Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls: Won’t Sit Down, Won’t Shut Up – Live Review

Adelaide UniBar, Wed Apr 8

A very much up-for-it Frank Turner greets the crowd and immediately launches into the lurching intro of Four Simple Words. Within seconds he is roaring along at speed, and Turner’s 1658^th show has begun. The audience, primed by the dual supports of Luke Carlino and Jon Snodgrass, are ready to party. Through the course of the song, Turner finds time to introduce The Sleeping Souls, draw the occasional breath, and bounce around a bit. This frantic opener is followed by something of a signature song for Turner and his band, The Road, from the Poetry Of The Deed album.

Good pro that he is, Turner name-checks Adelaide in his lyric, and garners the expected whoops of joy from the locals. The irreverent Glory Hallelujah gets the room singing and clapping along, and is followed by Reasons Not To Be An Idiot. It’s pretty high-energy so far; as well as Turner’s cavorting, Ben Lloyd (guitar) and Tarrant Anderson (bass) add to the manic movement. “Good Evening!” Turner exclaims. “Adelaide, how are you doing?” He sounds like an old friend, chatting about Easter, time differences and other “bollocks”.

The solid start to the evening provides a decent platform for the first of the new songs; The Next Storm is no great departure from Turner’s sound; it’s a good selection and keeps the energy levels up. Peggy Sang The Blues brings things back to familiar territory as well as adding some light and shade, and the good times continue through the manic Try This At Home and Substitute. Another track from the forthcoming album is next, The Opening Act Of Spring, “a kind of apology”. It features mandolin from Matt Nasir, who momentarily leaves his considerable keyboard talents in the back pocket.

The band members leave the stage at the conclusion of the melodic The Way I Tend To Be, leaving Turner to play solo versions of Redemption, a request emailed in the preceding days, and the jaunty Tattoos, accompanied by stories about, unsurprisingly, tattoos. Still alone on stage, Turner performs Love, Ire and Song. The band reappears towards the end and, despite Turner’s solo quality, it is clear that these guys add much to the sound. Nigel Powell’s drums, along with Anderson’s bass, really push things along. The popular Wessex Boy comes next, before Photosynthesis, featuring a nifty solo from Lloyd, sees the return of the UniBar sing-along choir.

Plain Sailing Weather precedes a lengthy chat session that culminates in a few Bon Jovi jokes. Get Better, another new number, is the third and last of the evening. All the new songs fit well within the set; the new album is eagerly awaited. If Ever I Stray and Recovery lead directly to a big finale. A raucous and passionate Long Live The Queen is lapped up by one and all, before Turner and his mates say goodnight. Temporarily.

Turner returns alone for an encore, admitting that it’s an outdated but necessary pantomime, and performs The Outdoor Type and The Ballad Of Me And My Friends. He is joined by the band for a climax that comprises I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous and I Still Believe. Although somewhat expected, the pleasure expressed by the audience upon hearing these two songs is palpable.

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls have put on a show filled with rock and roll folk-punk energy, passion and good humour. Not to mention some fantastic music; 24 songs in an hour and a half. Local audiences should be happy and grateful that Turner visits often.

David Robinson

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Setlist

1. Four Simple Words
2. The Road
3. Glory Hallelujah
4. Reasons Not To Be An Idiot
5. The Next Storm
6. Peggy Sang The Blues
7. Try This At Home
8. Substitute
9. The Opening Act Of Spring
10. The Way I Tend To Be
11. Redemption
12. Tattoos
13. Love, Ire and Song
14. Wessex Boy
15. Photosynthesis
16. Plain Sailing Weather
17. Get Better
18. If Ever I Stray
19. Recovery
20. Long Live The Queen

Encore

1. The Outdoor Type
2. The Ballad Of Me And My Friends
3. I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
4. I Still Believe