Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls et …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

For the last dozen years or so, there are few better live bands than ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead.

Although once notorious for destroying their instruments at the end of shows, the band have backed off that expensive bit of auto-destruction in recent years, but are no less exciting even so.

Able to draw on nearly 15 years of material now, seeing Trail Of Dead live is a chance to hear how they've evolved over the years. Yes, there's still the punk fury of “It Was There That I Saw You”, and they still rip through material like that from the debut album. That being said, their newer, more ambitious material (like “Isis Unveiled”, from their 2009 album Century Of Self) actually tends to steal the show at Trail Of Dead live gigs.

The constant through the band's evolution from its noisy beginnings to its current arty incarnation is the intensity of drummer, co-vocalist and guitarist Jason Reece. His wide-eyed, sweaty, strutting onstage persona makes it pretty clear that these guys mean ever note they play and every word they sing. The excitement that the entire band exudes, in fact, makes them a group worth road-tripping to see play live. They may not smash up their instruments any more, but they will pin your ears back with some of the most visceral and intense rock and roll on the planet.

“Pandemonium” is the opening song of Larry And His Flask in their set tonight at the Crescent Ballroom. Their harmonies fill the atmosphere as the five of them line the front of the stage, it’s almost comparable to a barbershop quartet to begin with and then Larry at the front shouts, “Alright you F**kers, 1, 2, 3, 4!” and before you know it you’re dancing with beer all over your shirt because the drop comes out of nowhere. It is utter pandemonium in this room tonight. One of the things I find super impressive about this band is that the drummer is standing up using setup of a bass drum, floor tom a snare drum, a crash cymbal and a splash cymbal, but they are still maintaining quite a large sound! Pure madness. “Big ride” is a worthy sing along as they manage to engage every member of the audience to sing along with these comedic songs, in this folk-esque style. They finish with “Call is What You Will”, which has that fantastic quality of the rest of the band repeating what the lead singer sings, but in a stunning three part harmony.

Absolutely amazing!!! Incredible energy and talent. Definitely try to catch her at a smaller venue before she gets bigger. She finished the show by shredding Ace of Spades and I couldn't have been happier!

When I first went to the Girl In a Coma show with my girlfriend I was not expecting that good of a show.

After the initial song or two I could legitimately say that I was enjoying myself and the music. Their music was a mixture between rock and some new age elements and they had a really good setup.

All of the band members had really good style and put together their outfits in a way that went nice with their music. The energy throughout the show was really strong and very contagious. I could not image somebody going to their show and not having a good time!

They did a good job putting their set together and seemed to really make the crowd happy with their song selection. Most of the songs came from their album 'Exits & All The Rest' with some others mixed in.

I definitely had a blast and look forward to going to another show soon.

The truly unique feeling about a Frank Turner gig is the feeling of community that comes with every single one of them. Frank's mission statement is to make his every show a place where everyone is an equal, where he himself is on the same footing as everyone in the audience, both united in their love of rock & roll and singing it at the top of their lungs.

He's also confident that at least half of the multitude of people who come to see him play the O2 Arena, or Wembley Arena or any of the enormodomes he currently slays on his home turf, have also seen him play in a room that holds under a hundred people.

At least half of them care enough about his music and what he represents to see him in any and every environment they can, be it the back room of a pub, a cavernous arena, a sodden festival field and everything in between. And at 1577 shows and counting Frank knows how to utterly slay any audience in he finds himself in front of.

Frank may not be reinventing the wheel with his brand of quintessentially British folk rock but it's nothing if not passionate, intelligent and emotionally honest. That passion is reflected in everything about his concerts from Frank and his backing band the Sleeping Souls to the love that comes from his audience, and for that reason a Frank Turner concert is a truly inspiring, humbling and life-affirming thing to be a part of.