This year’s
Liverpool Sound City boasted the best line up for a festival, not just in music and bands, but in venues, locations and styles. Headlining Thursday in
The Crypt is the gorgeous, the stunning and the very talented
Frank Turner. As far as venues go, The Crypt is one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen, set in the pyramid of The Metropolitan Cathedral and almost impossible to find. The setting for tonight’s show is phenomenal, as are the crowd and the warm up acts; ladies and gentlemen please welcome Frank Turner to the stage.
Frank Turner tours endlessly, so it seems somewhat unsurprising that he has to play solo without the band now and again. Tonight is one of Frank’s solo shows, but he needn’t be afraid as he’s got 300 Liverpudlians to act as backing vocalists. Frank’s songs are so popular he is accompanied by the audience from start to finish. This is because the lyrics that he weaves touch everybody in a personal way: Frank Turner has a genius skill of putting emotions, beliefs and occasions in to poetic and timely words.
Frank Turner is a master of the acoustic guitar, creating incredible chords and riffs that need no backing band to justify this live performance. Turner seems to have developed his skill through a passion and love for music and this is completely evident in every note that he plays. It’s hard to hear over the rapturous audience, but from the front row I can see the grace and elegance that comes from so many dates on the road and experiences through performing.
Frank sets a very clear agenda this evening “I’m going to play a couple of new songs, then I’ll go right back to the ones you know”. The new tracks come from album ‘England Shake My Bones’ due for release on June 6th. With so much time on the road you have to wonder when Frank found time to record a new album, but through the live rendition this evening it’s clear to see his quality has not faltered even slightly. The best songs of the evening are the sing-a-long anthem ‘I Still Believe’ and the song everyone can relate too ‘The Real Damage’. Turner pulls off an epic rendition of Queen’s ‘I Want to Break Free’, complete with legendary style and a happy face.
The absolute highlight of the evening has to be Frank Turner’s finale of ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’ which played standing on the barrier close enough for me to lose any sense of professionalism and throw my arms around him. As I leave The Crypt I can only hope that no photographers caught my fan girl moment on camera. I also left feeling absolutely certain that I’ve just witnessed the best act from this year’s Liverpool Sound City. Frank Turner is more than a great booking, he’s a great performer and an all round cool guy; with a full tour on the go, be sure to catch him whenever you get the opportunity.
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