs being abandoned halfway through for a chat with the audience, some never to be resumed, and sound problems, which, if anything, enhanced the performance, amongst other distractions - messy doesn’t tell the half of it. Trust me, Beans on Toast is brilliant. His mildly politicised, tongue-so-far-in-cheek-that-it-will-probably-never-ever-come-out songs, like ‘The Price of Rice’ and ‘2012’ were an early treat for the crowd. Florida’s Fake Problems took to the stage next, playing a set which drew heavily from their 2009 album It’s Great to Be Alive. The band possess an impressive stage presence, aided by songs that have an energy of their own. The highlight being ‘Dream Team’, performed surprisingly early into the set; it is their most anthemic number.

Frank Turner took to the stage accompanied by his band, to roars which could only be expected; he was greeted like a returning hero – which of course, to many, he is. Opening with ‘Live Fast Die Old’, the first track from new album Poetry of the Deed, and the new charting single ‘The Road’, showed that Turner has a strong conviction in his new album, and was greeted with delight from the crowd. A balls to the wall ‘hard rock’ version of the touching, and previously stripped down ‘Long Live the Queen’ completed the opening salvo. As good as this was, it is open to debate, and oft furiously debated, whether he is better with a backing band or by himself. Cleverly, the set was constructed to allow the best of both worlds; some parts of songs just featured his voice and plugged in acoustic guitar before the band resumed, and at other times the band disappeared.

The midsection of the gig varied wildly between the very old, ‘Nashville Tennessee’, ‘The Real Damage’, the very new ‘Our Lady of the Campfire’, ‘Dan’s Song’ and the downright strange - the old English folk song ‘Barbara Allen’. This track was sung alone, with no instruments, and had an alluring charm to it. “Just the hits from here on in” proclaimed Turner jokingly at the end of it. Whilst he may not have been being serious, the next few songs were some of the strongest material he has in his catalogue, including ‘Love Ire and Song’, ‘Father’s Day’ and the epic ‘Journey of the Magi’.

As shown in a recent interview with the Evening Standard, Frank Turner’s relationship with his father has been put under heavy strain at times in the past, to put it lightly. Tonight’s show had an edge to it from early on, after Turner announced to the crowd that his father was in the crowd. And it was the always emotional, furious ‘Father’s Day’, delivered more intensely than ever, where things came to a head. Each snatched and snarled line was accompanied by accusatory dagger glances to the balcony above; his face appearing furious and close to tears at the same time. It’s easy for me to hear and write this though, particularly in comparison to the determination and bravery required and supplied by Turner, to stand upon the stage and sing that particular song on this particular night. And, by the conclusion of ‘Father’s Day’, he had begun ‘I Knew Prufrock Before he was Famous’, and was all smiles again, his delivery just as passionate but in a different way.

He came out to encore with the evergreen ‘Ballad of Me and My Friends’, ‘Reasons Not to be an Idiot’, and finally the ode to just doing what you want to do – ‘Photosynthesis’, for which he was joined onstage by the support bands and his friends; Fake Problems and Beans on Toast. Frank Turner possesses not only the songs to back up his rising star status, but also several rare qualities – humility, loyalty and firm, unwavering beliefs in what he thinks is wrong and right, something which many of today’s papier-mâché pop stars ought to be envious of.

Score: 80%