So I know very little about Frank Turner. I know of him but am not really familiar with his catalog BUT my PJ buddy Chris offers up his spare ticket to Frank's Wembley Arena gig in exchange for a place to crash in London - the Gigette is ALL OVER THAT!
We head out to Wembley early in the night to make sure we get the for the openers (of which there are three!) - the first is the solo Beans On Toast who is unusual and amusing and apparently a bit over-awed about playing in front of such a big crowd - to the point where he forgets the words of one song and interrupts two others midway through to jabber on about nothing in particular.
We then move on to poet and DJ duo Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip - to be honest, it is not my thing and me and my gig buddies decide to skip it in favour of food and drink so that we are ready to go for primary opener - Billy Bragg.
I have seen Billy a couple of times before and he does his absolute best to advance Joe Strummer's legacy of using music to be politically outspoken. It's a man with a guitar with something to say and he always commands an audience's attention and it is no different tonight. The only disappointment is that he is pretty much preaching to the converted here (given the nature of his audience ie the indi, hard core crowd who are independent enough to have their own thoughts and normally question authority).
And then it's time for Frank. This is the biggest show Frank has ever undertaken (selling out the 12,500 capacity venue) and we have been told that tonight is being filmed for a new Frank DVD so we are to expect a bit of a greatest hits set list which suits my fellow gig buddies (and huge FT fans) down to the ground.
The crowd are with him with a giant singalong from the get go. They are hanging off every word and it is unlikely that 'the FT' is going to do any wrong tonight.
Due to my complete lack of knowledge of Frank's catalog I am left to simply enjoy the songs and performance as they come. I don't have to wait for my favourite or compare live versions - it's great!
That said, there are a number of highlights:
* Frank's Mum (introduced as one of his biggest musical influences) coming out to do the harmonica solo on Dan's Song;
* Billy Bragg coming out to duet with Frank on Dylan track The Times Are A Changing;
* A rollicking cover of Queen's Somebody to Love;
* Frank getting a tatt live during the encore break to commemorate the occasion;
* Frank reminding the crowd of the unusual nature of the night and in particular that approximately 90% of the crowd has seen him previously in venues where he could sweat on them; and
* The strange (but endearing) way the whole standing section crouches down in honour before Photosynthesis which bears the lyrics:
"I won't sit down, and I won't shut up
But most of all, I will not grow up"
It's a good night of music and well worth the trek out to Wembley. I have to say that I would prefer to see Frank in a smaller venue (I am told he is amazing solo with only his guitar accompanying him) but I am glad to be a participant in the biggest FTHC (that stands for 'Frank Turner Hard Core' for the uninitiated) celebration so far.
Set list:
Eulogy
Try this at home
If ever I stray
Reasons not to be an idiot
Nashville Tennessee
Wessex boy
Peggy sang the blues
I am disappeared
Love ire & song
Glory hallelujah
The real damage
Dan's song
Father's day
Substitute
Long live the queen
I knew prufrock before he got famous
Sons of liberty
Four simple words (new song)
The road
I still believe
Somebody to love
Encore:
The times they are a changing
Ballad of me and my friends
Photosynthesis
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