Who
The Boo Radleys
Support
Alice Pisano
Where
Kings Heath Hare And Hounds
When
29th October 2021
Price
£17.00
Who with
No-one
Position
In the middle
Comments
The Boo Radleys split up in 1999, and as far as I'm aware this was their first set of shows since 1998! I recall sadness at their split on the old SFA email list, but I didn't get into them until purchasing their greatest hits collection released in 2005. I can't recall what made me purchase it, and I've only ever got into a few songs on there. Yet the tunes I like I really enjoy, and I've always had a good feeling about the band. Perhaps missing them at the time made it incredibly difficult for me to ever become a serious fan who knew their individual albums, but the opportunity to see them playing live at long last wasn't to be missed. I couldn't get anyone to join me for the show, and Martin Carr wasn't part of the group this time, but I'd seen him perform with Brave Captain supporting SFA way back in 2005! When researching him he'd given an interview claiming he hadn't been invited to the reunion, but judging from his words and that of The Boos in the show itself, they seemed to be on mutually respectful terms. The first I knew about the reunion was when I saw the tour dates advertised, and I quickly got my ticket, figuring I'd probably have to drive there as Kings Heath is not conveniently located by train from central Birmingham. This wasn't their first reunion show but it was on their first tour back. It was very special and increasingly rare to cross such a big hitting act from my viewed list. By my reckoning, The Boo Radleys were the 76th out of my top 100 acts I'd be watching live. And I doubt I'd be seeing many more, as Fatboy Slim is my most realistic hope remaining but he is very low on that list as I have little hope he'd deliver the hits. The next most feasible are Daft Punk or Will Smith, but I'm unsure if either will ever tour again. But all this meant that seeing The Boo Radleys was a huge deal for me.

Just 20 days after watching Gruff Rhys, The Boos were near the tail end of my summer burst of activity, and I'd been too busy to listen to any of their songs. My time wasn't wasted though, as I finally achieved my dream of watching the Back To The Future Musical in London at my third attempt, as well as watching The Play That Goes Wrong at short notice in Brum. On the Friday night of the show I doggedly drove far down the M5 to try and avoid central Birmingham and most of the traffic, but my sat nav spitefully drove me back into the city centre all the way to the part-closed Five Ways roundabout. I struggle to believe it was the best route, but the sat nav seemed hellbent on taking me that way! The M6 was pretty slow also and it's just fortunate that the band weren't starting crazy-early. I hadn't been able to deduce the start time, just that the doors opened at 7pm and the curfew was at 10. The last leg of the drive to Kings Heath was especially slow and the time it took to get through Birmingham seemed longer than needed. My luck changed however when I pulled into a near-empty massive car park incredibly close to the venue, not seeing any indication that I had to pay for it either. I needed some food so wandered past the knock-off versions toward a genuine KFC. Based on the calorie stats I deduced that a Twister meal with one mini fillet would be a decent size, but the wrap was tiny and I had to scrape the beans into the lid to eat them. I'd been told that everything was on the tray but this was a cheeky lie, as I had no spoon or straw, yet I was lazy and in a hurry so just made do. Perhaps enjoying huge chicken meals at the local chippie has raised my expectations, but I feel that KFC just disappoints each time I visit, and only the mini fillets and wings have any wow factor to them. And their decision to stop selling ice cream is particularly shocking!

I ate quickly because I didn't know when The Boos would be commencing, arriving at the Hare And Hounds just after 8pm. It seemed a very impressive pub and I quickly located that a side door and stairs led up to the venue. My mobile ticket was unnecessary as my name was just crossed off a list, and I was presented with a purple wristband. I headed up the stairs and opened the heavy door to be greeted by a pretty full room and an entrance far nearer the front of the stage than the back. I immediately tried to find the loo, embarking on an epic quest with a couple of other guys. This led us outside and down some steps. I spotted some nice graffiti but no clues whatsoever as to where we were supposed to pee. I went back in and found the toilets through another door, but there was absolutely no signage at all, and this was not a good start! Still, the room was pleasingly intimate and the bar at the back had some good beers. I settled for just a pint of Neck Oil poured into a plastic glass, and the glorious taste of this lovely beer made it perhaps the finest I'd ever drunk at a show of this ilk! The support act Alice Pisano had started at 7:30pm apparently, and by the time I made it back from the loos she had finished and was packing up her equipment. Therefore it wouldn't be fair to review her, and it's debatable I should even list her as a support act I'd watched. It looked like she'd gone down well though! I then stood pretty much in the middle - a few rows back from the front - and started drafting some pre-show notes on my phone. It was a decent crowd with no hint of pushing or discomfort, and the room was just about cool enough that my thick coat didn't need to come off. Once I finished my pint I stored the plastic glass in my coat pocket for the remainder of the concert, being unwilling to leave a prime spot in the middle.

