Frank Turner

Last night I went to see Frank Turner at the O2 Arena. It was my first time going to a gig there and it's bloody huge. I know that sounds stupid but, like, I didn't think there'd be a whole town under that famous dome. It was amazing! (Except there was no McDonald's...) My friend and I went up after school and it only took about half an hour on the tube, so hallelujah for living relatively close to Central. I feel like I take living here for granted. I probably only go into London properly five or six times in a year. We picked up some Subway and also a chicken katsu curry from Wasabi (hi, calories) and stood around in the queue for a bit. Because we'd got there so early, we were super duper close to the front which was pretty bangin'. (I've been using that word far too much lately!) See this guy in the picture below who's really tall, in a white tshirt and in the front and centre of the crowd? We were directly behind him! P. good spot I think.

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The first of the support acts was a guy called Beans on Toast who sang political and protest-type songs. It was just him and his guitar for most of it but he could also be a comedian because he was so bloody funny! My friend took this photo, classic Beans swigging his beer on stage. I think he was perfect to go on first, just to get everyone laughing and singing along.

Next was Flogging Molly and, oh my god, I was so excited! I've loved them for years and when I heard that they were supported Frank Turner, I almost wet myself. They're a kind of folk-rock band and their music is basically just Irish jig material. Needless to say there was a freaking lot of moshing. Everyone went totally wild and I would have still gone to the concert even just to see them without Frank.

Then at about quarter past nine or something, Frank Turner came on. He was amazing! I actually was nicely surprised to find I knew a lot of his songs and singing along was pretty great. Everyone at the gig was so nice too, I felt like we were all going to be best friends. During Photosynthesis, everyone sat down and I'm pretty sure I was on a girl's lap but we all leapt up ("I won't sit down and I won't shut up") and danced with total strangers. Pretty wonderful if you ask me.

It was an absolutely incredible night and by far the best show I've been to. I was comparing it to The 1975 who I saw about a month ago and I think Frank Turner makes them seem so detached from their fans, and kind of cold, almost as if they're kind of scathing towards the people who come to see them. Frank told us all the stories behind each song and asked us what we wanted to hear, and talked about what was going on in the news and, to me, The 1975 come across as so unfriendly when I compare them to him. They ignored all the people shouting out to them and never once spoke directly to the crowd. Ruuuuude.


It's a shame the tshirts were so expensive last night - 25 bloody pounds! - because I would have loved one, but hey, there's always eBay. I felt, and looked, like a bit of a trainwreck by the end of the night. Thankfully we were home just after midnight but my old lady body can't take standing up for six hours so I was absolutely shattered.

I'm so happy I got to go yesterday and I'll just take this opportunity to say that if Frank Turner is ever playing near you, go and see him! Even if you don't know his music, he puts on an amazing performance and you'll meet some pretty cool people. £20 doesn't seem like a lot to pay for four hours of pure joy.

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