Tonight we are heading down the M62 to Manchester to catch the well travelled troubadour himself Frank Turner along with his band The Sleeping Souls on his headlining U.K. tour. Having released his ninth studio album “FTHC” in February this year and a discography of seven live albums, six compilation albums, thirteen EP’s and 36 singles Frank is certainly not a man who stands still for too long in fact Turner and his band recently did their “50 states in 50 days” tour of America in June – August 2022.
Unfortunately the traffic to night into Manchester City Centre was rammed and we arrive at Manchester Academy just as our first support “Mash P” was leaving the stage but judging from the reception he was getting he did a good job. We will have to try and catch this act again soon.
Our second support tonight are “Truckstop Honeymoon” a two piece bluegrass/music hall jazz/rock and roll set up consisting of Katie and Mike West. This American couple are true American deep south musicians and their tunes are a mix up of bluegrass, country and rock and roll and the crowd who got in early and caught these lovable funny and very talented couple really did see a true master piece and a taste of deep south Americana music. Battered banjo and guitar and Katie on the upright double bass and authentic country voice. This couple were brilliant and we would love to see them in a headline show or an extended set some time in the future.
Next up we have “Pet Needs” Formed in Colchester by brothers Johnny and George Marriott this four piece brought us something completely different from what came before. Their garage punk tunes and energetic, manic energy on stage was a joy to watch and listen to. Front man Johnny Marriott bounces, jumps and struts all over the stage like a real front man of any band like this should do. The whole band are totally infectious and the ever growing crowd love them and they feed off the love they are receiving from the Manchester music lovers. Johnny jumps of stage twice to get closer to the crowd standing and saluting them from the photo pit steps. It’s brilliant high octane stuff which we love to see. These guys are making a name for themselves and make no mistake will soon be headlining big venues all over the U.K. very soon. Get to watch them live as soon as you can. Utterly brilliant.
It’s time for “Frank Turner” and his band, Ben Lloyd – Guitar, Tarrant Anderson – Bass, Matt Nasir – Organ and Callum Green- drums “The Sleeping Souls” to take to the stage. No messing about with Mr Turner and his band as it’s straight into “Four Simple Words” Anyone who’s seen Frank Turner and his band live before know just how good and tight these guys are and tonight they seem to have upped this (If this was ever possible) Frank keeps the chatting going during the breaks from songs, he has this knack of knowing and reading his fans so well, it’s almost as if he is chatting and singing to his close friends and family and his fans respond to this. Frank also lays down the rules for tonights gig Rule 1 “if you know the words to a song you have to sing along”, Rule 2 “Don’t be a dickhead”, Rule 3 “If you see someone down pick them up” Rule 4 “ If you see someone near you being hassled or made to feel uncountable, say something or do something to help” All fair enough in our eyes”
It’s a none stop attack on the ears of both new songs from his latest album “FTHC” and Frank Turner classics. When it came to “Miranda” a song that talks about his relationship with his father who is now a transgender woman you can feel the emotion in his voice and also the respect and love he now has for her.
Frank Turner gigs whether they be full band gigs like tonight or small venue intimate acoustic gigs always have a sense of community about them. His fans seem to be part of his extended family, he looks after them and he certainly entertains them, never wanting to let them down, which tonight he hasn’t in any way shape or form.
So a top night of music in many forms tonight at The Academy Manchester which I know a lot of people will remember for a long time, I know we will.
Set List
1/ Four Simple Words
2/ Been Doing So Well
3/ Photosynthesis
4/ Punches
5/ 1933
6/ Plain Sailing Weather
7/ The Work
8/ I Am Disappeared
9/ Out of Breath
10/ Miranda
11/ If I Ever Stray
12/ The Next Storm
13/ A Wave Across a Bay
14/ There She Is
15/ Cleopatra in Brooklyn
16/ Thatcher Fucked the Kids
17/ Be More Kind
18/ The Way I Tend to Be
19/ Non Serviam
FOLLOW FRANK TURNER AND THE SLEEPING SOULS
TRUCKSTOP HONEYMOON
FOLLOW PET NEEDS
Warren is a live music and festival photographer based in Cheshire and covers gigs/festivals mostly in the North West of England. He has been photographing live music for over 10 years and has covered major artists and festivals