Vol. 81
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Tag: Live Review
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Frank Turner
Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Thursday 10th April 2025
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FRANK TURNER – CAMBRIDGE – LIVE REVIEW
📸 Denis Gorbatov
Cambridge has spent the day soaking up the lovely spring sun, but as the evening breaks it’s time to head into the beautiful Corn Exchange for an evening of song and revelry!
Frank Turner lives by the mantra – always on tour, and he remarks that this evening is his twentieth appearance in Cambridge in as many years! There is a reason that he can live his life on the road and that fans will always come to his shows, and that is the community that he has built.
Showing how attuned he is to the struggles of the industry, a portion of every ticket on this tour is going to the Music Venue Trust. More than that though, he has hand picked a local opening musician for every show!
MINNIE BIRCH
This evening the chosen act is Minnie Birch, who opens her set with a haunting a cappella number which instantly sucks the audience in. This of course is an audience of Turner community members, and they give this unknown opener the opportunity to showcase her clear talents.
Penultimate song, ‘Accident of Birth’ is a standout moment which brings forth thunderous applause from an appreciative audience. These opening slots are indeed a big opportunity for those selected and Birch can be proud that she nailed her chance to shine with aplomb.
AMIGO the devil
Special guest on this tour is Amigo the Devil who steps the noise levels up considerably with his full band bringing his folk-rock-country-metal-punk sonic explosion to life on stage. It doesn’t take long for that welcoming audience to fully embrace the charismatic singer, who holds the venue in the palm of his hand throughout his fantastic set.
Yes, the crowd really does hang off every word of his story-centric songs and particularly enjoy his captivating presentation of ‘I Hope Your Husband Dies’.
You can see that the entire band is having fun and that transcends to the whole venue as the show continues. When they leave the stage, you feel that every single member of the audience would’ve been happy having more Amigo the Devil in their lives and that’s job done for the support act!
FRANK TURNER
Time is really flying this evening and that’s usually a good sign too. It’s not long at all it seems before Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls hit the stage and break straight into two new tracks, ‘No Thank You for the Music’ and ‘Girl From the Record Shop’ from latest album, ‘Undefeated’. The fans though treat both tracks as if they are old favourites, before letting fully go as the band launch into the rousing ‘1933’.
‘Undefeated’ is Turner’s tenth album and comes at another time of change and reflection for a man who has battled through a lifetime of ups and downs. That fan and friend community that surrounds him however continues to ensure he still emerges undefeated as it were.
That record is the focus of the show, and the tracks selected are some of the highlights of the night including very personal tracks ‘East Finchley’ and ‘Somewhere Inbetween’.
With ten albums to pick from however, the science of setlists for Turner only gets harder. Obvious picks punctuate the set such as ‘Recovery’, ‘Photosynthesis’, ‘If Ever I Stray’ and ‘The Next Storm’. It’s the deeper cuts though that always keep Turner shows unique and special and tonight it’s great to see outings for ‘One Foot Before the Other’ and ‘Tattoos’.
There is of course a second reason why fans keep coming out to these Turner shows and it’s because a good time is as guaranteed as these things can ever be. Over the course of now 3000+ shows, Turner has perfected his craft and tonight he is again an unstoppable force on this stage.
That is perhaps demonstrated best during the final encore ruckus of ‘Polaroid Picture’, ‘Get Better’ and ‘Four Simple Words’. You could even go as far as saying that this feels like the best all-round version of Turner so far, which given his pedigree is certainly saying something!
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Vol. 80
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Vol. 79
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Beans On Toast
Colchester Arts Centre
Thursday 27th March 2025
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BEANS ON TOAST – COLCHESTER – LIVE REVIEW
📸 Denis Gorbatov
It’s a day with a Y in it, so you better believe that Beans On Toast is touring! Tonight, as the sun sets on what’s been a glorious spring day, Colchester’s local music lovers congregate in the beautiful surroundings of the city’s Arts Centre for an opportunity to revel in his tales and song.
EVY FREARSON
Colchester Arts Centre is one of the best independent venues in our beautiful country (with possibly the best toilets – seriously check them out) and it’s only right that tonight we have a local opening act to get the evening rolling.
Evy Frearson is an Essex born singer-songwriter who this evening showcases a haunting alt-folk sound which is rather fitting for this deconsecrated church! Whilst her time on stage is short, she is able to mesmerise those in attendance and undoubtedly leave them wanting more.
Frearson finishes her set with her fantastic new single, ‘Kiss Me In The Winter’ and serves as Exhibit A for the case of always getting down to venues early to support the support act!
WILLIAM CRIGHTON
Exhibit B for that case soon arrives onstage as a longtime friend of our headliner, William Crighton, takes things in a grittier direction with his brand of storytelling folk-rock.
