Rating:

Apparently, the people of Norwich are quite adept at writing death threats as Frank Turner explained during the gig at the LCR last Monday, a response to him leaving out Norwich on his last UK tour, so much so that he couldn't not include the city on his current world tour! All was forgiven come the end of the concert.

The event started with two very different support acts. The first, Crazy Arm, a quartet from Plymouth started the night off with numbers from their 2009 album Born To Ruin. If you're a fan of Rise Against, then you'll easily resonate with Crazy Arm's music, a mixture of contemporary rock with subtle punk undertones enveloped in grass roots political activism that energised the crowd greatly. The second was Chuck Ragan, a masterful singer/songwriter whose music easily reminded me of some of Springsteen's classics. Chuck and his live band offered up an astounding mix of contemporary folk and blues, with tracks like The Boat and For Broken Ears proving to be stand-outs in a masterful set. I urge everyone to check both of these acts out on the interwebs!

After an agonising 20 minute wait, Frank appeared to a roaring fanfare from the crowd and began with Photosynthesis, to which the venue erupted with sing-a-long to the wonderful chorus of "I won't sit down/I won't shut up/And most of all I will not grow up”. The energy continued throughout the 22 song strong setlist with hits such as Reasons Not To Be An Idiot, I Knew Prufrock Before He Became Famous and the sad and intimate tale of a lost friend in Long Live The Queen. What Frank can be commended for greatly is his ability to communicate with the audience in down times, whether it be through his political statements, the death threats (!) or that of his own experiences with his friends, which is a clear and refreshing influence on his music, adding a layer of warmth and intimacy to the event. Inviting a (very lucky) member of the crowd to play a harmonica solo on Dan's Song added to this atmosphere as well. By the conclusion of The Road in the encore, it was clear that both Frank and the audience had had a thoroughly enjoyable evening, something which this reviewer can confidently attest to, and hopes that Frank will return to Norwich again in the future.

At least he now knows the consequences if he doesn't!