Music
16 Dec 02

The Frames/Turn

The Frames have it all really. Amazing songs. Powerful delivery. And a special relationship with the fans

This pairing provides really great value for money. Turn are not really support band material. They’re too good to be a support band. Sans their Jam-like sharp suits, the boys from Kells arrive, serious about rocking the house. Cranked up to 11, they blast out a tight, taut set featuring most of this year’s mini-album In Position, some older favourites and a few new songs are given an airing as well as.

Possibly the best band in the country at the moment, The Frames, like Turn have also come to rock.

The first song is the brand spanking new ‘People Get Ready’ (no relation to the Curtis Mayfield classic), inspired, Glen Hansard tells us, by the Book Of Luke in the Bible. Specifically the part where Jesus tears down the temple. The Ginger One tells us that he is attracted to that bit, because Jesus seems to be like “Che Guavara or Michael Collins” in that episode. A slow-burning classic-in-the-making with moments of sublime beauty, the song is pure Velvet Underground (circa …And Nico), complete with Moe Tucker-inspired drumming. ‘God Bless Mom’, ‘Lay Me Down’ and ‘What Happens When The Heart Stops’ make for an awesome opening half hour.

The Frames have it all really. Amazing songs. Powerful delivery. And a special relationship with the fans. Nowhere more evident than when an impromptu question-and-answers sessions occurs tonight. Glen, obviously bemused by the theatre-vibe to the gig, patiently answers all questions lobbed his way.

A snippet of ‘Pure Imagination’ (from the film ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’) and the refrain from George Michael’s classic ‘Careless Whisper’ (whispered, naturally enough), keep the humour up, and when Frame-d, they sound as though they should be here.

A relatively placid crowd (with the exception of the poor girl who tripped as she walked along the front row!), were nonetheless appreciative of everything they heard tonight. And why wouldn’t they? Did I say they were possibly the best band in the country today? Take out the ‘possibly’ and replace with ‘easily’. God bless Glen Hansard’s mom!