*Camden Roundhouse, not as above
Notching up another thousand people under his ?biggest headline show to date? claim brings Frank Turner to Camden?s Roundhouse tonight. By the time Crazy Arm(4/5) hit the stage, the auditorium is filling up very nicely, and the Plymouth four-piece prove very capable at getting the room up to temperature. Their sound sits comfortably against those playing above them, and when Chuck Ragan joins them for their closing track, frontman Jon Dalley beings to look like he has all the makings of a prot‚g‚.
Chuck Ragan (4/5) returns with his crack team of bluesmen behind him and proves he?s tonight?s first example of a frontman come solo artist come idol. Whether he?s leading an all out hoe-down with ?Let It Rain? or making hearts crumble with his throat of gravel, he?s just as much of a headline act for much of the audience as Frank is. The main man joins Ragan again for another end-of-set-collabo, giving another cracking performance an all-star ending.
But of course, it is Frank?s night and it only takes a few seconds of the man being on stage to remind us that there isn?t really anything quite like a Frank Turner show. As is always the case, it?s a fervent singalong with a chorus of thousands, led by one of the tightest currently active touring bands this country has to offer. It?s a sizeable set, and the Roundhouse is treated to a rare live outing for ?Jetlag? which is up there in the best bits alongside the closing trademark of ?The Ballad Of Me And My Friends?.
That?s the thing about Frank Turner shows: with all their guest musicians and crowd singalongs and inside jokes, you feel like you?re in the company of friends. This lot are the sort of friends who never fail to show you a good time. (5/5)