Celtic/Folk/Punk/Rock
I’ve loved Celtic/folk/punk music since the first time I heard The Fields of Athenry, an old Irish folk song covered by The
Dropkick Murphy’s. After listening to the Murphy’s extensively in my teen years
and pretty well memorizing their albums I decided to explore more bands and
acts. This led me to some of the greats like Flogging Molly, The Mahones and
others. I needed more. It wasn’t until years later that I finally found my much
needed addition to this wonderful genre of music.
I had heard
Frank Turner off and on for about half a
year on compilation albums and on those random “related videos” that pop up on
YouTube. Then a got a call from a couple buddies that they were going to the
Frank Turner show at the Burton Cumming’s theatre and wanted to know if I
wanted a ticket. I asked when it was. It was in two hours.
Scrambling
on my phone I bought a ticket online and raced to the theatre not really
knowing what I was getting into. I knew very little about Frank and his music.
What I’d heard I’d liked but I had never actually given it a second glance.
Well that was the best short notice decision I ever made.
The fact
that I’m writing this should pretty well tell you the rest of the story of how
the night went. I was absolutely awestruck. Not just by the music and the
energy, but by the atmosphere Frank creates at his shows and the fan base he
has earned through his listeners trusting him. Trusting him to make good music.
Trusting him to always deliver. And trusting him to never stop pushing the
musical envelope.
I can
honestly say that that was one of the most exciting concerts I have ever been
to. I stood beside without a word of a lie, a five year old girl sitting on her
dad’s shoulders singing along to every song Frank played and on the other side
a sixty year old man with massive sideburns and a studded leather jacket also
singing along.
To me, the
mark of a great artist isn’t necessarily the art they create but rather the
people that appreciate it. And with over a fifty year gap between just two of
the fans I saw that night is any indication, I’d say Frank is doing pretty
well. To be appreciated by three generations is a Rolling Stones level of
appreciation.
The first
couple songs that really grabbed my attention were his “hits”. I know that’s
not exactly a popular position when discussing musicians, but what can I say,
they’re his most accessible tracks so that’s where YouTube sent me.
Photosynthesis and Long Live the Queen were my first glances at Frank’s portfolio and
though they are certainly radio friendly, mainstream tunes I believe they were
hits for the wrong reasons. I believe they were hits because of their catchy, upbeat
sound Not for the content of the tracks. After all, Long Live the Queen is a story about a friend dying. But whether or
not they are hits or radio friendly or mainstream does not take away from the
fact that they really are great songs for an array of reasons and their catchy
attributes and deep stories are just two of several reasons.
As I delved
deeper into Frank’s catalogue I noticed that this otherwise catchy, upbeat band
had some songs that were quite dark and featured drastic realizations a young
man was making in reference to growing up, the progression of the world he
lived in and his observation that most of the world is looking at itself
through rose coloured glasses. My first notice of this darker side Frank seemed
to have to himself was on the track Love,Ire
& Song where frank talks about what he saw as a bitter teacher he had
while growing up who essentially told Frank that when you grow up you may as
well give up. Life is just a big disappointment. Might as well not try. Frank
saw this as a betrayal from an individual who was supposed to be guiding him
and wrote him off as a “wash-up” and that kind of attitude was a “fucking cop-out”.
Frank made the vow that so many young people do, “When I get to your age I won’t…”
In this case Frank vowed not to be a coward. However, as the song progresses
Frank obviously finds out that his adolescent vow quickly seemed to not only
disappear from his teacher’s life but by most people that he saw daily. His
idealist approach he had as an adolescent clearly didn’t translate into the
real world of grownups.
“All the
things that I believed with all my heart when I was young/Are just coasters for
beers and clean surfaces for drugs.” Frank finishes up this realization, that
being that he is clearly the outsider for still having ideals and passions,
that being part of a dying breed, you might as well go out with a bang. Instead
of just fading away, “If we’re stuck on this ship and it’s sinking/Then we
might as well have a parade.”
Earlier I
mentioned that Long Live the Queen is
his most popular (or one of the most popular at least) tracks due to how catchy
it is, which is true, but I may have overstepped my bounds saying it’s popular
for the wrong reasons. Whatever the case, I am very happy the song got as
popular as it did because it still sits near the top of my Frank Turner list. Frank
is one of the best in the business I’ve seen to turn pain, real guttural pain,
real excruciating pain and turning it into art, unconventional art and making
it that people will actually want to consume it. A painful, personal tale of
his last moments with a friend and then her death is just such a terrible but
beautiful story. Just because there is pain and sorrow throughout life and
unfathomable evil, there’s still a light at the end of the tunnel.
Frank
Turner has a great blend of Celtic drawl (even though he’s English…) and peppy
folk that really gets to the heart of what music, real honest music ought to
be. Yes, music is a serious business about getting serious messages across, but
that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it at the same time. Frank is a true
talent that doesn’t play for the money… well maybe enough money so he can
continue getting tattoos… but Frank is there for the message. He’s there for
the fans. And he’s above all there for the music because he has something he
wants to say and he would die before giving up his platform to say it.
Songs to listen to:
Photosynthesis, Long Live the Queen, Faithful Son, Live Fast
Die Old, The Ballad of Me and My Friends, Once We Were Anarchists
- Justin
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