The Boo Radleys were due for an 8:30pm start and this suited me down to the ground, as the wait for the main event can often be frustrating. The guitars were tuned by a solitary roadie and the nondescript background music was briefly elevated by a burst of the Jackson 5. There also was a merch stand to the left but I paid it no mind, as I still miss the great days of dodgy £5 t-shirts outside the shows, and I knew there'd be nothing near that affordability level. The lights dimmed and an intro tape kicked in before the band appeared from the same side door that led to the hidden toilets. The singer and the drummer both sported the classic shaved heads, and it looked to be an aesthetic choice as I'm sure they've meticulously shaved them to cultivate the image from their original incarnation. First song was Barney (...And Me) which I barely recognised, but much more interesting was the second tune Find The Answer Within! They confirmed it was from the Wake Up Boo album and it has always been one of my fave numbers. The guys were releasing an album in 2022 and interspersed hits with newbies, and after the first new tune was the classic Kingsize! The sound quality was great and recreated the original recordings nicely, and I read afterwards that this was intended to be a second single off their final album, but that plan fell through when The Boos split up. Sice was positive and charismatic, dressed smartly and physically blocking my view of the drummer. It was only when I saw the drummer towards the end that I realised he was contributing some backing vocals to the mix, but I could tell that he was rock solid and providing strong beats at the back. Sice explained that someone had asked him to do an acoustic show and he'd accepted, then things had ballooned from there and led up to the reformation.

To his right was Tim Brown on bass, who was the only other original member as the drummer Martin had joined a couple of years later. He was bearded and doing many of the backing vocals, but my view of him was obscured a little as the tallest guy in the world was blocking my view of him, making it tricky for me to get any full band pics. For the most part the use of phones was minimised, but I took a few shots on both my phone and camera, with the large heads in front slightly spoiling the result. I believe that many of the keyboard elements were pre-recorded as I couldn't see anyone who was playing them, and in place of Martin Carr was a young and very competent guitarist, who cruelly isn't even listed on Wikipedia as a member of the group! It's a shame as he seemed able to play it all, but Martin Carr was the creative genius and his absence was a shame, but much like Brian Wilson perhaps his presence wasn't really necessary when it came to live performance? Sice kept up the audience banter nicely, declaring that Birmingham was now one of his second cities as his daughter was at Uni there, and in fact was in the crowd tonight. Touching sentiment for sure, but Birmingham is THE second city, it's not a matter of opinion! He also said that Wish I Was Skinny had become prophetic, and From The Bench At Belvidere was dedicated to Martin. They were very positive about him, which was good, but his absence still seems a bit of a mystery, and a terrible shame as seeing the full classic line up is so much more meaningful. I've got to say that I barely knew these songs I'm namechecking, as my interest in The Boo Radleys was very hit-specific, and so many of the other tunes on their Greatest Hits just hadn't sunk into my mind yet. I need to try harder!

A few moments sounded like I was watching The Bluetones as Sice hit similar vocal sounds, but The Boo Radleys are a much more creditable act rather than being a guilty pleasure. It surprises me that they're listed as a shoegazing act but I guess they are, although their ability to nail rock, Britpop and classic pop means they shouldn't be dismissed along with the early 90s acts who failed to evolve. The vocals were loud but very poppy and clear, and a few enthusiastic kids to the right of the stage seemed to be enjoying it tremendously, looking somewhat out of place amid the mostly older crowd of original fans. The Finest Kiss was another tune I should know but don't really, and it was dedicated to the lady it was sung about who was in the audience tonight. Sice said he hadn't seen her in 20 years or so, and these lovely little anecdotes helped us to feel that this was a big deal being here tonight. Also the crowd were very appreciative but not dickheads or going crazy, forming the perfect balance. Lazarus I'm sure was the highlight of the evening for many, but it took a while for me to recognise it from its long instrumental intro. A guy at the front wearing a mask went utterly insane to this tune, but he later took off his mask and hugged the band as they departed the stage. He may have got a setlist for his troubles - which someone else got a photo of and I regret not getting that shot myself - but he could have got himself a certain Coronavirus too! I don't get it, if you're that worried you shouldn't be attending shows like this, and if masks are really needed, I consider that a way of saying that live music isn't safe yet! I do sometimes wonder if I may look back and think returning to live music and theatre was foolish, but for me the whole point of vaccination was to return to normal, and for better or worse, I wanted to embrace normal life again!

