Review: Johnny Flynn, Trinity Centre

Hero of the nu-folk scene (and such a lovely man), Johnny Flynn brought plenty of English charm to the Trinity Centre and even managed to get a crowd of awkward folk fans dancing around, albeit with a little time.

The dress code was scratchy beards, thick glasses and smiles all around last night, with an ever so polite collection of people selling out the show well in advance. We whoop in anticipation as six shadows emerged from off stage, slinked up to their instruments in the dark and burst into life with the mournful dirge, Raising The Dead, taken from their new album. This is followed by a bashful “hello” from Johnny, before moving into another slow burner, Lost & Found. With everyone standing still and listening intently, I wrongly assume that this will be a more subdued gig than I was hoping for. However, with four albums worth of songs to now choose from, the band perfectly build an arc of energy into the set that ended with a triumphant finale.

Fan favourite The Wrote & The Write brings with it more cheering as people started to loosen up. Despite the old church being packed, Johnny still manages to instil an intimacy into his performance that leaves you feeling like he’s singing right at you. A story of their stolen spare wheel from the night before ends with the kind of bad puns reserved for good friends. “I hope whoever stole it is having a wheely good time” says Johnny with a coy smile. A couple more tracks from the new album, Sillion showcase the band’s expanded sound, with flutes and mandarins filling the church with more World influenced songs than their previous work has exhibited. The band sounds really fantastic. The bulk of them have been playing together since the start and you can tell. Occasionally you’ll hear a guitar line burst out in front, or Johnny’s trumpet will make an appearance to everyone’s delight and take the spotlight. But for the most part, everything blends together into a gorgeous, if a little reserved, folk soundscape.

Cold Bread kicks new life into everyone. Shoulders start to sway and heads gently bob as the infectious mandolin line drives home the anthemic quality to this song. There’s an exciting new energy in the room now. Taking a break for the heart-breaking The Water, which brings everyone back to a standstill, this energy continues to build towards the conclusion. We’ve been transformed from passive bystanders into a slightly raucous, chanting band of merry singers. Brown Trout Blues ends with a beautifully wonky crowd acapella rendition of the final line, “you’ve got me stalled”. With Tickle Me Pink, and The Box’s simple and infectious rhythms whipping us into a stomping, clapping mess, the band walks off, leaving us to stomp and clap on our own in demand of an encore.

Johnny walks back on stage on his own, for what turns out to be a microcosm of the set list so far in encore form. The sorrowful Heart Sunk Hank demonstrates Johnny’s powerful singing voice, and leads into Detectorists, his theme song for the BBC show of the same name. The band returns to the stage for two final songs, with Eyeless In Hollow bringing everyone back to clapping, stomping and singing together.

After tonight’s performance, I defy any folk fan to leave a Johnny Flynn gig in a bad mood. Bristol clearly has a soft spot for the poet/actor/singer songwriter. He and the Sussex Wit are welcome back anytime.