Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls - Live Review

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

O2 Academy Oxford. Saturday 24 September 2022

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls never disappoint. Yes I might be a massive fan. And yes, it is a Saturday night. And yes, I could've had a few drinks. However, what this man doesn't know about touring isn't worth knowing. This is show number 2687. This is the 'The Never Ending Tour of Everywhere 2022'. And I am excited.

Due to an early curfew the band take to the stage just before 8pm and fire into 'Four Simple Words', 'The Gathering' & 'Photosynthesis'. The crowd are up for it, and know every, single, word. What never fails to amaze me about Frank Turner's shows is the age range of the audience, and the passion they show for his music. Some of these tracks have been toured time and time again. But they are timeless. They follow his journey through life and he plays them today like it's the first time playing them. Some bands stop playing the crowd pleasers. Thankfully, not this band.

Frank Turner shows come with two rules.

1. Don't be a dick.
2. Sing along if you know the words. Everyone adheres to these rules, and everyone always has a good show. If only life was this simple.

The newer tracks sound great: 'The Work', 'Non serviam', 'Punches', 'Haven't been doing so well'. However, the one that gets the feels is 'A wave across a bay' which was written forcott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit. The crowd go silent, and appreciate every word that was written. This is a special song.

This evening is new band member Callum Green's first Oxford show with the band. Ben Lloyd & Tarrant Anderson are from Oxford and so it is a hometown show of sorts. It's also the first Oxford show without former drummer Nigel Powell. The multi-instrument machine Matt Nasir is also in attendance and the band are sounding tight.

The classics are still there: 'The Road', 'The way I tend to be', 'The ballad of me and my friends'. They still sound great, and people still want to hear them.

The evening is a showcase of Frank Turner's talent. We get 7 songs off the newest album 'FTHC' – which was also Turner's first number one studio album in the UK. Whereas some bands are all about pushing the new songs, Frank knows how to keep everybody happy. The setlist still contains all the classics.

The evening finishes with 'Recovery', 'Try this at Home' and 'I still believe' and the roof almost coming off the venue. This night was never going to disappoint and I had an amazing time.

Don't change Frank Turner.

Support for the evening comes from 'Pet Needs' and 'Truckstop Honeymoon'.