Only two years ago, Frank Turner played an intimate acoustic gig in Bath. The concern was that the experience might lose some of its magic in a sold out Bristol Academy.

But there need not have been any worries. The venue may have changed, but the message was the same – and the crowd lapped it up.

From the first bars of I Want to Dance to the closing strains of I Still Believe, the boisterous crowd were enthusiastically enjoying every moment.

Turner appeals to the inner revolutionary in us all, and Love, Ire and Song, from the album of the same name, certainly would have inspired many in the crowd.

On the eve of the release of new album Tape Deck Heart, Turner and his band The Sleeping Souls played a number of new tracks, which all received a good reception.

The stand out songs were Polaroid Picture, which lamented the demise of the Astoria in London, and Recovery, during which the former lead singer of a metal band had everyone jogging on the spot for the chorus.

Turner writes and plays folksy punk songs with a punch that make you sit up and listen, and last night he played the perfect set list of old mixed with new to give the people just what they wanted.

As someone who has recently celebrated a significant birthday to end being a 20-something, I was asked before coming to this show whether or not I was too old to still be going to gigs.

Well, I will leave it to Turner to succinctly answer that one for me: “I won’t sit down, and I won’t shut up, but most of all I will not grow up!”

Review by Kirsty Pugh