Frank Turner / Chris T-T / Emily Barker

With an interview with Chris T-T also on the agenda, due online here soon, I arrive early at tonight's gig at Exeter's Phoenix, having spent the day at a guitar show down the road. Despite it being a Sunday night, this show at the Phoenix, Exeter is the hottest ticket in town tonight, and the gig ends with the whole venue full of energy.

The first act Emily Barker, an Australian folk singer with a captivating voice and also a member of Red Clay Halo has the crowd enthralled. It's so quiet you could have heard a pin drop, and she keeps telling the silent crowd, they are the most attentive she's played to so far, six dates in to this tour. With her gentle voice, acoustic, guitar, harmonica, and tunes like 'Dirt Music', and a cover of Mike Robson's 'Bright Favours' she brings the crowd alive on the final nights for the applause.



There's a large cheers as tonight's main entertainment, Frank Turner, joins her for a duet of 'Love Her Like I Used To', him on guitar and her on banjo, it's much more lively, altering the vibe of the venue, and despite changing the flow of the set, it's a good introduction to the more lively numbers, to follow. Emily concludes with 'Little Deaths' and an appeal for our secrets to be added to the box in the foyer, it gives her something to read on the tour bus, "Manchester had some good ones." She reveals.

Chris T-T is up next after a short intermission. He's on stage with his guitar, rather than piano, The Hoodrats also accompany him with Ben Murray on driving punky drums, Johny Lamb on additional punk feel bass, and Jenny Macro on more indie sounding restrained guitar.



The band sound like a classic era punk rock band at times, I'm thinking Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, or Buzzcocks, but without the edgy guitar, both guitars are much more understated, although the rhythm section is in full flow. The crowd could be moshing, but are pretty damn static, as Chris T-T delivers acerbic politically wrapped barbs of social commentary, playing songs from 'Capital' including the "love song" 'Ankles', new single '(We Are) The King of England', and 'None of Them Give a Fuck About the Future' each without Chris' usual piano, he sticks to the guitar throughout, snapping a string in the process. I'm expecting 'Giraffes #1' from 'London Is Sinking' to be the closer, as the band leave.

But Chris T-T unleashes a solo rendition of 'The Huntsmen' about "...The Countryside Alliance, let's call them 'cunts' for short" with Frank Turner yelling the lyrics with equal venom from off stage at the sidelines. The crowd respond with an explosion of applause, and a few farmers within them stay quiet.

Next up the night's headliner Frank Turner, for anyone who doesn't know who the mercurially ascending music star is, he's the former frontman of punk rock band Million Dead who now is reaping fame with a solo career in folk music. Tonight though he's not solo, he's assembled a band with Nigel Powell on drums, Ben Lloyd on guitar, Matt Nasir on keyboards (not Chris T-T), and Tarrant Anderson on bass.



He starts strongly with the lively 'Reasons Not To Be An Idiot' and the crowd join in, there's a clear split between long term fans, predominantly at the front, and those here to see what the fuss is about, some are young musos, others are folk types, it's a good mix in here tonight.

'Nashville Tennessee' from his early EP 'Campfire Punkrock', and 'Worse Things Happen At Sea' from last year's 'Sleep Is for the Week' with Emily Barker joining him on keyboards show Frank's depth of musical songwriting style, both with trad folk overtones. One full of lazy optimism, the other a twisted bitter tale of broken love, and both with jaunty sing along choruses.

I'd say it's about now Frank gets pretty much everyone in the audience on board, and sing along tunes like 'Substitute', jig about number 'Punk Rock Saved my Life', 'Vital Signs', and 'The Real Damage'. Where suddenly drummer Nigel Powell runs aggressively across the stage to the audience, with a grimace. The whole place stops, I don't know what happened but it seems there's a lady on the floor out of her wheelchair, Frank stops the show, and calls for security to assist. It's some time before the show continues.



I'd have thought this long a break would have dissipated the atmosphere, but by the time I return from having a quick ciggie, the place is even more alive, for the two aces in Frank's repertoire 'I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous', and 'Long Live The Queen' a poignant song about one of the singer's friends succumbing to cancer. Despite the song being something of a "Chart failure", a third of all proceeds were donated to the Breast Cancer Campaign, and Frank thanks us for "Being part of something cool."



The show closes with 'Love, Ire, And Song' and the band leave to tremendous applause. This happy band of travelling troubadours return to the stage with all the support acts, Chris T-T takes up keyboards, and even Jim Bob, their guitar tech and it is a party atmosphere on stage for 'Photosynthesis', the final exclamation mark in a terrific set. We've had a great evening of entertainment, and this rates as one of the best nights of music I've ever seen, Frank's energy and optimism are infectious, and we all leave the Phoenix with springs in our steps. On tonight's performances Frank and company are set for the mainstream big time.

FUTURE GIGS