Manchester Academy has become somewhat of a second home for me recently. The continued wave of rescheduled tours impacted by the covid pandemic, along with newly announced tours has meant that the city of Manchester has been an absolute hive of live music. Tonight’s offering was iconic singer-songwriter Frank Turner and his band The Sleeping Souls. 

The running theme of the night was diversity. There was a hugely diverse crowd, comprising of all corners of society but there was also a diverse selection of Support acts covering all bases. The first support act I managed to catch, was Country/Bluegrass duo, Truckstop Honeymoon. What they presented was 30 minutes of exquisitely catchy, inspiringly authentic and bloody good country music. I am an unashamed lover of country music so this was completely up my street. The duo of Mike and Miss Katie were instantly likeable and provided some genuine and at times hilarious banter on stage, you couldn’t help but smile. But, like I said, I’m a huge country fan. It would not be out of the realms of possibility for there to be someone in that room to watch that set thinking, “what on earth is this?”, expecting a punk rock show and instead receiving something you would expect to see in a saloon bar in the wild west. I for one however, thought it was utterly superb.  

Second support act, Pet Needs, provided a performance that was much more “business as usual” when it comes to the type of band you would expect to support Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls. Their blend of sensible punk meets the NME Indie Landfill movement of 2007 meets genuinely catchy hooks was extremely fun to watch as a performance. Towards the end of the set, the band proclaimed that they had given up their full time jobs to pursue being a full time band. This willingness to take a chance on themselves, as well as passionately advocating the idea zero merch fees for performers at shows, earned them my upmost respect in that capacity. As I said though, despite being fun, captivating performers, the music was sensible and safe. It was definitely evocative of the indie landfill movement I previously mentioned, complete with sharp snappy riffs, songs built around those ready for radio chorus’s and the cheeky on stage swagger every member carried themselves with. There was nothing inherently wrong with their performance, there wasn’t even anything I would pick out as being “bad”, Pet Needs for me where just middle of the road. I wouldn’t take away from anyone who absolutely loved them and wouldn’t question anyone who loathed them, it was simply fine. As both musicians and performers they were great, however there was just that secret ingredient missing that was the difference between them being alright and incredible. I am however going to keep my eye on Pet Needs, as I feel this secret something is sat there waiting to be discovered and now they have more time on their hands to put into music, it is just a matter of time before they find it.  

In my eyes, there was nothing Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls could’ve done wrong tonight. Everyone will find something they like at one of Franks shows. If it’s not the music, it’s the genuine sense of community spirit or the articulate and evocative storytelling in his music, or even just his authenticity as a performer, he truly is a man of the people. You can tell just through the way he talks and his body language that he truly plays every show as If it may be his last. However, prior to the show and prior to the tour, Frank had completed an extensive tour of the United States, performing in all 50 states in just 50 days. Even without this knowledge, one must only look at the tour poster of this UK tour he is currently on to see that it is absolutely MASSIVE and this Manchester show was at the tail end of this. What this meant was that prior to the show, I was unsure as to what type of show we were going to receive. Would this have been a show in which it was completely evident that they were nearing the end of a hectic summer and was as a result crawling over the finish line? Would this have been a show in which you would’ve thought it was their first show back after an extensive hiatus, in which Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls give it their absolute all? As a fan, I was hoping it was the latter, however as a reviewer, I must prepare for all possibilities and call it as I see it, so the possibility of the former occurring was nestled in the back of my mind in the build up to the show. Burnout gets to everyone eventually.  

