Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls brought their trademark punk/folk hybrid to Sheffield on September 23rd as The Never-Ending Tour of Everywhere stopped off at Sheffield’s O2 Academy. For Turner, long recognised as one of the hardest-working musicians in the business, his 2686th show came quickly on the back of Lost Evenings V, the festival he curates and headlines for four nights.
The crowd were in fine voice before Turner and co took to the stage thanks to support acts Truckstop Honeymoon and Pet Needs and, from the first bars of raucous set-opener ‘Non Servium’, Turner and the Sleeping Souls had the Sheffield audience in the palms of their hands.
The set, which showcased tracks from number one album FTHC alongside classics from Turner’s extensive back catalogue, continued with ‘The Gathering’, a song celebrating the community-experience of live music, before transitioning into fan favourites ‘Four Simple Words’ and ‘Photosynthesis’. In typical Friday-night fashion the crowd responded to the singer’s requests for singalongs and circle pits as the set continued, before the band left Turner to slow things down with a run of reflective acoustic tracks including ‘Brave Face’, ‘Long Live the Queen’ and ‘Be More Kind’.
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls @ Sheffield O2 Academy. Photo: Kevin Wells
A further injection of energy came through anthemic favourite ‘Love, Ire and Song’ from 2008’s album of the same name; the lively crowd shouting the lyrics back at the top of their voices with arms raised towards the venue’s signature mirror ball as the show raged on. The new (‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’) and the old (‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’) formed part of a string of singalong tracks before a storming encore culminating in one of the tracks Turner performed at the opening ceremony of London’s 2012 Olympics, ‘I Still Believe’.
Despite the 25-song strong setlist, there was a hum of disappointment from the crowd as the lights came up. Let’s hope it’s not too long before Frank Turner returns to Sheffield.
