Frank Turner and the John Butler Trio – Crossroads

June 7, 2014

Normally, when multiple acts are on the bill, the opening act suffers a little from lack of audience. This was not the case with Frank Turner, who has a sizable cult following, and can easily fill the Crossroads, and most other venues, alone; you’ll notice a shot of the audience below. That was taken during the middle of his set, and the numbers only grew before the John Butler Trio took the stage.

Frank hails from the UK, and is a singer/songwriter, playing acoustic guitar, playing folksy type music, in the same vein of Bob Dylan. That didn’t stop him from covering Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die, which works out surprisingly well, with an acoustic guitar and mandolin. He also pulled someone from the audience to join him onstage, in playing the harmonic with him during one of the numbers. It’s always nice when artists find different ways of engaging their audience.

The John Butler Trio, hailing from Australia, is made up of Byron Luiters, Grant Gerathy and, naturally, John Butler. The band calls themselves a “Jam band,” which is a term I’ve never really liked (it is admittedly better than “genre defying”); but that’s a minor complaint, as music should speak for itself. Their folksy, funky sound echoed across the Crossroads Art District downtown, well into the night.