Frank “welcoming” back the crowd (or something like that)
Last night I was finally back in my happy place: at the barrier at a Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls show and what a great start to the European tour was. A friend of mine always says “There is no day that cannot be made better by live music”. If it’s your favourite singer/songwriter with the full band, which I haven’t seen for a headline show in over two years, that’s more than true. I absolutely flipped out (mostly on the inside, introvert and all) when Frank played the very old song I asked him to for my 70th show. Following it with my absolute forever favourite song as well, which it later turned out my friend had requested for me and my 70th show. My heart was filled to the brim last night.
This won’t be a review or recap. I just wanted to put my joy and gratitude on record. So I can come back and remember it: the life-affirming, uplifting quality of time spent screaming along to songs I can so very well relate to. The emotional relief and sense of empowerment I take away from these moments.
I must have heard “Get Better” a million times in the last decade, and it’s always been one of my favourites, but it hit hard and in new ways yesterday. I’m always thrilled when a band / a song can do that.
The songs from the new album work great live and I haven’t seen such stunning lighting on stage all through the night since the “Be More Kind” tour in 2018, I think? It was amazing and probably even better seen for full effect from farther back. I’ll experience that at my gigs in November. On Sunday I’ll be back in my spot at the barrier for a 2nd time this week. And I can’t wait.
Lyrics “One Foot Before the Other” – Frank Turner, 2011
Yesterday I went out to tackle my next section of a “German Way of St. James” (on re-established historic pilgrim routes). Here are a few photos and some rambling thoughts on that.
Part 02: Natrup-Hagen – Lengerich (Stadtfeldmark) (~ 13 km) Saturday, 12 October 2024
One of many way markers
For anyone who’s checking the route on a map, I feel the need to state that I did not just walk the 9 km to the centre of Lengerich, but even further; to its outskirts, if you like. It’s a small town which encompasses quite a few villages and one of those – Stadtfeldmark – was where I ended my trip yesterday and hopped on the bus to take me back to a train station.
The original plan had been to hike a bit further, but due to cancelled and delayed trains in the morning – and also poor planning on my part re: parking near the train station – I arrived at my starting point of yesterday’s hike two hours (!!) later than originally planned! The bus I needed to get on at the end only goes once per hour and I was expecting more train trouble on the way back, so I stopped my walk early than planned after about 5 hours. Took the bus at 15:15, was home at 18:30-ish.
Autumn fields
Anyway, it was a lovely day out. I once again purposefully stayed off mails and social media for the day. I was not all the time as mindful about where I was and what I was doing as I had liked and once again spent more time, than I’d have liked ruminating / worrying / “in my head”, but at least I was and am aware of it and that’s a first step, right?
On my 2nd outing I brought a mat to be able to sit down anywhere I like without fear of getting my clothes dirty or wet (and also not to sit on something too cold). I loved how they easily constructed a bench here.
Better prepared this time
There were a few different way markers / signage on the way.
Sign on an old timber framed houseArtful stele markers along the way
Unlike last time the route yesterday took me mostly through rural settings, farmland, forests and all that, which was lovely.They were kind of curious (if I had some food, probably)Typical forest mood
I didn’t see as much “Indian summer” foliage as I had liked to be honest, but this was nice.
Autumn foliage
Towards the end the route took me a long a lot of long – not winding – roads.
Quite a few long narrow roads
Until I left the path at this point to head for the bus stop.
Lyrics: “We Shall Not Overcome” – Frank Turner, 2013
For as long as I can remember I have been a fan-type of person. Being a fan of some kind of media mostly: movies, TV shows, music. My first proper – more active – fandom was music-related: Roxette from the early 1990 till around 2000. From the early 2000 till around 2015 I had sports fan phase as well, where I was very much into watching ice-hockey in the German premier hockey league, but also travel around to see the national team compete at world championships. But mostly my various fandom activities centred around TV shows. In the olden days – before the internet – being a fan was kind of a solitary and passive activity. I tried to catch every episode of my shows. I was happy about reruns. It got a bit easier once VCR and such became more common place. I spent a lot of time thinking about / imaging plots and or characters development. In my head I wrote lots of “will they / won’t they” kind of romance stories before I had ever heard the term “fanfiction”.
