“Cardiff! Get ready! Let’s gooooooo…!” screams Frank Turner live on stage at Cardiff’s Tramshed as him and his backing band, the Sleeping Souls, rip straight into Four Simple Words to a packed-out Tramshed. During the FT classic Photosynthesis, Frank lays down some key rules for the evening; being that this is both a community and a participation event, to “not be a dick”. As Frank gleefully points out, this is show 2,701 for him (“that’s an exciting number, isn’t it?!”) and apologises for not giving Cardiff a “punk rock’n’roll show” for a few years – “two of which I can account for” quips Frank for obvious reasons.
Frank provides a whistlestop tour through his work, including plenty of cuts from his recent album FTHC (which stands for Frank Turner Hardcore – not “Frank Turner Human Centipede”, he clarifies). There’s many an inclusive moment tonight in what is undoubtedly an inclusive space, such as Frank singing about his father’s transition during Miranda and a wave of hugs passing through the crowd during Be More Kind.

There’s a rare opportunity to hear the deep cut Thatcher Fucked The Kids tonight (“this feels like the right time to bring it back out of the cupboard”), before Frank takes the opportunity to mention the “late great Scott Hutchison”, the Frightened Rabbit frontman who tragically took his own life several years ago. Describing the late Scot as one of his “favourite people I ever met and one of the best songwriters to ever walk this earth” before playing his own tribute to Scott, A Wave Across The Bay leaves very few dry eyes in the house.
Finishing with a ripping triple threat of Recovery, Try This At Home, and I Still Believe, tonight is a reminder that Frank Turner is absolutely still one of the best live performers in the game. Tonight, Tramshed is a punk rock church and, centre stage, is its punk rock priest.
Frank Turner, Tramshed, Cardiff, Wed 12 Oct
words JOSHUA WILLIAMS photos OWIN WONG