The Royale is a great venue for artists and fans alike: it is large enough to hold a sizable crowd, but is small enough for the musicians to create a connection with their audience- often quite literally, since there is no press/ photo pit separating the stage from enthusiastic fans. These conditions made for a great night of folk-punk, complete with the occasional “dance floor,” as described by a member of the rambunctious Larry and His Flask band.
The first opener, Jenny Owen Youngs, was on her game Thursday night. Making sly quips in between well crafted acoustic rock, she let the crowd in on her jokes. Although appearing casually dressed, her music showed experience and maturity. On this tour, she was supporting her new album, “An Unwavering Band of Light.”
Next up was Larry and His Flask, a six man band that blurred the line between punk and country in an awesome way. It’s no wonder why this band once toured with Dropkick Murphys- while their outlook is as much bluegrass as Dropkicks’ is Irish, they rivaled the Murphys in energy and burlyness- the stand up bassist often shoulder pressed his instrument while the drummer jumped up and around the stage as much as the kids on the floor.
Soon after the guys from Larry exited the stage, Frank Turner and his band, the Sleeping Souls entered to a raucous crowd bigger than any other I have encountered at the Royale. Frank had great candor as he greeted his crowd and began his set, rose on his microphone stand, playing both old hits and new material from his upcoming album. One of the crowd favorites was a sarcastic ode to the bassist of Kiss, called “Wherefore Art Thou, Gene Simmons.” Most surprisingly were already familiar with this unreleased song, as well as the rest of the British songwriter’s set. The highest energy songs came later on in the concert, when they played songs like the punk influenced “If I Ever Stray” and homeland ode, “Wessex Boy.” Their set lasted just long enough, wrapping things up with a crowd-unifying speech about the shared experience of concert-going. In the end, he was met with cheers from loyal fans as well as newly minted ones.
By: Natalie Frassica