FRANK TURNER: SOUTHAMPTON, UK
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls with support from Amigo The Devil and Dan Pryde
at O2 Guildhall in Southampton, UK
words and photos by Dev Place
Hampshire hero Frank Turner returned to his familiar stomping ground, Southampton’s O2 Guildhall for the penultimate night of his UK Undefeated tour. Tonight, he headlines for the ninth time since 2008. He previously shared that he attended an unsigned battle of the bands showcase at this venue at aged 14. Almost 30 years later, he takes centre stage on home turf, with 10 LPs under his belt, and a cult following to match.
For this tour, Frank held a competition for local talent to apply for the opening slot of each date. With over 250 applicants, Turner shared: “the standard across the board was so damn high, it was agonising choosing only one person for each show, and having to turn down so many people really sucked.” For the Southampton show, he settled on Dan Pryde. His set comprised of tongue in cheek lyricism, frank delivery and definite nods to some of Frank Turner’s earlier discography in style. Pryde’s music fits the demographic well, with a stripped back acoustic guitar and one-man set, illuminated in just a spotlight for a the majority of it. The small snippets of conversation between songs are unassuming, a little shy, but also playful, charming the audience and teeing them up for a night of good spirits.
Danny Kiranos (Amigo The Devil) joins this tour alongside his band, quite clearly, to fulfil the job description of ‘warming up’ for the headliner. He stares out at the crowd with wide eyes, demanding attention from the first banjo strum to the last frantic percussive crescendo. His band only add to the stage presence, visibly enjoying themselves as they giggle along to the storytelling, and interact with one another as they sing along to Danny’s powerful delivery. The set is captivating, with dark, humorous lyrics meeting a swell of tension-building instrumentalism. His music blends folk with alt rock, and channels brutal honesty with an indelibility which can often be missed from a support act.
Frank Turner’s return to Southampton Guildhall was nothing short of jubilant. Marking his 24th headline show in the city, his ninth headline at this venue and his 3,025th performance overall, Turner transformed the venue into a party celebration of his whole career. The setlist was a treat for old and new fans alike; specially pulling out 2006’s ‘This Town Ain't Big Enough for the One of Me’ from Campfire Punkrock- a fitting title, as tonight feels like a bunch of old friends reuniting for good old sing song.
The setlist masterfully blended new material from his tenth studio album, Undefeated, with fan favourites like ‘1933’, ‘Recovery’, and ‘Photosynthesis’. The latter featured the now-traditional sit-down-then-jump-up moment, eliciting laughter and participation, with many audible groans from those starting really feel those creaky knees.
After the lively push pits dissolved, The Sleeping Souls had a short break as Frank delved into an acoustic interlude in a poignant contrast, with solo renditions of ‘Be More Kind’, ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’, and ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’- which was of course met with deafening crowd cheers as most 1700 people yelled back “we planned a revolution / from a cheap Southampton bistro”. While this tour is to promote Turner’s latest output, the indulgence of these old hitters drives home the touching sentiment of a young man who looked at a stage and said “that will be me one day”, only to find out that three decades later, vision would be reality. And what a triumphant vision his reality is to see.
Dan Pryde
AMIGO THE DEVIL
FRANK TURNER
