Pier 17, New York City
May, 2023
I turned 60 last weekend, and during the many decades of life, I’ve enjoyed 1,000 or so live concerts. I love live rock ‘n roll. It has always been my happy place, and fortunately, I married a woman who is similarly wired. Of those many hundreds of bands I’ve seen, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls were near the top of the list. When I saw they were playing live in my favorite city with another stellar band, the birthday choice was easy. My incredibly accommodating wife and I jumped in a car and made the trek from Florida.
The venue was Pier 17 – a rooftop setting offering killer views of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. Iconic views everywhere you turned. That’s pretty freaking cool. Add two of the best live bands on the planet into the mix and it is downright perfect.
Meeting up with my brother and a few longtime rock ‘n roll friends, we arrived in time to catch Chuck Ragan. Sadly, Laura Jane Grace had to bow out last minute but Ragan was available to fill-in. I’ve seen the former front man of Hot Water Music a few times, and he’s always solid and was again this evening. Fortunately, it was a more quiet portion of the evening and gave us all a chance to catch up. That didn’t last long…
The Interrupters
The Interrupters and Frank Turner were billed as co-headliners. On this evening, the Interrupters took the stage first, but still played their full feature set. I enjoyed the fact that the band did not hang their banner up behind the stage, instead, they featured the NYC skyline. Frank Turner did the same, which really complimented this awesome venue.
The last time I saw the Interrupters was almost a decade ago. They were playing a festival in a small beachside town in Florida. Back then, they were young, raw and energetic. And they sounded great. Jump forward ten years, and they were still as energetic as I remembered. But, the band is much more polished (in a good way), and their sound more diverse and powerful.
The band is fronted by the dynamic Aimee Interrupter, who is backed up by the three talented Bivona brothers. Kevin is the band’s engine. The guitarist is the mouthpiece on stage and along with Aimee the primary songwriter. Twins Justin on bass and Jesse on drums have been playing together since 2011. As you could probably guess, the band drips with chemistry. Billy Cottage is touring with the band as well and fills a nice niche, playing keys and trombone.
The Interrupters hit the stage at 7:15 and hit it strong, blasting into a powerful version of their first hit “Take Back the Power.” They tore through fifteen songs over the next 75 minutes with a diverse setlist. The quintet pulled out some fun old tunes including “Judge Not” that featured a joyous circle pit, and later a raucously punk-fueled version of “Family.” They also dug deep for a smoking version of “On a Turntable.”
At one point in the middle of their set, they played four straight cuts from their fantastic new album In the Wild. I was impressed by the number of fans who knew and loved the new material. All four tracks were great – and again diverse, from the reggae infused “Kiss the Ground” through the hard-rocking “Anything Was Better.” If you have not yet listened to the album – do it! It’s a rarity these days – 14 killer songs that come together ideally.
The set ended magnificently. Aimee took the spotlight with a superb version of “Alien,” a stunning vocal performance that included a snippet of Leonard Cohen’s “Halleluiah.” That sublime moment morphed into a crazily energetic version of “Family” – one that found this old man in the thick of his first circle pit. Then they closed with an incendiary version of “She’s Kerosene.” The perfect end to an impressive set.
Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls
I think this was my fourth Frank Turner show. I’ve seen him at a festival, in a club and at a theatre. The constant theme is the copious amount of energy exchanged between the band and the audience. For me, a great concert is one where the band fuels the crowd, they accept that energy through their ears and bodies and then deliver it back to the performers on stage. It’s a symbiotic relationship, and when it works, it makes for magical evenings. It happens at every Frank Turner show. This night was no exception.
The sun had set as Frank Turner took the stage with his longtime backing band the Sleeping Souls. With his white button-down oxford he took the stage all neat and tidy. That didn’t last long. He walked up to the mic and screamed “New York City” and immediately ripped into a powerful version of “Punches.” That melded into the anti-facist punk anthem “1933.” The circle pit that opened up in front of us was omnipresent for the rest of the show as the majority of the crowd sang along to both songs. Electric.
The band tore through a few of their bigger hits, and sprinkled in a few deeper cuts as we neared the halfway point. Developing a good setlist is an art, and Turner has it perfected. Old songs, new songs, hard songs, soft songs – all melded together perfectly. Every song, every lyric, every moment…
He honored a few legendary New York hardcore bands before exploding into his newest hardcore classic “Non Servian.” It was 120 seconds of pure, blissful chaos. A few songs later, we drifted into the tender opening of “Polaroid Picture.” The song was stretched into a seven minute classic, filled with crowd participation, including an energetic singalong finish.
The band took a brief break, and we spent a few minutes with acoustic Frank. It was another nice treat. He ended the quick set with a nice surprise: “The Ballad of Me and My Friends,” and the perfect singalong closing verse: “And we’re definitely going to hell; but we’ll have all the best stories to tell.”
He jumped into “If I Ever Stray” in what became a string of five perfect closing songs. “Photosynthesis” is my favorite Frank Turner song, and on the eve of my 60th, the lyrics took on special meeting.
And it’s obvious my angry adolescent days are done
And I’m happy and I’m settled in the person I’ve become
But that doesn’t mean I’m settled up and sitting out the game
Time may change a lot, but some things they stay the same
And I won’t sit down, and I won’t shut up
And most of all I will not grow up“Photosynthesis” – Frank Turner, 2008
He played a raucous extended version of the song with band introductions, featuring longtime bandmates Ben Lloyd on guitar and bassist Tarrant Anderson. As he chatted with the crowd, he recognized the passionate fans who kept a circle pit going throughout the set, and then talked the fans into starting five other pits for the closing of the song. They were fun rollicking pits filled with exuberance. I spent a good portion of the set dragging my old body around in them and was impressed by the crowd’s acceptance and care for the folks participating. Kudos to the kind people of NYC.
The night closed with two crowd-participation masterpieces. “I Still Believe” was a perfect rollicking adventure with the crowd in full voice as they bounced throughout the pier. It was the highlight of the night as the band carried the eager fans to a rousing crescendo. The highlight that is, until “Four Simple Words” happened. Shit, what a way to close a set and a fantastic night.
Heigh ho heigh ho heigh ho!
We’re heading out to the punk rock show!
Colleagues and friends condescend with a smile
Yeah, but this is my culture, man, this is my home
The dark huddled masses gather at the gate
Yeah, the doors are at seven and the show starts at eight
A few precious hours in a space of our own
And when the band comes on, the only thing I really know
I Wanna Dance!
Energy supplied, energy returned. That’s rock ‘n roll…
Rock On!
Bob Creedon
If you like what you read and want to stay in the loop in the future, we’d appreciate if you gave our Facebook Page a Like here. Thanks!
Links:
Frank Turner’s Pier 17 Setlist
Frank Turner website: Frank-Turner.com
Interrupter’s Pier 17 Setlist
Interrupters online: WeAreTheInterrupters.com
The Rooftop at Pier 17 Concert Listing
