Frank Turner / Against Me! / Emily Barker & the Red Clay Halo

Piling into the O2 Arena in Birmingham, the audience was quick to claim their position on the floor, affirmed with drink in hand and friends by their side.



The first supporting act were four very beautiful ladies in the form of Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo. They came to the stage, a four piece band singing and playing as angelic as they looked. For the rowdy and impassioned old man with a Mohawk behind me, it was probably not his cup of tea, but for a large majority of the audience, it was a soothing start to a short but sweet introduction to the night. Barker effortlessly mastered the art in making the electric guitar sound so peaceful and delicate, it merged perfectly with the equally enjoyable sound of the accordion, violin and harmonica.

The crowd were then set the challenge of making the room completely silent, Barker claiming, "Bournemouth managed it last week." It was a feasible plan if it wasn't for one loutish lady breaking the silence with, "Alex! Where are you?" Much to the amusement of Barker, she did continue and asked everyone to sing along which the audience accepted gratefully. Barker then announced her final song and without warning, Frank Turner appeared on stage to sing a duet, 'Fields of June'. This unexpected performance got the audiences complete attention, of which the loud whispers and heavy hum quickly died down to leave the only sound audible, that of the sublime partnership of Frank Turner and Emily Barker. Sensational.



Up on stage next were the American punk-rock band Against Me! In a complete twist of genre, as soon as the first chord was struck by the bass player Andrew Seward, the ground below began to shake. In an earlier interview that day, Seward explained how on the first night touring with Frank Turner, they actually blew up the PA system with their powerful set-list. Lead singer, Tom Gabel's voice was roaring as the audience were transformed into a frenzy of head banging rockers. The energy demonstrated by the band on stage was sensationally insane at the peak of their performance playing, 'I Wish I Was A Teenage Anarchist'.



Two an a half hours after the doors were open, and two stupendous support acts later, the curtains were drawn back, and the stage revealed to the very patient spectators. Frank Turner introduced his set in the most anticipated yet most profound way he knows with his song 'Eulogy'. The entire room sang each and every lyric flawlessly before a surprised Turner exclaims, "You guys are really f***ing friendly."

He explained that he would be playing a mixture of old and new songs and dives straight into 'The Road' from his album 'Poetry Of The Deed' which the crowd roars in accordance to his plan. Then followed with other well known songs from his second album, 'Love Ire & SongEngland Keep My Bones'. Turner then gave the audience a taste if his new material by playing 'Polaroid Picture', a song about taking a picture of a time where things are good, oand just holding onto that beautiful moment, which was a similar thought-process for many people in the crowd listening to this new sound.

The next two songs, 'Wessex Boy' and 'Night Becomes Day', Turner was accompanied by his good friend Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo once again which by the sound of the cheering and clapping, was much approved by Turner's fans. However, delving back into the past for Turner seemed more of a challenge than first thought as he confessed, "I did actually have to google the lyrics for the next song. It's been a while since I played it." Despite this, he produced an immaculate rendition of his old, yet familiar song 'Must Try Harder'.



More extraordinary examples of some of his finest work followed all to swiftly before he came to the end of his set. Turner concluded with a cover song of, 'Somebody To Love by rock legends Queen, to mark the 20th anniversary of Freddie Mercury's death. He ditched his guitar and took control of the microphone; even managing to hit the high note of which the show-goers could not seem to applaud loud enough. The song finished, the 'Frank Turner' banner behind him was released and then he was gone.

Without a minutes rest, the audience cohered as one and began chanting his name to return for the encore. Frank Turner being himself, not wanting to disappoint, did not leave the audience for long before returning back on stage to sing himself out with an exemplary encore. When he distinctively stated, "My name is Frank Turner, and I'm from Winchester" that indicated to the audience that it was his final song, and what a song it was: 'Photosynthesis', demonstrating to every single person in that building that it was not the end of the night, it was only the beginning, "Now I'll play and you sing, the perfect way for the evening to begin."

Set list:

Eulogy
The Road
If I Ever Stray
Reasons Not To Be An Idiot
I Am Disappeared
Love Ire & Song
Polaroid Picture
Wessex Boy
Nights become Day
Must Try Harder
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
Sons Of Liberty
One Foot Before The Other
Peggy Sang The Blues
Glory Hallelujah
Long Live The Queen I Still Believe
Somebody To Love Queen

Cowboy Chords Ballad Of Me And My Friends Photosynthesis

FUTURE GIGS