FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS + PET NEEDS + JESS GUISE – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 21.7.21
In November 2019 I witnessed Frank Turner play live for the first time when my daughter dragged me along to see him at the De La Warr Pavilion in sleepy Bexhill.
Despite my apprehension about attending an all-seated gig for an artist that I had associated with a half decent mosh pit, I was pleasantly surprised by the evening which encompassed his life story and gave me an insight into the man and his music, of which I was vaguely familiar with. He won me over that night with his acoustic sets but I was desperate to see one of his famed electric sets which I had heard so much about.
Fast forward 20 months and here I am going to see Frank, once again with his band The Sleeping Souls on the south coast, but this time in Brighton on a much warmer evening than my previous encounter with Mr Turner.
This time though I was attending with apprehension about going to an all-standing gig, something I would never have dreamed of feeling wary about pre-March 24th, 2020. Times have changed dramatically since then though and after a couple of all-seated socially distanced gigs, which in all honesty were just not the same, I was suddenly being thrust back into the land of normality and hopefully the mosh pit that I had been longing for.
Disappointingly for my daughter she was unable to attend this evening, but I had a National Lottery playing super fan of Frank in tow as my plus one for tonight’s show at the Concorde 2. In a wonderful initiative from the National Lottery in conjunction with the Music Venue Trust, £1m has been provided to subsidise some big names to play grassroots venues which they have outgrown, in hope of reviving the live music scene. The deal included bringing along a friend for free if they can prove that they play the lottery. Other forms of gambling are also available but don’t forget to bet responsibly!
During Lockdown Frank did more for grassroots music than most with his regular live streams, of which I tuned into quite a few, during which the audience were able to donate to smaller venues where he had previously played that were under threat from the sudden demise of live music due to the ‘C’ word.
I had only found out that I was attending this gig some 24 hours earlier, so I was a bit unprepared. Luckily, I still had a spare Lateral Flow Test which I completed pre-gig, not a ritual that I enjoy due to my gagging and sneezing, but my selflessness makes it an essential in the modern world and to be perfectly honest I would do whatever it takes to see live music again. I just hope that other gig goers have the same attitude as it probably won’t take much for this government to smother the music industry once again and crush it for good. Listening to music at home and moshing with myself is not the same as attending a gig, but it did make homeworking bearable during the Lockdown and gave me some much needed exercise.
First up on tonight’s bill was none other than Frank’s wife Jessica Guise, who plays in a band named ‘Guise’ which is a vehicle for her talents. Tonight though it was just her with her acoustic guitar. I was only really familiar with one of her songs and as chance would have it, she opened with that one, ‘The Fun Part,’ whilst I was at the bar.
Typical! I had listened to some of her other songs earlier in the day in preparation for tonight and it would be fair to say that it isn’t what I would normally listen to. I made my way to the second row at the front thanks to the venue being only about a quarter full, at which point I realised that my pre-conception of her music was completely wrong. She has a stage presence and an enchanting voice which made me want to listen intently to her songs.
Second up was a love song about Frank called ‘Surprise’ which on introduction she joked about vomiting. So sweet! She followed this with a lovely melody about Lockdown called ‘High Enough’ including lyrics about her newfound love for gardening, but hastened to add that she hated the whole damn thing but made the most of it.
As her set came to an end she asked the audience who liked Dire Straits? Definitely not I. She then went on to tell us how her Dad had brought his children up on a diet of their songs and so her love for music blossomed. The final song was dedicated to her Dad who had died when she was only 18. ‘Brother In Arms’ was a touching heartfelt song with which I’m sure many can identify with. It was already fairly hot in the venue as was confirmed by some drops of sweat coming out of my eyes during this emotional number.
Jess Guise was gushing with appreciation of the crowd and all the people who had helped her through the past year. She made me laugh and sweat, no tears, with her songs and unbridled passion for live music. An unexpected start to what was already promising to be a good night.
Setlist
1.’The Fun Part’
2.’Surprise’
3.’High Enough’
4.’Don’t Come Back’
5.’The Countdown’
6.’Brother In Arms’
Tonight was to be my first experience of PET NEEDS and I had been forewarned by tonight’s Brighton & Hove News Music Team photographer Cris Watkins to get down early as they are excellent, though he did it put it in slightly stronger language. Their debut album was mixed by Frank Turner and he has rightly given them the opportunity to showcase their talent.
Brothers Johnny and George Marriott are originally from Derby, but they ended up in North Essex and formed PET NEEDS after recruiting left-handed Rich on bass guitar and Jack on drums. Again I was unfamiliar with their music, but had also given them a listen in the afternoon. They sounded a bit more up my street, but again I was unsure how this would transfer over to a live performance.
It is hard to place them into a particular genre, but maybe the title of their debut album ‘Fractured Party Music’ best describes them. If you like your music loud in an Alt/Indie Rock style with the energy of punk then you won’t go far wrong with PET NEEDS. From the moment they entered the stage, their energy transformed the night from a relaxing affair into a fast and furious musical extravaganza. There was no doubting how much playing live meant to them.
