Thursday 4 November 2010

290 THE BOO RADLEYS, 60 Ft. Dolls, Portsmouth Pyramids Centre, Wednesday 12 April 1995


First time at the Pyramids, a splendid new seafront venue, in the light - they're huge! Drove down with the usual car-full and got in just before the support band, 60 Ft. Dolls, a New Wave Of New Wave spiky punk-influenced band, made their entrance. They played an enjoyable set of speedy bursts that would've been super in a small venue, but lost something in this large, high ceiling-ed echoey hall. I spent much of their set playing "Spot The Influence"; mainly The Jam!

I leapt straight into the melee after approximately 2 seconds of the Boo Radley's opening number, the libidinous dancey delight of "I Hang Suspended", and promptly stayed there for the duration. The Boos - a totally different proposition these days from the clumsy, leaden animal I saw back in 1990 with The Heart Throbs - have developed, via a splendid experimental album "Giant Steps", into a swirling, pseudo psychedelic, tune-laden pure pop beast, and were excellent tonight, belying a reputation for slight dodginess "live". Disregarding their more self-indulgent, "dubby" side in the "live" environment, they played a splendid sounding clutch of happy, catchy pop classics, including the inevitable "Wake Up Boo!", and the encore (and new single) "Find The Answer Within" which was the highlight of a sparkling set. Great stuff!

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