1,186 FRANK TURNER, Pet Needs, Guise, Samantics, Frome Cheese and Grain, Sunday 8th August 2021

 

The last “paying” gig before last March’s lockdown was recent “live” staple, folk/punk troubadour and storyteller Frank Turner (Bath Forum, gig 1,181), so it seems only appropriate that Frank should host one of the first ones back! Indeed, had the initial “Freedom Day” date for full easing of all restrictions gone ahead on 21 June as planned, instead of being shunted back a month, this one – part of Frank’s “The Gathering” afternoon/evening extended bill events to fully welcome the “live” experience back, and initially scheduled for the following Saturday 26^th – would actually, and fittingly, have been the first back!

 This was also due to be a full family outing, but the youngest cried off at short notice, so we dropped them off at Grandmas and headed down on a sunny afternoon, phoning our friend Matt (who rather handily lives the other side of Frome) on the journey, who availed himself of the spare ticket. Got to the venue at 5, in time to catch the last knockings of Samantics’ jumpy and shouty set (sorry, but that’s all I remember of it!) and to suss out the arrangements. No Covid passport required, but a venue running at 50% capacity and with a new ventilation system installed – fair enough! We grabbed a drink and sat on the steps in front of the sun-drenched outside terrace, popping back in for Guise at 5.45. A two-piece iteration of Frank’s wife’s eponymous band, this time, with Jess being joined by co-vocalist Laura Hanna to embellish the harmonies of her delicate, absorbing and melancholy material. Opener “The Fun Part” was a charming strumalong opener, with tumbling vocals and a few too many words for comfort (which I’m always happy with in a song!), and after Jess made reference to herself and Laura being the only distaff performers on the bill (“consider us the apple spritz to your IPA!”), a subsequent “I Know When You Leave” (“about Frank going on tour – not [at the moment], he won’t fuck off now!”) was a wispy lovelorn beast. Another fine Guise set culminated in a more up-tempo newie, “The Boy And The Thief”, featuring more galloping guitar work and more tumbling over-wordy vocals from the impressively-ranged Ms. Guise. Ms. Guise, you see, not Mrs. Turner, as in her words, “I didn’t take his name because, you know, fuck the patriarchy!”

 A brief chat with the ever-gregarious Jess at the merch table afterwards, Jess claiming to have remembered us from Bath last March which was nice, then Rach got pizza for herself and Logan and we had a tea interval down by the nearby river at the far end of the car park, not only noticing the canoe slalom course set-up, but also a couple of water voles! Back in for a brief sampling of the subsequent Pet Needs early set, their frantic acoustic folky skiffle not really floating our collective boats, so we sat outside on the terrace instead, catching up with Matt on his arrival and subsequently also missing main support Skinny Lister!

 

However, we were all back in just before 9, as Frank bounded onstage solo, welcoming us all to, “Show 2,535!” before conducting a raucous and committed singalong to opener “The Ballad Of Me And My Friends”. Introducing fellow Sleeping Soul Matt Nasir onstage and commenting, “it feels like we’re revisiting the scene of a crime!”, Frank then announced the gig rules, adding a third to the usual, “don’t be a dickhead,” and, “if you know the words, sing along,” with, “if Matt does something complicated on the mandolin (an instrument Frank recently persuaded him to learn, apparently), you have to cheer!”

 

Not that this audience needed any prompting to cheer – they (or should that be, “we”), were totally engaged in the performance from note one, cheering and singing along to every word, determined to make up for lost time. As also was Frank; an outstanding performer even on his worst day, but rarely have I seen him perform his songs with such overt conviction, such passion and emotion, pouring heart and soul into every note, and commenting pointedly between songs as to how much this matters to him, and to us all. At this point, I normally list specific highlights, but just look at the set-list – in all honesty, every single number was magnificent, as also was the easy bonhomie between Frank and Matt, Frank’s between-song diatribe about recent events (“no-one knows how things are going to play out, least of all the people in charge; fucking twats!”), a touching tribute to his friend, the recently-lost Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit prior to an achingly emotional newie “A Wave Across A Bay”, and his final, sincere thanks and comments on the sense of community he – and we – feel at a Frank Turner gig, A roof-raising and raucous “I Still Believe” was the perfect ending to an evening during which rock’n’roll saved us all, at least for a while… As Frank put it earlier; “fucking hell, I missed you guys!” And Frank, the feeling is totally mutual!