Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls came to Newcastle for the opening night of their April tour in support of 2024 album ‘Undefeated’ and what a glorious night it was. But before the headliners took to the stage we were treated to two brilliant support acts. Turner has always supported unsigned artists and the grass root music scene and for this tour put a message out asking for local, unsigned artists interested in an opening slot to contact him. Tonight Northumberland’s Sam Shields delivers a fantastic set of songs packed with emotion. With just an acoustic guitar, played beautifully, Shields holds the attention of the already sizeable crowd throughout his short set. It takes guts to walk on a stage with just a guitar, no band, and a handful of songs to play in front of a crowd obsessed with the headline act but Shields pulled it off brilliantly.
Tour support Amigo The Devil have been travelling on planes for 36 hours to get here and arrived just a few hours ago. It doesn’t show. Their set is incredible. Folk, Americana, rock, alternative are all here underpinning songs that tell stories of lives lived through situations that are often not the happiest. Deeply personal, often dark and often open to interpretation. We all deal with the complexities of life. Amigo The Devil puts them into words perfectly. Powerful words. And backs them with music that’s both foot tappingly great and incredibly sleazy and grubby at the same time. Songs that should be perfectly at home in a late night backstreet bar in that part of a city few dare to venture to. Tonight these songs have grabbed the attention of almost 2000 people, all of whom are caught up in the storytelling, the dark humour and superb musicianship coming from the stage. Latest album ‘Yours Until The War Is Over’ is full of both sadness and laughter and well worth some of your listening time.
What to say about Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls? Before they even take to the stage you know this is going to be a special gig. You can literally feel it in the atmosphere. 2000 people crammed into the NX and almost every single one of them a dedicated fan mean that when Turner and band walk on stage and launch into ‘…No Thank You For The Music’ the place explodes. Arms wave, it’s mere seconds until a moshpit develops and it seems that every person in the place knows every single word. Turner absolutely owns the stage, leaping all over, every move he makes taking the crowd with him. Most here have heard it before but, like he does at every gig, Turner establishes the ground rules – moshpits are good, circle pits are good, jumping around is good but more important is the need to respect those around you, helping anyone who falls back up, no aggression, “Don’t be a dickhead”.
It’s a career spanning set made up for the most part of absolute bangers. Latest album ‘Undefeated’ makes it’s mark with ‘Girl From The Record Shop’, ‘Never Mind The Back Problems’, ‘Letters’ and ‘The Leaders’ all bringing huge surges of dancing and massive singalongs. Older favourites ‘1933’, ‘Recovery’, ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’, ‘Plain Sailing Weather’ and ‘Glory Hallelujah’ all feature in the first half of what is rapidly turning into a very special concert. Special because a Frank Turner concert is a hell of a lot more than just the songs. You feel like you’re part of one huge family unified by a common cause. I wander up to the balcony to grab a few photos and even here every person is waving their arms, singing, completely lost in their own moments. It’s rare you can feel a balcony moving under your feet but that’s exactly what’s happening tonight. After thirteen songs there’s time to breathe. The Sleeping Souls leave the stage and Frank Turner treats us to some beautiful, contemplative acoustic numbers. ‘Undefeated’, ‘Be More Kind’ and ‘The Ballad Of Me And My Friends’ don’t just provide a reprieve from the sweaty dancing. They tug at your emotions, make you think.
The Sleeping Souls return to the stage. ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’ is greeted with huge cheers and possibly the biggest crowd participation of the evening. There really is something special about being amongst a crowd of people completely lost in their own worlds, singing their hearts out along with the artist on stage. Old and new, regardless of the age of the songs being played, this crowd knows them all. ‘I Am Disappeared’, ‘Do One’, ‘Try This At Home’ and ‘I Still Believe’ keep the crowd bouncing until, after 21 songs, Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls leave the stage.
They return for a glorious four song encore. ‘Somewhere Inbetween’, ‘Polaroid Picture’ and ‘Get Better’ build and build until the finalle that is ‘Four Simple Words’, Turner telling the crowd that, unless there’s a good reason not to, we need to jump. And jump everyone does to yells of “I wanna dance”. A perfect end to a flawless gig.
Frank Turner doesn’t only deliver a fantastic gig experience. He genuinely appreciates his fans, his journey from much smaller beginnings and those who work with him – support acts, his band, his crew. He’s vocal about supporting independent, grass roots venues. Every ticket sold on this tour includes a donation to Music Venue Trust. And the list of charities he actively supports is extensive.
If you can grab a ticket for one of the shows on this tour that hasn’t actually sold out then there’s just two words: “Do it”.
Photos/words: Steve White
