LIVE REVIEW: The Boo Radley’s @ MOTH Club, Hackney
After a quick trip to the bar for a £5.20 pint of very mediocre cider (the joy of London prices), it was time to squeeze my way into a perfect spot, and it could not have been more perfect, right at the front in the very center!
Finally it was time, the moment I’d waited so long for. Some pretty music that I probably should have recognised but didn't played and the band walked through the crowd to the stage each minding not to trip over all the clutter adorning it. Whilst Sice isn't quite the 20 something year old my teenage self had a bit of a crush on, overall the years had not been too unkind to any of them although it was fairly obvious Martin Carr’s replacement was vastly younger than the rest of the band. The thing that struck me most and stayed with me the entire gig was Sice’s pure enthusiasm and contagious smile. I could feel the pure joy of being back on stage emanating from him and I found myself smiling every time he did.
They blasted through classics Find the Answer Within and From the Bench at Belvidere with such ease and professionalism not like a band who had had a 20 something year hiatus. Some of the Britpop bands I’ve seen during their second coming have not faired so well, often struggling to even sing in tune! Songs such as Kingsize choked me up, not only because lyrically they're beautiful but because the emotion of seeing this band live after so long at times felt a bit too intense. The new songs all sounded incredible, something I was concerned about owing to the fact Carr had formerly been their main lyricist but singles A Full Syringe, Memories of You and I’ve Had Enough I’m Out sounded every bit as at home on the set list as the ones from the 90’s. In between songs the band interacted and joked with the crowd often laughing about aging, Sice at one point stating he had had to put notes on the set list to remember his dedications then proceeding to forget his own wife!
Something I was slightly disappointed by was the crowd. Granted I didn't expect jumping up and down but I thought people might have taken this as an opportunity to let their hair down and have a bit of a dance, I desperately wanted to put my arms up but upon looking round saw everyone just gently tapping their thigh and thought better of it!
All too soon and ending on the incredible Lazarus the set was over. Sice addressed the crowd stating this is the point where they should go off. We would all shout more and they'd come back out but the dressing rooms were upstairs, they were old and couldn't be bothered so we had to pretend! The first song of the encore was another new one All Along which like all the others was excellent, then it was time the moment every casual fan, who’d just come along for something to do had been waiting for WAKE UP BOO! The room came alive, I looked around and everyone was dancing and singing their hearts out. Finally! This was my cue to join in the fun! The band clearly loved playing this and were buzzing from the crowds reaction to it. It was a phenomenal end to an incredible night, well worth the years I had waited. Several days on it's safe to say I am still buzzing!
New album “Keep on with Falling” is out March 11th 2022, so I’m hoping for another tour, rest assured I’ll be going!
Setlist:
Barney (...and Me)
Find the Answer Within
I've Had Enough I'm Out
Kingsize
You And Me
Wish I Was Skinny
Alone Together
From the Bench at Belvidere
I Say a Lot of Things
Everything Is Sorrow
A Full Syringe and Memories of You
The Finest Kiss
Lazarus
Encore:
All Along
Wake Up Boo!