Frank Turner with Chris T-T & Jonny Black @ The Mandela Hall – 28/05/2010

June 3, 2010 1 Comment

After missing Frank Turner last time round, it was safe to say I was pretty gutted. But when the announcement came through that he was returning to the mighty ‘Fast to play on 28th May, I literally couldn’t contain my excitement.

The ex ‘Million Dead’ front man (turned folk punk royalty) drew together his die-hard Northern Irish fan base for a night of acoustic magic.

Jonny Black was the first act up, with his disheveled worn out guitar, full of stickers and uncut strings, reflecting his unkempt yet still stylish hair.

But don’t judge a book by its cover – if anything a rough-and-ready look means great music. He turned out to be a terrific first act, drawing together influences that were reminiscent of Fionn Regan, but with more of an edge. His words flowed from line to line, and created a mesmerizing and entertaining set, despite the initial lack of crowd.

Chris TT followed Jonny, same acoustic set up: just a bloke with his guitar. But there’s something so vulnerable, and captivating about these sort of gigs.

His guitar and tell-it-all lyrics echoed through the Mandela Hall, bounced off the walls and sank into my eardrums, and for some reason, having never met the guy, I already wanted to be his friend.

Playing songs from his new record ‘Love is Not Rescued’, it was clear that the crowd hadn’t only turned out to see Frank Turner, as they began singing along to Chris’s infectiously catchy songs. ‘Once in My Life’ was a cracking tune, and it was apparent that only bigger things lie ahead for this Billy Bragg-esque artist.

Frank Turner finally took to the stage in all his lanky glory. A friend of mine described one of his gigs as ‘like a train’. Never really understood what he meant, until he said ‘steady. Fast but steady’. And then I got it.

He wowed the crowd with endless energy and fast paced lyrics, with some great stories in between. Can’t say I was more than a little jealous when he got a female member of the audience onstage to play a harmonica solo alongside him, but my grin wasn’t forced (to hide the pain of it not being myself), nor the beer, but just the sheer intensity and incredible atmosphere he was bringing to Belfast that night.

‘I knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’ was quite a moment, with literally everyone singing along to the final verse, spilling their beer from lifting their arms in the air, and the bright lights shining behind him – that image will stay with me forever.

And it came to no surprise that he finished with Photosynthesis, but the set-list was perfect (well, maybe I would’ve liked to hear him play The Real Damage). Absolutely incredible night – it felt like one of those nights where someone grabs a guitar at a party, sits and plays, and everyone around them transfixed, sits, sips and sings along. It simply felt like that – one big group of friends listening to a great guy playing belter tunes. Well done to all. Definitely 10/10.

By Tascha Kay

Reviews