Due to “slippery rails” (cheers Scotrail) I arrive slightly later to tonight’s gig than originally planned, however I still manage to catch the majority of Will Varley’s set.
Varley’s lone figure looks slightly out of place on the Barrowlands’ massive stage, but he manages to quickly captivate the small crowd in front of him as well as those entering the venue.
Varley uses his charming vocals to tell stories including tales of talking cats, promised wealth from African Princes and Nick Clegg’s favourite Nintendo game (Virtual Knitting for Under 5s obviously), each anecdote is greeted with roaring laughter.
Varley works hard to ensure the crowd is entertained by encouraging conversation and using a number of fake accents, including a surprisingly good Scottish one, which I look forward to hearing again at his headline show at Tut’s in February.
Next up tonight is six-piece Skinny Lister, who burst onto the stage with buckets of energy.
Their set up is very different from the rest of tonight’s line-up as each member is lined up across the front of their stage and contributes vocals while playing their respective instruments.
The incredibly energetic Lorna Thomas is the only member without an instrument, but her excellent dancing and encouragement of the crowd more than make up for it, however it’s double bassist Michael Camino that really grabs your attention as he swings his bass around before diving into the crowd on his back –bass in the air, not missing a beat as he passes above the heads of the crowd.
Skinny Lister work hard to warm up the crowd with their upbeat sea shanties and leave you unable to wipe the grin from your face.
“Welcome to show number 1,782!” English folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner shouts out to an ecstatic crowd excited to see Turner and his band, The Sleeping Souls, return to the Barrowlands stage.
Tonight Turner is showcasing his sixth studio album, Positive Songs for Negative People, so it makes sense that he opens with its first single ‘Get Better’, however it’s not long until classic crowd-pleasers ‘If Ever I Stray’ and ‘The Road’ are played – satisfying those who prefer his older releases.
Early on Turner establishes a divide in the audience taking the form of “Team Ben” and “Team Tarrant” and encourages a friendly dance competition between the two.
This playful repartee continues throughout the set – from Metallica to a flamingo called Steve leading to Turner admitting tonight’s crowd have been the best on the tour yet.
As much as I love Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls I have to admit it is the sheer enthusiasm of his fans that really make the show, refusing to stop to even catch their breath even during the emotional ‘Polaroid Picture’ and ‘Long Live The Queen’.
The strength of the crowd’s vocals is really made apparent during highlight ‘I Am Disappeared’ as their voices chant the lyrics: “we are electric pulses / In the pathways of the sleeping soul of the country,” creating a triumph sound that nearly overpowers Turner’s.
Halfway through the set The Sleeping Souls leave the stage for Turner to perform a small solo set, beginning with old fan favourite from his first album ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’
However, the first half of Turner’s set is merely a warm-up preparing the crowd for the madness to come; first revealed during ‘Photosynthesis’ when the whole crowd are encouraged to sit down on the floor.
The whole venue eagerly obliges leaving no standing punter in sight until the song’s final chorus where the sitting crowd jumps up and goes absolutely berserk.
This madness continued through the remainder of set, finished off with the frantically fast ‘Try This at Home’ followed by new single ‘The Next Storm’
Having already played whopping 25 songs the band returning for an encore is a pleasant surprise, however due to having to make my train home I only catch a further two songs; the beautiful and heartfelt ‘Song for Josh’ and personal favourite ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’ – an extremely pleasing ending to tonight’s show.
Words: Jess Lavin
Photos: Paul Storr