Crighton has welcomed Beans On Toast over to his homeland for a number of shows and tours and now he is clearly enjoying his trek around the UK with Beans. His Aussie charm helps to bring his songs to life and the crowd eat up every word of the likes of ‘2000 Clicks’ and set closer ‘Priest’.
It has to be said that whenever Beans On Toast tours, he always manages to pick interesting and engaging support acts and Colchester has been blessed with two of them.
BEANS ON TOAST
Soon enough, it’s time for that man himself to hit the stage and on both legs of his tour supporting latest album, ‘Wild Goose Chasers’, he has been accompanied on piano by Matt Millership (known to fans as Tensheds or King Killership).
The man known as Beans On Toast, Jay McAllister releases a new album on his birthday each December and in recent years he has mixed up his recording process each year. This latest release was written in collaboration with Millership and it’s great to see the pair bring these songs to the stage together.
Whenever Millership takes on the musical lead tonight, it allows Beans the freedom to roam the stage and deliver his ever-thought-provoking lyrics with even more verve. The likes ‘Faith in the Moon’ and ‘Why?’ segue perfectly amongst fan favourites ‘A Beautiful Place’ and ‘Watching the World Go By’.
Mid-set Beans picks up his trusty guitar and delivers a run of songs solo including some fan requests and local-based tracks given his status as an Essex lad himself. Later Millership returns and we even see a Millership, Crighton and Beans team-up for Randy Travis cover ‘Send My Body’.
We also get a glimpse of where Beans is going with his new material this year with three new tracks making their way into the setlist including the return of his scathing political commentary on tentatively titled ‘Counter Culture’ and ‘Taylor Swift II’!
Beans has long established himself as an underground national treasure and fans that head out into the now considerably cooler March night do so glad that they left the house and supported live music.
Look at the upcoming shows section of his website and it would be fair to wager that it will never be blank. For that, we should all be grateful for the work ethic installed in Beans On Toast because any night spent in the company of ol’ Beano is always going to be glorious time.
So, the moral of this review is simply to do yourself a favour and next time Beans comes to town, do the right thing and pop along!
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Vol. 74
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Vol. 73
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Vol. 72
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Emily Barker
Portland Arms, Cambridge
Tuesday 4th February 2024
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EMILY BARKER – CAMBRIDGE – LIVE REVIEW
Emily Barker has been nothing short of a prolific songwriter since first making her name here in the UK. But as the Australian native shares so fondly this evening, it was here in Cambridge where her journey began. Her show at the fantastic Portland Arms could therefore be regarded as something of a homecoming show – just 9,000 miles from home!
The venue is packed and rightfully so as fans gather to hear tracks from her phenomenal 2024 album, ‘Fragile as Humans’, brought to life on stage. Before then however, we have another UK thriving Aussie songwriter as Liz Stringer serenades the audience with songs and stories from her life.
Each song is superbly crafted to deliver the powerful lyrics in which Stringer explores her life, and the wisdom gained whilst overcoming the challenges that life presents. Stringers’ personable and down to earth demeanour endear her to the crowd instantly and her time on stage feels all too short.
That is naturally a good sign and thankfully as she closes her performance with a great rendition of ‘Anyone’, that isn’t the last the crowd gets to see of her this evening!
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘ANYONE’ FROM LIZ STRINGER
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Soon enough, it’s time for Emily Barker and her band to make their way through the crowd and on to the intimate stage. As with Stringer before, Barker has an enate ability to engage with the audience and make it feel like you are stood watching her whilst sat in your living room.
There is a respect from the audience and even during her most delicate songs you could hear a pin drop in the crowd. Barker has built her reputation over two decades of creative ingenuity, and that prolificacy shows no signs of dissipating.
Her latest effort ‘Fragile as Humans’ is proof in itself and its these songs that take centre stage this evening. These delicately constructed songs are amongst the best that Barker has produced in her career and that frankly is saying something!
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘THE QUIET WAYS’ FROM EMILY BARKER
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From sensational opener ‘With Small We Start’, through the sublime ‘The Quiet Ways’, to the title track itself, each song from the album excels in the live setting. Other favourites and deep cuts including ‘Nostalgia’ and ‘Ghost Narrative’ help to fill out what is a mesmerising ninety minutes.
Stringer returns to the stage to accompany Barker on select songs including main set closer ‘Machine’, which accentuates the special feeling of the evening. An encore of new track ‘Bight Idea’ (or Brightest Day as one audience member calls out) and ‘Dear River’ is a wonderful way to close out a beautiful evening.
Barker is an enthralling songwriter and mesmeric live performer. Her songs are packed with meaning and performed with grace. So, do the right thing and seize any opportunity you get to witness this magic for yourself!
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Vol. 71
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