Frank Turner, after playing to sell-out crowds in England, has finally made the breakthrough into the US. Imagine the poetry of Bob Dylan with the voice and charisma of Bruce Springsteen and you pretty much have Frank Turner.
Backing Mr. Turner was a band called the Sleeping Souls, which consisted of Ben Lloyd on guitar and backing vocals, Matt Nasir on keyboards and mandolin and backing vocals, Tarrant Anderson on bass and Nigel Powell plays drums. This was a band that not only consisted of outstanding musicians, but they all had their own quirky personalities, adding to the spirit of the concert.
One of the first songs played was “If Ever I Stray” and Frank’s powerful voice sang out:
But if ever I stray from the path I follow
Take me down to the English Channel
Throw me in where the water is shallow
And then drag me on back to shore!
Almost everyone sang along.
About half way through the show, the band left the stage and Frank performed a couple of songs completely solo with only his acoustic/electric for accompaniment.
When the band returned, things got wild. Drummer Nigel led everyone in jumping jacks and within seconds the entire floor was a sea of people doing jumping jacks, which led into the song, “Glory Hallelujah,” where Frank sang jubilantly,
There is no God,
So clap your hands together,
There is no God,
No heaven and no hell.
There is no God,
We’re all in this together,
There is no God,
So ring that victory bell.
I didn’t notice a still body on the dance floor. For the finale Frank climbed off the stage and over the barricade landing on outstretched arms and crowd surfed while still singing.
After playing approximately an hour and a half long, the band returned for an encores lasting about another half an hour.
Prior to Frank Turner’s performance was a band called Skinny Lister. I’d seen Skinny Lister at Warped Tour in 2012 and remember being impressed, but this time they blew me away. I’d been sitting in the balcony resting a bum knee, but the second Skinny Lister hit the stage I found myself compelled to get as close as I could. This six-piece from England revved up the audience but good! Think Flogging Molly and Steeleye Span tossed in a blender and that pretty much describes Skinny Lister. They were non-stop energy. Lorna Thomas, the lone female in the band, put on the twists and spins and kicked up her heels when she wasn’t belting out songs with her crystal yet gutsy voice.
One of the highlights was when standup bassist Michael Camino did a crowd surf, bass firmly in his grasp, and never missed a lick until said bass was crowd surfed back to the stage while said bass player continued to surf. Drummer Thom Mills had a mop of blond hair that whipped around as fast as his drumsticks. Max Thomas altered back and forth between a mandolin and accordion and flitted about the stage like his feet were on fire. The whole band was on fire and that fire ignited the crowd. Judging by the raucous cheers, everyone enjoyed them as much as I did. The remainder of Skinny Lister are Daniel Heptinstall on acoustic guitar and lead vocals and Mule on electric guitar and concertina.
Opening the entire night was another English troubadour with an acoustic guitar , a baseball cap and bare feet calling himself Beans On Toast. He sang with a voice that sounded like he gargled with gravel and washed it down with a smooth whiskey. He oozed charm and sang humorous songs with a political edge. This was never more evident than in his next to last song about the upcoming presidential election. This being Seattle, everyone booed when he mentioned Trump and cheered when he mentioned Sanders. He was most entertaining and again received resounding cheers from the audience.
I was so glad I attended this show. If this wasn’t a sold out show it was close to it. All three acts were outstanding!
