Frank Turner and Arkells | Bristol gig review
Posted on: 2018-04-29
Our rating:
If you don’t leave a Frank Turner gig with a hoarse voice, aching limbs and brimming with love for your fellow gig-goer, something has gone horribly wrong. And this was Frank Turner at his absolute best, from solo acoustic to frenetic rock.
Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls are on a world tour and stopped off at a sold out O2 Academy in Bristol on Friday 27th April supported by Canadian rockers Arkells and the Homeless Gospel Choir fronted by Pittsburgh's Derrick Zanetti. A cracking show, here's what Sally Airey thought of it all!
The confusingly named Homeless Gospel Choir, neither a choir nor homeless or gospel, kicked things off at the O2 Academy with a set full of impassioned protest songs, including ‘Why’, ‘Crazy’ and ‘Depression’. Despite the titles, Pittsburgh native Derrick Zanetti was a bundle of energy, smiles and honesty, singing songs based on his experiences with bipolar disorder and friendship. He closed his set with a first glimpse of Canadian alternative rock band, Arkells, who joined him on stage for ‘Normal’ – a song that served as a reminder to everyone in the crowd that, if they feel like they don’t fit in, that’s just because they’re a punk. The crowd roared in acknowledgement; it set the tone for the night perfectly.
As support acts go, Frank Turner knows how to pick them. Arkells look and sound like a mash-up of many different influences, from the lead singer’s (Max Kerman) Vampire Weekend-esque multicoloured “Friday night” shirt, to the We Are Scientists’ lookalike of Anthony Carone on keyboard. The other three members wouldn’t look out of place in many early 2000s indie bands but their 6-song set was anything but a run-of-the-mill indie disco.
Arkells, who drew a big crowd, went straight into ‘Knocking at the Door’, a fast-paced introduction to anyone unaware of the Ontario 5-piece. The voice of lead vocalist, Max, is beguilingly rocky and soulful and the band’s unique mix of incredible vocals, absorbing lyrics and confident stage presence won over the audience early on.
‘Private School’ and ‘Fake Money’ followed soon after, with each song displaying the band’s range of sounds and influences, from skate punk, surf rock pop, 80s soul and even their own protest lyrics about a certain US president “born on third base, thinking he hit a triple”. The set was a lesson in crowd participation and they even pulled a fan called Chris on stage to play a few guitar chords with them.
The politically-charged, Motown-infused anthem, ‘People’s Champ’, turned up the tempo and the funky base was matched by a mesmerising light show. Even the most unlikely gig dancers couldn’t help but join in.
With the crowd getting well-primed for the headliner’s appearance, Arkells took time to explain that today was an “important day in the band’s history” as they met their long-term namesakes, Arkells Brewery in Swindon. For all those in the know, Arkells the band is pronounced Ark-ells.
‘My Heart’s Always Yours’ showed the band were able to hold their own in the heartfelt power ballad entry to their songbook, before they closed with the brilliant, ‘Leather Jacket’. The track’s anthemic rock riffs brought a climactic finale to a tight, engaging and brilliantly balanced set.
Arkells will be returning to the UK in autumn for their own headliner tour. Don’t miss their catchy songs, great mid-set segues and positive vibes.
Frank Turner is no stranger to Bristol, with this marking his 22nd performance in the city. Joined by his long-time band, The Sleeping Souls, Turner performed a high-energy and thrilling 2-hour set, teasing the audience with music from his brand new album, ‘Be More Kind’, set to be released this week (4th May).
If you don’t leave a Frank Turner gig with a hoarse voice, aching limbs and brimming with love for your fellow gig-goer, something has gone horribly wrong. And this was Frank Turner at his absolute best, from solo acoustic to frenetic rock.
The band burst onto the stage with new track ‘1933’ with enough energy and verve to make you think it was gig number 1 of Turner’s career, not gig number 2160 as he informed the audience. During the set, Turner also previewed the new album title track as well as the compelling ‘Make America Great Again’, which was enough to leave the audience buzzing with anticipation.
Even with the new album afoot, there was still plenty of room in the set for an arsenal of crowd-pleasing anthems from Turner’s songbook, with Turner shouting “who the f*ck said anything about not playing any of the old songs?!”. He kicked off with ‘Get Better’, ‘The Next Storm’ and ‘Recovery’, with the audience roaring every word.
A few technical hitches couldn’t bring him down and Turner sang his lungs out to ‘Plain Sailing Weather’, ditching his failing guitar and proving himself to be every inch a front man.
True to his personalised style, Turner and his band then treated the audience to a song they hadn’t played live in 8 years, ‘Imperfect Tense’. He then announced “we’ve played everywhere in Bristol, one of our first gigs was at Thekla, and then there was Anson Rooms.” Turner introduced his emotional classic, ‘Long Live the Queen’, saying they remember playing it 10 years ago at Thekla.
In the latter stages, Turner stripped it back to a few solo acoustic numbers, including the heartfelt ‘There She Is’ and ‘The Way I Tend To Be’, exposing the emotional rawness of his voice. He soon picked up the pace again, instructing the crown to create a circle pit – yelling “we’re at a rock ‘n’ roll show, let’s having a good time!” before concluding the main set with the sing-a-long classic, ‘Photosynthesis’.
As the band left the stage, cries of ‘we love Frank’ reverberated around the room. Turner and The Sleeping Souls come back to deliver a staggering 5-song encore with ceaseless stamina. Turner crowd-surfed his way fearlessly through ‘Four Simple Words’, danced with one lucky woman in the audience and ended with an emphatic message about being kind to one another. Something he exemplifies through his support for the charity, Stay Up Late, which helps people with learning disabilities come to music gigs.
The uplifting spirit of the messages, the connected energy of the room and the pure rock-folk-punk sounds - from the old classics to the not-yet-released - proved that Frank Turner is at the very top of his game and everyone should always try to be more kind.
Article by:
Sally works in international development by day, working for Bristol-based charity TREE AID. By night, she enjoys eating the best veggie food the city has to offer, trying new beer from local breweries and dancing like no one's watching at gigs.