Opening with the instantly recognisable and ever iconic ‘Four Simple Words’, Frank and the band sent the Manchester Academy crowd into an absolute frenzy. This song, at least every time I’ve seen him live, has been the trademark closer of the set. Its euphoric chorus and high tempo verses are perfect for injecting one final bit of energy into a crowd before sending them home and it has never missed the mark. For me however, ‘Four Simple Words’ works so much better as a show opener. It sets the precedent for what you can expect for the rest of the 2-hour set. It is just pure “put your arm around your mate’s shoulder and belt out every single word” material, and it’s no wonder why this is one of Franks most popular songs. After doing my research on the set of the tour, Frank usually opted to perform “FTHC” track ‘The Gathering’ as his second number, however tonight he opted to switch it up instead for another track from his latest album, ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’. I can see why this change was made, as in my opinion, ‘The Gathering’ would’ve stalled the singalong potential of the set whereas ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’ continues trend of instantly recognisable, easy to pick up, easy to sing back music, a fundamental trademark of Frank.  

By song 3, ‘Photosynthesis’, I couldn’t help but think we were witnessing an absolute masterclass of setlist construction. Regardless of how many great songs a band may have, if a set is ordered in the way in which momentum comes and goes, it can kill an evening off at the drop of the hat. What we had tonight was 3 parts of the set that were extremely easy to differentiate. We had an hour of Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls playing wall-to-wall bangers, 20 or so minutes of Frank and an Acoustic Guitar and then 40 more minutes with the Souls. What this meant was that despite a gargantuan 2 hour performance, something that doesn’t happen much these days, the setlist construction offered natural reprieves in which the audience could get their breath back whilst still being captivated by what was on stage.  

One moment in particular stood out to me and meant a lot to me. For those who know me, they may know that the band Frightened Rabbit has a special place in my heart, however, just over 4 years ago, the untimely, unfortunate, and utterly tragic passing of singer Scott Hutchison, meant that Frightened Rabbit are a band we no longer have the privilege to embrace or take in, at least in a physical capacity. I learnt a lot from that band, they especially taught me that vulnerability is empowering, not a taboo subject, that we should embrace and talk about vulnerability and insecurity in order to both learn from and better ourselves. The reason I’m mentioning this, is that on his latest album “FTHC”, Frank wrote a song about Scott called ‘A Wave Across the Bay’. I’ve seen this song played live before, performed as a solo number, as opposed to the full band offering as is heard on the album. Hearing it in a stripped back setting didn’t at all take away from the power of Franks words, even if the power of the music behind him was not there to accompany; if anything it emphasised his message ten-fold. However, seeing it performed with the Sleeping Souls just added a whole new meaning and dynamic. This isn’t a song about yearning for a lost friend and wanting them back, it is a song about accepting that they’re no longer around and understanding the power that keeping those you have lost in your memory can have. The emotion from Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls was unpalpable and gave everyone in the room, regardless of if they are aware of Scott and his music or not, a little lump in their throat. It was poignant, heart wrenching and unlike anything I’ve experienced at a concert before. Rest in Power Scott.  

After Frank’s aforementioned solo performance, in which a lot of his skills as a master of song writing are best amplified, the Sleeping Souls took the stage for a 40 minute home stretch of absolute greatest hits. It is impossible not to smile at the jubilant scene that was unfolding in the Manchester Academy, soundtracked by songs such as ‘I Still Believe’, ‘Recovery’, ‘The Way I Tend To Be’ and ‘Get Better’. You had the aging punks wrapping their arms around their mates’ shoulders, jumping up and down, young couples embracing during the slower tracks, a parent dancing with their child at what very well may be their first concert, members of the older generation tapping along at the back of the room. I mentioned at the start of this review, nobody does community spirit like Frank Turner, and never had this been more present than it had been tonight.  

One huge point I stand by, is that whoever I’m reviewing, whether I love them, loathe them, don’t care about them, is that I will always strive to find both good points, and bad points about their performances. What’s the point of reading a constructive review if its just 5 or 6 paragraphs of me gushing over something? You don’t learn anything about the performance that way, you just learn about my personal interests. However, I have tried so hard to find fault in tonight’s performance. Even the aforementioned question of “would they be burnt out and phone it in by now” was completely destroyed after watching them lay absolutely everything out on that stage for 2 hours. There is a reason why Frank has had the longevity to perform 2700 (maybe 2701 by the time you read this) shows across the years, because he’s bloody great at it. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!