They didn’t waste Lockdown as they wrote their debut album having been shrewdly signed by Xtra Mile Recordings during the pandemic. Their greatest achievement though was writing a song ‘Roses’, designing the cover, etc, and releasing the final product within 8 hours over Zoom. Johnny described this as the most stressful day of his life and there were some disagreements with his brother George, but the end result was pretty impressive.
As with most bands PET NEEDS have struggled over Lockdown so unashamedly they gave us a one minute transaction promoting their album and merchandise with a humorous sales pitch.
They finished off with their latest single ‘Overcompensating’ which was a great last song and would have had me singing along if only I knew the lyrics! With that the whirlwind was over. Their enthusiasm for a live show was second to none. If you want fast songs about inflatable kayaks or slower numbers about washing machine repair men then PET NEEDS are the band for you.
It’s nice to see a band enjoy themselves and not take themselves too seriously. Definitely a band to follow in the future, even if just for their amazing live shows. My favourite song from their set was ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’.
Judging by the quote on their Facebook page it’s safe to say they enjoyed the night as much as the crowd: “Best gig of our lives. My gosh. Speechless. Thank you. It’s just the beginning.” Sounds like a fair assessment of their show.
Setlist
1.’Toothpaste’
2.’Kayak’
3.’Pavlovian’
4.’As The Spin Cycle Span’
5.’Roses’
6.’Tracey Emin’s Bed’
7.’Overcompensating’
I was now nicely warmed up, with real sweat dripping, for the night’s headline act. As chance would have it next up on stage was Jessica Guise’s husband, who was playing his 2,532nd gig, but only his 5th live show of this year.
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls set started off at a frantic pace including a punked up version of ‘Little Changes.’ Early on we were given the two rules of any Frank Turner gig. Rule One – “Don’t be a dickhead and respect those around you”. Fair enough! Rule Two – “Singalong until your heart is content”, which as Frank pointed out was most important tonight, as it was his fifth consecutive gig after 493 days without one and his voice was feeling a bit scratchy. This was blatantly obvious when trying to reach some higher notes, but it failed to detract from what was already becoming a performance to remember.
This was the master showman at work and he had the audience eating out of his hands as he pumped out his greatest hits as far as ‘The Ballad Of Me And My Friends’ up to his latest offerings of ‘The Gathering’ which will surely be a future gig favourite, and ‘Punches’ where Frank was chuffed get to use a drop D more akin to the likes of Nirvana.
Never was there a more apt time to slow it down a bit after playing ‘Out Of Breath’, as the audience were in need of a few minutes break as lack of mosh pit fitness was taking its toll. Nothing beats sharing a mosh pit with a load of sweaty strangers though tonight my action was restricted by an achilles injury and I even somehow managed to resist the wall of death.
A couple of acoustic numbers followed. Frank still found it in himself to apologise to Jess before he played ‘The Way I Tend To Be’ which is about a previous relationship. After a slight technical hitch which was made pretty seamless as Frank engaged with the crowd in his own inimitable way, which ended with quite a few members of the crowd chanting their derision at the government. Not quite what Frank had planned before the next song which is an anthem that people need to embrace in this cruel world today, ‘Be More Kind’. Mobile phone torches and even cigarette lighters shone brightly as health and safety took a backseat for the next five minutes as the crowd sang along in unison.
For me, the highlights were ‘Photosynthesis,’ ‘The Gathering’ and ‘Recovery’, but there really were no weaknesses in this set. All credit must go to the band for their tightness, which may have come as a surprise given they had not played live together for such a long time up until recently, and even less so for the drummer.
As usual we were treated to some interesting facts about the band. Tonight we learnt that the guitarist was the Northern Ireland 6-8 age group runner-up in a Tarzan Impressionist competition and he even treated us to his current impression. Also that bassist Tarrant Anderson had been given a backing vocals mic for the first time in 14 years, and drummer Callum Green had only played four gigs (really?!) with the band prior to tonight. Frank also talked about how he suffered during Lockdown, but at the same time was proud of the fact that he didn’t resort to baking sourdough bread.
Frank Turner was overwhelmed at times and his outpouring of genuine emotion at returning to what he enjoys most was laid bare for all to see. This was entertainment back to its best and absolutely no comparison to the live streams we have had to make do with for the past 16 months.
The weather forecast for tonight failed to predict the isolated electric storm which hit Marine Parade, Brighton, at about 9.25pm and lasted for 90 minutes. I suspect that a lot of people will be suffering from sore throats this morning as a result of singing along to virtually every song. Me, I cannot hear very well after standing close to the speakers for the whole evening, but I think it was worth it. It’s safe to say though that tonight I and 599 others witnessed the triumphant return of live music after 16 months in the wilderness.
Setlist
1.’Get Better’
2.’1933’
3.’Little Changes’
4.’If Ever I Stray’
5.’The Road’
6.’Photosynthesis’
7.’The Gathering’
8.’Polaroid Picture’
9.’Plain Sailing Weather’
10.’Punches’
11’.I Am Disappeared’
12.’Out Of Breath’
13.’The Way I Tend To Be’
14.’Be More Kind’
15.’The Next Storm’
16.’Try This At Home’
17.’Long Live The Queen’
(encore)
18.’The Ballad Of Me And My Friends’
19.’Recovery’
20.’I Still Believe’
21.’Four Simple Words’
