Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls live @ The Biltmore
If you don’t know Frank Turner, his music is something along the lines of Bruce Springsteen meets Billy Bragg. Without looking, I’m certain that I have more Springsteen and Bragg songs than any other artists in my music library, so when I discovered Frank Turner earlier this year, I fell for him hard and fast. His latest album England Keep My Bones was the soundtrack to my summer, and although I kept myself busy with plenty of other shows, everyday felt a bit like a countdown until the day that I would finally get to see Frank in the flesh. This Monday, the day had finally arrived.
The last time that Frank played in Vancouver was in April 2010, a sold-out show solo acoustic show at the tiny Media Club, which has a capacity of 150; this time around him and The Sleeping Souls managed to sell-out the Biltmore which holds at least double that. These numbers pale in comparison to the massive festival gigs that he plays back home in England (not to mention that he just announced a show at Wembley Arena… blimey!), but it proves that people are starting to take notice of this talented fellow on this side of the Atlantic. Will he ever achieve superstar status here as he has back home? Probably not. But he certainly deserves it.
The night’s set was a mixed bag of songs from Frank’s four albums. While the older songs created the loudest sing-a-longs (it was so cathartic shouting out lines like “I won’t sit down and I won’t shut up / but most of all I will not grow up!” with a room full of like-minded Frank fans), it was the England Keep My Bones tracks that stood out for their newfound maturity. Songs like “I Am Disappeared” and “Peggy Sang the Blues” truly sound like songs written by a man just months away from his thirties — a big difference from a twenty-something songwriter trying to find his footing.
I was fully present for the entire show, unable to take my eyes off of him… although it probably doesn’t hurt that he is dangerously handsome. He generously played for nearly two hours, but it felt like a mere fifteen minutes. It reminded me of the first time that I watched the footage of Springsteen’s Hammersmith Odeon show in 1975 — I felt like I was witnessing a significant turning point in an artist’s career, only in this case Frank has a different continent to conquer.
Just before the encore, Frank surprised the crowd with a cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” that was so powerful I could have sworn I felt Freddie Mercury’s presence in the room (watch his rocking rendition at this summer’s Reading Festival here). He then finished the night with fan favourites “Photosynthesis” and “The Ballad of Me and My Friends,” which ends with a lyric that best describes the philosophy behind Frank’s music: “And we’re definitely going to hell / but we’ll have all the best stories to tell.”
Perhaps one day this show will be a story to tell.
mp3: Frank Turner - Peggy Sang the Blues from England Keep My Bones (2011)
mp3: Frank Turner - If Ever I Stray from England Keep My Bones (2011)
mp3: Frank Turner - Photosynthesis from Love Ire & Song (2008)
mp3: Frank Turner - The Ballad of Me and My Friends from Sleep is for the Week (2007)
Check out the video for “If Ever I Stray” and also its gorgeous, simple b-side, “Sailor’s Boots”.
Setlist
The Biltmore, Vancouver, BC -17/10/2011
Eulogy
Try This at Home
I Still Believe
One Foot Before the Other
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
Reasons Not to Be an Idiot
I Am Disappeared
Love Ire & Song
Substitute
English Curse
If Ever I Stray
Glory Hallelujah
Long Live the Queen
The Road
Somebody to Love (Queen Cover)
Encore:
The Ballad of Me and My Friends
Photosynthesis
*Photo credits: Jamie Taylor
