Strummerville Spring Sessions - April 2011

Somewhere on a backstreet in Shoreditch there happens to be a really crap car park. Whoever looked at this spectacle and decided to turn it into a venue quite frankly deserves the titleof genius. Strummerville, the music foundation set up in honour of Joe Strummer, took this idea and ran with it. It ran a bloody long way too, turning this random space into a fantastic two stage event. I was grinning like Larry on happy pills when I walked in.

Sound issues were apparent due to the nature of the makeshift venue but it wasn't enough to tarnish the  fantastic atmosphere. Strummerville has come on in leaps and bounds since its inception and continues to support and nurture promising young musicians.

There's a queue before 8pm, probably (and in my case) so folks could get their hands on the t-shirt  commemorating Frank Turner's 1000th show. That’s right, one thousand shows! It took him 6 years but along the way he has become a genuine hero to many, and a vital example that success doesn't come without a
strong work ethic.

Despite having England's hardest working songwriter on the bill there were some true highlights elsewhere. One of which was the infectious Bastille. Four handsome chaps making music so catchy I have two of their tracks stuck in my head simultaneously. Their set finisher, Flaws, will be released on Young and Lost Club, the platform that launched Noah and the Whale, Bombay Bicycle Club and Everything Everything. The tune has ‘hit’ scrawled all over it in permanent marker, just check the amount of covers that have already popped up on YouTube!

They're currently on the Strummerville River Rat Pack Tour with Beans On Toast. I'll be heading to Oxford on Sunday to catch the last day of the tour. Watch out for them (and their singer's pending Brylcream
sponsorship).

Another notable performance came from The Great Whale (working title) whose frontman bore a strong resemblance to Strummer himself. His aggressive vocal and jerky leg propelled the band through their set with the conviction of a classic rock act touring their tenth album. The reception from the increasingly drunk crowd was somewhat raucous and it was good to see (after Frank had finished) that not everyone let their narcotics take effect in the smoking area. It was in fact their first gig. A golden ticket some might say, although I was reliably informed that they've been together since September 2010, spawn from bands previously endorsed by Strummerville. They’re currently rehearsing and recording in Italy, Switzerland and Brighton. Alright for some.

For Frank Turner this must have been a special evening, not least for the milestone but as many family and friends were attending. His solo shows are testament to the power of his songs and once again he demonstrated that you really do only need a guitar. His accompaniment was in the shape of an emotional rabble ready to take on the bank holiday weekend, with every lyric shouted back resonating across the stone walls. At times I stopped to look around and saw the familiar and warming sight of hands in the air and arms around new friends.


Throughout the set he took time to thank all the people who had helped him reach 1000 shows old. In particular he thanked his former bandmates from Million Dead, mentioning that it was the first time in 6 years that they were all hanging out. With this, he began to play his rendition of ‘Smiling at Strangers On Trains’.

The highlight of the set was during penultimate track 'The Road'. On singing "...and the nights a thousand nights I've played, a thousand more to go" Frank stopped playing. For a good 30 seconds there was congratulatory applause so loud it rattled the Perspex roof. A cake was brought on stage and the crowd sang happy birthday, it was a sentimental touch that led to a fantastic ending.

“…before I take a breath and steal myself for the next one thousand
shows.”

As with most of his solo shows he finished with ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’, a tale of how his and everyone’s plans to ‘make it’ were amounting to nothing. The days of sleeping on peoples floors and playing to one man and his dog are a far cry from this moment. As his loyal fans begin singing, Frank stepped off the stage and walked into the audience to play and sing with the people that helped him in his achievements.

As one fan on YouTube pointed out
“Frank Turner is the best friend you never had”

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