Words: Miljan Milekić
No matter where in the world, if you happen to be at Frank Turner’s show, you are the guest. It doesn’t matter if it’s a city you grew up in, or a venue that’s pretty much a second home, he’s the host, an amazing one, and we are all his guests. And most importantly, everyone’s invited, as long as you follow the “number one rule of his shows” – Don’t be a dickhead!
As with every good host, Turner took care of the soundtrack for the night, not only by bringing in a massive collection of his own hits and deep cuts – on which a bit later, but he also picked tho great support acts for this leg of the tour, making sure to create a fun night. It was Portland’s Bridge City Sinners to strike first, opening the night with their dark folk sound. Melodic, emotional, and led by traditional instruments without the wall of noise from distorted guitars to hide anything, their music was still able to capture the attention of the fans who came in early to see them.
The band has a history with Saskatoon, seemingly hitting the city at every opportunity they have, so it was no surprise the room was already quite full by the time they started their set. The bond they had with the crowd was pretty obvious, as well as the fact they had quite a few fans of their own. They didn’t have too much time at their disposal, so they brought up the heavy stuff – from the opening with ‘Virgin Sacrifice,’ ‘Rock Bottom,’ and ‘Pick Your Poison,’ to fan favourites such as ‘Devil Like You,’ ‘Heavy,’ and ‘Doubt,’ to big closing with ‘The Good Ones’ and ‘Break the Chain.’
Almost every track was introduced with a short story behind its meaning, more often than not including a joke or two in the mix, just enough to spice everything up and make it more fun and personal. To me, although they may not be the band I listen to on a daily basis, their show was kind of the full circle. Back in 2022, when I first moved to Canada, and got my first job in Saskatoon, I bonded with my manager at the time over our mutual love for punk rock music, and he was the one who actually introduced me to their music. Thanks, Derick!
After the Oregon mob went off the stage, it was time for Canada’s own Bedouin Soundclash to take their place on it. It seems like coming from a town called Kingston, albeit the Ontario one, and playing ska music simply couldn’t go wrong, at least in this case. I can’t even remember when I started listening to this band, but it seems like it was forever ago, after hearing their music in a bunch of skate videos. However, this was my first chance to hear them live, and a very welcome one.
On purpose or not, the trio walked on stage to the sound of ‘Straight To Hell’ by The Clash, which perfectly set the tone of the show. Heavy but danceable, their sound is deeply rooted in the UK scene, and bands like The Specials, and aforementioned The Clash, so it didn’t take them long to get the crowd going. With no time to lose, the trio kicked things off with ‘Until We Burn in the Sun,’ before slowly sliding into a more melodic ‘Mountain Top.’ Jumping through tempos and genres, unpredictable, but never out of control, they stuck to their biggest songs slotting in tracks like ‘St Andrew’s’ or ‘Brutal Hearts.’
For me, a special treat of the set came in the form of ‘Walk Through Fire,’ a song that originally features Aimee Allen, from one of my all-time favorite bands The Interrupters. The end of their short but sweet set came in the form of ‘Salt-Water’ – “without the 11-member jazz band,” and ‘When the Night Feels My Song,’ much to the joy of a few superfans in the front row calling for it a few times during the show. Somewhere in between, the band managed to slot in snippets of two iconic tracks – Ben E King’s ‘Stand By Me,’ and Jon Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads,’ showcasing two opposite sides of the spectrum of their influences.
After the short break, it was time for Mr. Turner himself to take the stage, followed by his band The Sleeping Souls. It’s been more than nine years since I’ve last seen him live, but it only took a few words of ‘Eulogy’ to erase all those years in a split second. Right from the get-go, it was clear that the focus would be on his most recent record ‘Undefeated,’ as almost instantly he fired up two tracks off the record – ‘Never Mind the Back Problems’ and ‘No Thank You for the Music,’ with the later already taking place among fan favourites. The more punk rock-oriented sequence continued with an unofficial anthem of half of the world’s countries at the moment – ‘1933,’ only to be brightened up with another new song ‘Girl From the Record Shop.’
Once he got the acoustic guitar back around his neck, it was time for more folk-infused sound, and two of his classic tracks – ‘If Ever I Stray,’ and ‘The Next Storm,’ both followed with massive singalongs from everyone in the crowd. A few more new songs, in the form of ‘Letters’ and ‘Show People’ found their place in this block, with the former receiving an especially heartfelt intro and backstory about it, with a notion that in terms of the ’90s music, “Pennywise beats Korn many, many times.” Slotted somewhere between them was another classic track – ‘Plain Sailing Weather,’ which caused chaos in the crowd.
Around here it was a time for everyone to take a breather, with a calm before a storm. Alone on the stage with only his acoustic guitar and microphone, Turner delivered emotional renditions of ‘Dan’s Song,’ ‘Be More Kind,’ along with ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends,’ once again sung by every soul in the room. Except The Sleeping ones, who were slowly finding their way back to the stage, before sliding into ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous.’ Another new song – ‘Ceasefire’ followed right after, leading the way for three massive hits. ‘Do One,’ while technically a new song, doesn’t feel like it, and it already firmly holds its ground beside anthems such as ‘Recovery’ and ‘I Still Believe’ which followed.
An encore, and of course there was one, started with another brand-new song – ‘Somewhere Inbetween,’ a beautiful ballad Turner holds very near to his heart, which was heard in every word he sang. Although released as a single just weeks before the tour, the song had found its way to his fans, as most of the new songs seem to have. And simply by the fact that he played more than half of the songs from ‘Undefeated,’ Turner shows how much he believes in this record, and how much he likes it. It was ‘Polaroid Pictured’ that followed, before once again stepping on the gas pedal with ‘Get Better’ and ‘Four Simple Words.’
According to Turner himself, this was his first Saskatoon show after six years. In the meantime, he released a couple of new records, while the world itself stopped and started spinning again, and got even darker, gloomier, weirder, and more beautiful. And every once in a while, we need voices like Turner’s to remind us of the last part. It’s OK to be sad, and it’s OK to feel lost. It’s OK to be angry and frustrated, but “we can’t fix the world, if all we have is a hammer.”