The advent of the internet and its opportunity to find and connect with like-minded people to some extent changed how I was a fan. I joined and was an active member of a TV show fanclub for a while. I started and ran a fanpage for another TV show after that. I spent much time on fan forums / message boards, shared my thoughts on all kinds of stuff in long forum messages and later in blog posts. I met people online and from there in real life who shared my passion for these TV shows. Over the years as my fan interest changed, I lost touch with most of those people and that’s fine. But I am also still friends with some, whom I’ve met online 25 years ago, because we liked the same TV show. And I know that’s a bit insane, but in the best way possible!
Probably my latest proper TV addiction was Outlander, though that started with the books long before the TV show. And to be honest it’s still and will be ongoing with the books. Long before the TV show I here as well came up with my own ideas of how I’d like certain plots to continue within the canon. For instance, before “An Echo in Bone” came out in 2010 I had come up with my own scenario of how Jamie and William would meet for the first time. I like how that happened in the book in the end and by now I couldn’t really tell you how my version had been. But I definitely had spent quite some time and thought on it. I was super hyped about the TV show for the first few years, but was not as active in the fandom, because it’s sooooo huge and global and all. My interest in the TV show also lessened since they started to depart from the book plots more than I liked. But in the “early days” I was still all in. In 2016 I did spend quite a bit of a vacation in Scotland in 2016 to visit the various location they used for filming up to that point. And that was amazing.
“Craigh na Dun” in 2016
Last week I mentioned that I had been at a TV convention. When during one of panels a fan delivered an emotional and teary “this show changed my life, because it taught me to believe in myself” kind of statement, my first impulse was to cringe and think that’s crazy / sad / a bit pathetic. Immediately after that thought had popped up though, I felt quite ashamed for two reasons. For one: I did “crazy” things because of TV show as well. Like travel to film locations in Scotland :-). Start a fanpage. Be an extra on a sitcom and so much more. My “crazies” were mostly superficial or self-indulgent, without any fundamental life-changing revelations, but other could and did consider them a bit strange as well, I’m sure.
But more importantly, I felt ashamed, because in the past decade I have made many, many statements of similar sentiment about Frank Turner’s music. I’m well aware that many people don’t or can’t understand how songs or a singer/songwriter can have such an impact on my life. I’m well aware that people might think it’s weird to go and see so many concerts of the same band. But I have experienced such a positive, empowering – call it life changing impact on my life – through Frank’s music / gigs / fandom community. So, who am I to judge if others had similar empowering experiences by for instance watching Eowyn – a woman – kill the Witch-King in “Lord of the Rings”? There were a few more similar stories about how these movies / TV show have inspired people to go and try new things and such and I think that’s amazing and applaudable!
Jack Wolfe and Kit Young (Shadow and Bone)
The panel with two young actors from “Shadow & Bone” – Jack Wolfe and Kit Young also shone a light on the importance of representation of people of colour, queer people and how amazing and empowering it is to feel seen, because that character on this TV show is just like yourself. Again, that’s sort of like what I have experienced through having found Frank’s music. I have written extensively about how I can relate so well to so much of the emotional turmoil he so often touches on in his songs. How I never was able to articulate it and how grateful I was and still am that Frank is providing the words for it. I know that some or many people can’t relate to my experience and don’t quite get what Frank’s music (and others as well, but his in particular) mean to me. And that’s ok. After a decade the people in my life have grown used to it. And I’ve grown to not feel ashamed weird about it. And if other people feel seen and empowered by a TV show / movie in a similar way: Good for them.
T – 4 days till I’ll be in the crowd / at the barrier in front of a stage where Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls will play some songs. I can’t wait!
