It may be cold outside but it’s getting hot in the 2nd room of Leicester’s o2 Academy this evening. Second support comes courtesy of Heriot – a heavy far cry from what we’re about to witness from Boston Manor but that doesn’t stop this crowd from loving it. As you watch Heriot preform, you can tell that they’re clearly very passionate about every second they get to spend on stage and as you look around the room, you can see a lot of heads nodding to their beat so they’re clearly doing something right. Whilst you can tell that there are a few nerves filling the stage from these guys, they have a lot of potential to go places with their performance. Unlike a lot of shows, the music between acts doesn’t seem to get this crowd going though there is a disappointment that runs through the crowd as ‘Candy Shop’ is cut off before it even begins.
Anyone who follows Boston‘s socials, knows that on this tour they’re asking for punters to bring donations of toys to help support women’s charities; every tour night has a different women’s charity & on the first night of tour, Leicester are supporting Women’s Aid. Mary from Women’s Aid receives a massive cheer as she enters the stage and gives us a short talk about what a donation could do for them; anyone who wasn’t able to bring a toy or didn’t see that that was an option, was able to donate to the noble cause with a money contribution. Whilst it was unfortunate for people speaking over her, this gesture from BM is another reason as to why these guys are the ones to follow right now.
Not long after Mary takes her leave from the stage, Boston have taken her place; coming out and playing their latest album ‘Datura‘ in full with no breaks. ‘Foxglove‘, the third song of the album is where they truly find their feet. The nerves seem a little obvious at first but this crowd are quick to put front man Henry Cox at ease. ‘Foxglove‘, ‘Passenger‘ & ‘Crocus‘ are all equal favourites from this 2022 album and if you’ve ever heard them you know why – these tracks are highly addictive and you can tell this album is Boston Manor at their finest. As ‘Intertia‘ ends, Henry lets us know that this is the first time they’ve got to play a lot of those songs live which this Leicester crowd seem happy about. It’s an intimate room that’s pretty much sold out and that makes this show so much more intense.
Up next are some more songs that you can’t help but scream along to. ‘Flowers in Your Dustbin‘ on to ‘England’s Dreaming‘ is the perfect way to move on from a full album play through before heading into some tracks from their first album ‘Be Nothing‘. We’re told that the next 2 tracks have been chosen by Twitter and with that, a circle pit is requested to go around the sound desk. ‘Stop Trying, Be Nothing‘ & ‘Lead Feet‘ demonstrate the slightly heavier roots of this 5 piece but they hit just as hard as their new songs and as a chorus of “everything you’ve ever wanted was just out of reach” is sung back to the stage, the crowd surfers come to light. This small room seems to be too much for security tonight as many of the crowd surfers are caught too late (if at all).
We end the night on two Boston classics ‘Laika‘ & ‘Halo‘. There’s not a single person in the room who doesn’t scream “there’s weather more reliable than me” back to Henry & co. As ‘Laika‘ ends and the room hears the first note of ‘Halo‘ the room explodes with everyone losing their absolute minds. You can feel the ricochet of the pit from the edge of room but no one cares – everyone is moving to this track. As the band leave the stage, even one of the security team tells them how good they were. At the same time, this sweaty hoard of people start to vacate the room and there are plenty of people inspecting their wounds from being dropped on the floor as a crowd starts to gather around the merch stand looking to donate to Women’s aid.
