Two show cancelations at another venue and worries getting into the country did not stop Frank Turner from putting together a great anniversary show of Undefeated.
Even though his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, were not performing at the show, the Williams Center was about as loud as any sold out room for just a singer with his guitar.
Following the opening act of Katacombs and her Baja Blast hand-me-down t-shirt, Frank hit the stage opening with some of his biggest hits and newest songs, like “Girl from the Record Shop” and “Recovery.”
Throughout the show, Turner explained his debacle with his shows at Crossroads in Garwood, which is about 30 minutes away from the Williams Center in Rutherford. The two shows that were scheduled were canceled, which were out of anyone’s control, and Turner had to put together a last-minute show at a different venue on 24-hours notice.
Thankfully, one of Turner’s crew members had just finished up a tour that ended at the Williams Center the night before, so it was the perfect location to host night one of the Undefeated tour acoustic leg.
Midway through the set, Turner also played a fan-favorite, which isn’t a song he wrote, but any Bruce Springsteen cover in the state of New Jersey is a fan-favorite. Frank performed his rendition of “Thunder Road,” which was played for the first time since his 2022 Crossroads show.
Frank closed the set with a fake “encore” in the middle of “Photosynthesis,” and finished with “Get Better” and “I Still Believe.”
Turner will be back in the area tonight with a headlining set at Sing Us Home Festival in Philadelphia, followed by a late-night show in the area.
Setlist:
If Ever I Stray
Girl From the Record Shop
Recovery
No Thank You for the Music
The Road
1933
Undefeated
Long Live the Queen
Sister Rosetta
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Glorious You
The Ballad of Me and My Friends
Be More Kind
The Way I Tend to Be
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
Do One
Four Simple Words
Photosynthesis
Get Better
I Still Believe
Total runtime, around an hour and 40 minutes. Not bad for a man with his guitar.
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