Frank Turner
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As the sun shines over Margate’s vintage funfair, Dreamland, which doubles as an Instagrammable outdoor venue in the summer months, the first of tonight’s co-headliners, Frank Turner, takes to the stage.
With its festival decor, street food stalls and beachfront location, this quirky venue has put everyone in a great mood. Frank Turner and his band, the Sleeping Souls, match this upbeat energy as they bound onto the stage and kick off the night with sing-along favourite, ‘I Still Believe’.
In case there’s any confusion, we’re immediately informed that this is a “punk rock show” and, while he might not tear up the stage with Sid Vicious-style anarchy, Frank Turner throws out some of his most punk-inspired tunes straight away.
Following his love letter to rock ‘n’ roll, he steamrolls through a string of hits, including ‘Photosynthesis’, ‘Girl From the Record Shop’ and ‘Gang That You’re In’. Each one boasts short, sharp riffs and welcomes circle pits, mosh pits and a ‘wall of hugs’ (a very sticky affair in the midst of a heatwave), while people holler out the lyrics with their chests.
Over his 3,157 live shows, Frank Turner has earned his reputation as one of the UK’s best-loved folk-punk musicians, so it’s only right that he switches things up for an acoustic section at the halfway point. Everyone has a chance to mellow before the feel-good and eternally optimistic ‘Recovery’ has fans back on their feet.
Perhaps it’s the heat, but the energy seems to dip a little towards the end of the set. When the band try to rouse another sing-along for ‘Do One’, the response is a little lacklustre, prompting the guitarist to order us to “stop being so Kentish!”
Frank jumps in by saying we can still be Kentish, but we just need to sing a little louder. He adds that crowds in the US and Australia were louder; maybe it’s because we’re in the middle of the World Cup, but this spurred everyone to put in a shift and turn up the volume once again.
After 75 minutes the final notes of Frank Turner’s set ring out. During ‘Polaroid Picture’, he belts out the words: “There was this one time, in Margate, when things were okay,” and, as the sun sets behind the colourful stage, leaving a dusky glow covering the venue, it really does feel like that.
Bowling For Soup
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There’s a shift in the atmosphere. The promise of silly jokes, power chords and nostalgia is in the air. That can only mean one thing: here comes Bowling For Soup.
The second of tonight’s co-headliners are, arguably, the more popular, simply down to BFS’s 32-year career and huge pop-punk tracks that were woven into the fabric of the Kerrang! golden era.
After a playful intro video and some fanfare, the three remaining band members (original guitarist Chris Burney retired last year to focus on his health) strut onto the stage with total confidence.
They open with a stellar trio of ‘Almost’, ‘High School Never Ends’ and ‘Emily’, but are stopped in their tracks by tech issues that dampen the sound for half of the venue. After some expert stalling in the way of banter and crowdwork from lead singer Jaret Reddick, the roadies eventually get things back up and running.
From then on, it’s nothing but good, old-fashioned fun. The band might not pull the same numbers as they did in their heyday (it’s hard to overstate just how beloved BFS were during the 2000s pop-punk wave), but they still throw absolutely everything into their live concerts.
Beach balls bounce around the crowd throughout ‘Getting Old Sucks (But Everybody’s Doing It)’, sparks fly during the guitar solo of ‘Stacy’s Mom’, and they even stop for a posed photo opportunity while ‘500 Miles’ by The Proclaimers blares out over the speakers.
It’s clear this band don’t take themselves seriously – who else would include the soundtrack for a children’s cartoon in the middle of their setlist? Although it’s worth noting that the Phineas and Ferb theme song, ‘Today is Gonna Be a Great Day’, has become a fan favourite.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of sincerity. When Jaret is left on stage alone to speak frankly about men’s mental health before performing ‘Turbulence’ and introduces ‘The Bitch Song’ with genuine thanks to British fans for caring about their band when no-one else did, it’s a chance for them to connect with the audience in a completely different way.
These heartfelt moments are few and far between because, let’s be honest, we’re all here for a good time. Bowling For Soup still delivers on that front, even after more than three decades in the biz.
There’s one final blast of flames and confetti for pop-punk anthem ‘Girl All the Bad Guys Want’ before ‘1985’ has us all feeling like teenagers again – even though most of this crowd is much closer to the age of Stacy’s Mom these days.
