By Graham Hiley.
Back in 1996 a young Frank Turner came to the Southampton Guildhall to watch a Battle of the Bands contest. There and then he vowed he would one day be standing on that stage taking part in the competition. Although he never actually got to enter that event, this Wessex Boy has far exceeded those initial ambitions.
This was concert number 3025 for one of the hardest-working musicians on the circuit – and his 24th headline gig in Southampton. Of those, nine have been at the Guildhall – and none will have been better than this superb sell-out show.
“Dreams don’t quite come true,” he told the crowd. “We never played Battle of the Bands but it is very special to be back in Southampton and to be standing on this stage.
“This Undefeated tour has been going for more than a year – and it has all been a build-up to this date.”
Having grown up in Winchester, it was clear just how much it meant to him to be back in Hampshire. Every one of his 3025 shows has been high-octane – but there was an extra edge to this one with the crowd responding in kind. The atmosphere was electric, from the moment he strode out and blasted straight into No Thank You for the Music. From there on, the pace was relentless broken only by occasional moments of serious reflection from this socially-conscious singer.
As he introduced Be More Kind, he admitted to being fearful for the world given events in America saying: “It is a scary time for the thinking, empathetic person.
“I wrote this around 2016 when the world was starting to get messed up. I decided to use my very small platform to talk politics and try to change the world. It’s had less impact than I hoped!
“And while you should never take advice from a singer-songwriter, I would say it is really important we don’t sink to the level of those who oppose us – otherwise you become the very people you disagree with.”
Introducing the deeply personal song Haven’t Been Doing So Well, he admitted to occasional feelings of imposter syndrome. But there was zero evidence of that here… Frank Turner absolutely owned the O2 Guildhall stage. With heightened stature and real stage presence, he held the audience in the palm of his hand as he and the tight-knit Sleeping Souls rattled through an electrifying two-hour set with a perfect balance of old favourites and new material from their 10th studio album Undefeated.
The intensity was unwavering, though during Photosynthesis, where he gets the crowd to sit down and then leap up as one, Frank did concede that those who have been following him for years may now be feeling the ravages of time. Certainly at my age it was less a case of “I won’t sit down, I won’t shut up” and more an issue of “I can’t sit down and I can’t stand up!”
The acoustic solo section therefore came as a welcome brief respite before the rousing finale sent the 1700 fans home exhausted but on a real high. Meanwhile, Frank Turner still had the energy and heart to head to the Joiners for a late-night DJ set as part of his campaign to protect smaller the pubs and clubs.
He said: “Independent music venues are under threat and we have to do whatever we can to support them so for every ticket sold on this tour, we will be donating £1 to the Music Venue Trust.”
It is that social conscience coupled with his powerful punk-folk songs and electrifying stage shows which make Frank Turner one of the best artists around.
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