Another reason for coming along was the addition of Bristol-domiciled shoegaze and indie student Keeley and her ubiquitous band to the bill (and indeed the whole tour!), the Keelster making an early bid for my most-seen artist of 2025, with 3 gigs already this nascent gigging year! So, an early departure was called for, following some offspring persuasion with Rach still in hospital (the price of a kebab was all it took!), and I barrelled down the M4, hitting slow traffic on the way into the city but parking opposite the Exchange just after 10 past 7. No need for such an early start, though, as Keeley were still soundchecking! Grabbed a front spot, house left, when doors eventually opened, and greeted Keeley and the boys on their way to the stage for their 7.55 start. Straight into the psych riffery of opener “Last Words” and the tough, plangent intro and intricate fretwork of “Inga Hauser” and it was evident that the extra sound checking was time well spent, as they sounded splendid and easily the best of the recent 3 shows; full, strident and purposeful, with Keeley’s low, resonant vocals again leading the charge. A quartet of new numbers formed the mid-set, “Crossing Lands” possibly my favourite tonight with its pacey, bass-driven gallop, but the thoroughly absorbing metronomic thrill-ride of “Trans Europe 18”, happily restored to the set tonight, was again my highlight. “Who was here for Desperate Journalist?” enquired bassist Lukey, playfully following up with, “what did you think of the first band?” Pretty good, Lukey mate, but much better tonight!
Chatted with fellow front row punters Gaye
and Eddie, Eddie confessing “C’mon Kids” was his favourite Boos album! So, he
was buoyed when the set-lists went down onstage, tonight’s entertainment promising
a scattergun selection between that and “Wake Up!”, rather than a formal start-to-finish
run-through. However, and opposite to Keeley, the Boos initially struggled with
the sound mix; very bass and drum dominated from my spot, and needing more of
Louis’ guitar and Sice’s pure choirboy vocals, with openers “C’mon Kids” and “It’s
Lulu” sadly lacking a bit of punch for me. Didn’t stop me dancing along though,
and, happily, the sound improved when Sice resorted to his acoustic guitar for the
languid change-of-pace “Melodies For The Deaf”. By then, they’d already
dispensed with “Wake Up Boo!” and Sice had again proven an entertaining,
laconic frontman, bantering with a couple of (rather annoying actually) Everton
fans about tonight’s Mersey derby, and dissing the singing bush on “The Masked
Singer” for demolishing the aforementioned “Wake Up Boo!”
Despite my usual preference for more upbeat numbers, The Boo Radleys tonight were better with the sound down, the hushed and plaintive “Reaching Out From Here” a prime example of this, with drummer Rob Ceika applying delicate brush strokes rather than big bashes. Sice observed, ““C’mon Kids” was a great album but a bitch to pick singles from!” before a rather lovely “Everything Is Sorrow”; “Joel” was also a mid-set highlight, its pastoral opening ceding into a libidinous psych-groove; and “Ride The Tiger” an understated delight, with a “Man Who Sold The World” opening riff leading into a loose-limbed, almost tribal vibe. But tonight’s highlight was reserved for last; after the gregarious and personable Sice thanked all and sundry, set closer “Stuck On Amber”, the more melancholic and introspective outlier on the otherwise buoyant “Wake Up!” album, was conversely the best and most euphoric and joyous sounding number of the night, the final crescendo bringing an improving set to a quite excellent conclusion.
An easy list and farewell to Eddie, before a chat with the Keeley folks at the merch stand preceded a difficult run out of Bristol, the bottom half of the M32 shut again. Bah! Still, the kids were fine, kebabs duly despatched, so a successful night all round. Boo Radleys (and Keeley)…C‘mon Up!
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