Gig: Frank Turner @ Epic Studios, Norwich
Frank Turner by Jonathan Dadds
There’s a standout moment in my favourite radio session of all time (Ghetts Sixty Minutes Live on 1Xtra, if anyone is interested) where Giggs turns up and says “I’ve got to come to the show to talk to my brothers” - it’s a comment that I relate to more frequently these days, specifically when it comes to Frank Turner shows. Let me explain: Back during the dark times circa 2020 to 2021, having already been a huge endorsee of up and coming (and local, to me) artists Pet Needs, Frank moved near to the town I’ve called home for most of my adult life. In very little time he’s become an incredible champion of local music, supporting local venues through intimate shows, recording bands in his home studio (I genuinely still don’t understand how a guy who always seems to be on tour has the time) and then giving them a well deserved leg up. A year or so ago that meant taking the excellent Wilswood Buoys on tour with him, exposing them to audiences that probably wouldn’t have heard them previously. He’s also got The Meffs, who I’ll talk about later, into the ears of NoFx’s Fat Mike, who loved them and signed them up. Most recently he’s recorded someone who I regard not only as my favourite local songwriter but as one of my all time favourites full stop, Ben Brown. Seeing the best “local” bands now often means watching them play to an attentive audience far bigger than you’d see locally (literally, tonight’s venue is double the size of our biggest room), opening for Frank and his band. For this tour he’s taken along both The Meffs and Ben Brown, giving them the audience they deserve and, in return, getting an incredible warm up before going on stage.
Ben Brown
Up first then, Ben Brown. Ben’s range as a songwriter is seldom matched; throughout his musical career he’s written incredible indie pop in Superglu, been a key element in the underrated Anna’s Bones alongside songwriter Becky Simmonds and written utter insanity in his main band Dingus Khan (incidentally the best live band that exists) - but now is the time of Ben the solo artist (“World’s Greatest Songwriter” if instagram bios are true), the songs a bit more poetic and polished, the performance as entertaining as ever. By the time Ben goes on stage, 15 minutes after doors open, the room is already filling up - considering the size of the room and the fact everyone is there for a punk show the room is silent, listening to every word. Playing tracks from his recent EP Blue, released on Xtra Mile, tracks like “Kathmandu” and “Dancing With Our Eyes Closed” go down incredibly. It’s amusing that he still dedicates almost a quarter of the set to giving out his own, and his dad’s, contact details - I’d be interested to know how many text’s Andrew Brown has received after his son has given his number to around 5000 people in a week. ‘Ending with All Right, All Night,’ Ben kicks on a drum machine, slightly faster than planned, and serenades the now near full Norwich Epic Studios, treating them to hummed guitar solos and mouth trumpet elements. Great to see Ben winning over such a big crowd.
The Meffs
After a short break it’s time for The Meffs. As a fan of the duo it’s been great to watch their rise both in terms of the size of crowds they’re playing to and in terms of their performance. It feels like barely any time has passed since watching them in a practice room, while filming a live session, to this point, where you can walk down the queue at a gig, where they’re the support act, seeing countless Meffs t-shirts and where people know the words to yell back at them. Their political brand of punk rock is fitting for the time we live in - before performing their track “Clowns” Lily tells the crowd that while touring mainland Europe they’ve come to realise that audiences across the continent have still related the lyrics to their own governments, despite it originally being very targeted at the previous tory government in the UK. They commandeer the stage, Lily marching back and forth while Lewis absolutely hammers the drum kit and they know how to warm up a crowd, getting the Norwich crowd jumping and yelling for Frank as they wind up their set. They’re a band who have put in the work to get where they are and it feels like they’re going to get much bigger in no time.
Frank Turner
Crowd warmed up it’s time for Frank Turner to do his thing. 2925 shows into his career it’s an understatement to say he’s sort of nailed his performance by now. He’s cultivated a fanbase who are more than excited to hear brand new material from the get go, starting out with “No Thank You For The Music” from his tenth album, Undefeated. Energy is at 100% from the first bar, Frank jumping around the stage and yelling every bar as though it were screamed in your face. “Letters” ends up being a stand-out track in the set, partly due to the storytelling that comes beforehand (including the offshoot looming threat of his bandmates having found a copy of a zine written as a teenager) but also it just sounds incredible live. He does a good job of condensing a sizeable back catalogue into his set, playing “Long Live The Queen” followed by “Demons”, which he tells the crowd he now associates with his friend Nick Alexander who was sadly killed in the Bataclan attack in 2015. I enjoy the way that songs are explained where they benefit from explanation - it’s hardly a surprise given the way his songs are written but even short notes on the songs you’re about to hear are delivered as gripping stories in their own right.
For me though, while a performance like this cements Frank as a strong storyteller and the master of writing hooks, it’s still more a demonstration of the kind of person he is, using his position and the audience he’s built up over a lengthy career to give a boost a deserving bunch of up and coming bands - the fact they happen to be people I call friends is nice but by the by - is a beautiful thing to see. That his audiences respond so positively to the music, get down to shows so early, and becoming active fans of the support bands they see is a lovely thing too. It’s nice to have someone championing incredible local acts, and artists that many of us thought would go far with the right platform.
