Live Review: Trash Boat - The Bullingdon, Oxford 06/03/2022
Bringing a mix of old and new material, Trash Boat treated fans to an intimate and unforgettable performance in Oxford.
When a band hits their third album, it can really be a make-or-break career point; fans have built up expectations about what they want to hear, but you also want some variation and development from what has been already done. Thankfully, Trash Boat have hit a very sweet spot with their third album ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing’, and this came across pertinently as they gave it the live treatment at The Bullingdon in Oxford, a 300-capacity venue that really placed you at the centre of the music. Bringing a varied set that covered old fan favourites, while still giving plenty of stage time to material from their latest album, it really felt like this was Trash Boat through and through as they guided you through their whole musical journey.
Opening with ‘Silence is Golden’, the screams and punchy riffs gripped the crowd from the get-go. It really gave weight to vocalist Tobi Duncan’s declaration that ‘This is a Trash Boat show and we ain’t fucking around!’, as you’re plunged straight into the band’s heavier material. The crowd showed themselves to be completely attuned to the statement, with the first mosh pits starting when we had only gotten to the third track of the set with ‘Inside Out’. As the resonant drums started pounding away, the room almost began to crackle with a newfound electricity as it became clear that this was not another generic album-promotion tour, but instead a chance for everyone to remember the power of sharing in the same visceral experiences and connecting on a deep, emotional level.
Feeding off the momentum, the band continued hurtling through with ‘Shade’, before bringing it back to their newer material with ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Bad Entertainment’. As they made a nod to the saturated, social media-driven world that we all live in, the gig almost felt like the antithesis of it as everyone was completely engaged in the moment; for a few hours that night, the world outside didn’t exist as a crowd of strangers bonded over shared passions and experiences. With gig goers throwing themselves into yet another mosh pit over the chorus, this was the epitome of feeling alive and being unapologetically yourself before the heartfelt vocals of ‘Brave Face’ rippled through. With every drawn out line striking at your heart and piercing through your defences, it drew a cathartic release that no one knew they needed until it happened. Continuing through a backlog of their earlier songs with ‘Tring Quarry’, ‘Eleven’, and ‘Controlled Burn’, it was clear to see that this was a band that had grown and learnt from their experiences, but inherently remained the same group that we had fallen in love with since their inception.
Bringing it up to date again as Tobi jokes, ‘this next song has one very simple message’, you couldn’t have gotten a louder reaction from the crowd than with the vitriolic ‘Alpha Omega’. There’s something primal and inexplicably satisfying about screaming ‘you fucking idiot’ in a sweaty and packed group of people, and it’s not a moment that will be easily forgotten. However, it can’t quite top the affirming speech given before the finale of ‘He’s So Good’, as Tobi addresses what people have speculated the song to be about. Reminding the crowd that ‘every single one of you is amazing and I want you to live your truth’, it reminded everyone of why they were there for Trash Boat and imprinted a memory that will stick for a long time.
Words and Photography by Athena Kam