The crowd sang back Lazarus very pleasingly, and this would have formed the end of the main set but Sice said that as they were fat and old they'd just stay on stage. He painted a rhetorical picture of him diving into the brand new drums and getting beaten up because their drummer was a very violent man, before dialing it back and saying he was joking. Kind of obvious, but you could tell that he was a thoroughly decent guy who was here to please the fans and didn't want to risk upsetting anyone. This may have been the point when the "encore" featured an astonishingly catchy new tune, and before we knew it, it was the final number. Sice seemed to be researching our views of their material throughout the show, asking us what our favourite albums were. In fact The Boo Radleys were on Creation Records for much of their career, and Giant Steps was solidly the fan's favourite choice. Sice said his fave was C'mon Kids, and he bonded with the guy to my right who agreed with him! There were next to no cheers for Wake Up! being the finest album, but besides the obvious hit it also featured the epic Find the Answer Within, whereas Giant Steps had I Hang Suspended and a stupidly long rendition of Lazarus representing it on the Greatest Hits. I strongly suspect that Wake Up Boo! was weak beyond the singles whereas Giant Steps was very much a cohesive album, but this is where I feel a little awkward for not knowing the music in more detail. I read that C'mon Kids is seen as their intentionally awkward album to follow their pop success, and Sice asked our views on Wake Up Boo before the finale. I cheered for it, and to my disappointment there was much more noise in favour of "sacking that fucker off". But Sice said that nevertheless they were going to play it tonight, but they may take that feedback as an excuse to omit their biggest hit in future. Sice gave the audience a way back from their snobbery, admitting that this poll would fail objectivity tests as they'd slightly loaded the phrasing against playing the hit!

I do get frustrated by such snobbery, as I'm always in favour of bands delivering the hits and putting the fans first, but as the guys were delivering it to us regardless, unusually they were in a poppier mood than the fans. Along with a few others I recorded a video, and I'm glad I captured the moment! Sice embraced the tune with a tambourine and the guys gave it a proper go, and many of the crowd seemed to enjoy it despite their earlier snobbery. What a way to finish, and the band declared that unfortunately the night needed to end now as there were no more songs left for them to play that they'd learned! They left to much applause, and despite the early 10pm curfew they'd wrapped up proceedings even earlier at 9:45pm. I'd rather not have driven but it worked out beautifully and reduced my waiting around, and compared to driving up to Wrexham it was much easier, even if the immediate post-gig drive was longer. I returned to the car park and was glad I hadn't had a parking ticket, meaning it genuinely had been free and the place was empty for no reason I could see. Before driving back I wrote up many notes on my phone by text, but couldn't figure out how to copy and paste them into the review so had to screenshot and rewrite them. However, it does mean that barring my ignorance of many of the songs played, I can provide a pretty thorough account of the evening. No copy and paste though... Yet another example of the backwards march of technology! The drive back was fab, this time I went via the A38 straight through central Brum and some cool tunnels. Perhaps I should have gone that way in the first place? Apparently a DJ and club night was after The Boos, but I wasn't drinking and I had no interest in that. Also I had a lovely day on the Severn Valley Railway in store the very next day, and luckily my ears stopped whistling by the time I woke up. I also had plans for Sunday, which didn't come to fruition, and I typed up the rough notes two nights after, before completing the review in unusually fast time. I'd clocked What's In The Box (See Watcha Got) as a minor omission, and it was only when I checked afterwards that I realised the epic I Hang Suspended had also been left out. However, for a low key reunion after 22 years and without the key creative force, this was as good as I could expect. If I knew the tunes a bit better, it could have been spectacular!
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
All Along
Wake Up Boo!
n.b. This setlist was from another gig, but it's either correct or similar

Mark: 7.5/10