On 9th May 2024 nestled in a quiet corner of Charing Cross, Trash Boat took Heaven by storm; an easy task for the St Albans five-piece who are no strangers to a good time. Opening with their new hit “Break You”, aptly nicknamed ‘the raccoon song’ by lead singer Tobi Duncan due to its uncanny resemblance to viral Pedro meme doing the rounds online, the band kicked off their only headline UK set of the year to an already unruly crowd.
Despite the early show times, Unpeople and Dream State pulled a huge crowd to watch them open the night and left everyone craving more from them. After announcing their new project last year when Press To MECO sadly came to an end, Unpeople had no trouble making their mark with one of their first shows, creating their own special place in the scene no one will be wanting to miss any time soon.
Dream State are returning London favourites as they ripped up their stage with their biggest numbers, encouraging fans to check out their own set at Download Festival in a few weeks time. Whether you were having a party at the back or crowd surfing over the pit, not a second went to waste – no surprise for the band that’s a staple for any music lover’s summer playlist with incredible festival appearances year on year.
It wasn’t long until Trash Boat roared onto stage, belting the lyrics with everyone in harmony. Throwing it back to their classics, fans were delighted for the return of “Tring Quarry”, “Strangers” and “Inside Out”, which were sadly missing on their recent November/December run supporting Don Broco on The Birthday Party UK tour.
On that tour, they instead opted for newer favourites like “Liar Liar” and “Alpha Omega”, allowing everyone to share a mutual hatred and anger for that one idiot everyone is sure to have in their lives; an experience we all revelled in being able to experience one more time.
It may have been a small venue but that stop it challenging the energy of arenas or festivals. Pits were rampant and raged from corner to corner, nothing new for the band who are now exploring an even heavier sound – an exciting turn of events that was warmly welcomed with open arms (and an even wider pits.)
Debuting “Be Someone”; a new, previously unheard song for the first time, Trash Boat re-introduced themselves with a sound that suits them perfectly, complimenting their pop punk roots and showing more experiential music they released more recently.
“He’s So Good” was a huge end to the night, highlighting the issues people face for their sexuality but reassuring that Trash Boat provides a safe space in the community for everyone to be who they are and identify how they wish, void from judgement.
Being one of London’s most famous gay clubs and bars, Heaven was the perfect setting for such a momentous evening. You can’t deny the impact that Trash Boat has on the music scene and the way they bring people together.
With new music on the way and their only headline UK show of the year over far too quickly, it’ll be a long, excruciating wait to finally hear the new tracks live – but if Heaven 2024 was anything to go by it will be more than worth it, and I’m sure everyone in attendance can agree.
Words by Kcorra Mia + Photos by Tom Berridge
