Boulder

Last year, the band performed in Denver. This year’s tour brought them to Boulder, where they made their debut at the historic Boulder Theatre. Nestled in downtown, the venue was once an opera house and is celebrated for its striking Art Deco architecture.

Unfortunately, we seemed to bring the UK weather with us – on the day of the show, the skies opened and the rain poured down. Still, there was plenty to explore: shopping along Pearl Street Mall, vibrant street art at every turn, a quirky vintage shop with instruments waiting to be played, and even a stop at the famous Mork & Mindy house.

As fans filed into the VIP soundcheck, they were greeted with a surprising twist: the stage setup had been completely reversed. Adrian, Chloe, and Andy were now positioned on the left, while Saul and Jim took their places on the right. Even Debbie and Dave’s drum kits had swapped sides. The band treated the crowd to a three-song set, performing ‘Seven’, ‘The Lake’, and ‘Don’t Wait Too Long’.

At most shows, ‘Skindiving’ has been reserved to kick off the second set, so it came as a surprise to hear it open the first – putting Chloe centre stage as the sole vocalist. Tim then joined the band, and after a brief moment of playful uncertainty about what was coming next, Saul launched into a soaring violin solo that signalled the start of ‘Five-O’.

The first set featured two tracks from Yummy: ‘Way Over Your Head’ and ‘Shadow of a Giant’. Both are quietly powerful, requiring the audience’s full attention – and the crowd gave it wholeheartedly. The latter began with a hauntingly delicate intro, Saul’s violin weaving through Chloe’s evocative vocals as she perched at the front of the stage, drawing everyone into the moment. As the song swelled, the intimacy deepened, with Tim and Chloe stepping off the stage together, singing on the walkway and enveloping the audience in the song’s raw, personal energy. – a spellbinding reminder of the band’s ability to connect directly with their fans.

While set one offered few surprises in terms of track selection, it did mark the welcome return of ‘Seven‘, played for only the second time on this tour, the other appearance being in Philadelphia. One of the set’s standout moments came during ‘Born of Frustration’, when Tim wriggled through the barrier to dance with fans in the crowd, eventually making his way to the bar at the back of the room and balancing atop it. It wasn’t the first time he ventured into the audience either, and the upbeat ‘Ring the Bells’ led to him crowdsurfing for the first time on this tour.

With the usual second-set opener already performed, the band chose to kick off the set with ‘Dream Thrum’. There weren’t many surprises as they settled into their new stage positions, but ‘Zero’ soared once again, marking only its second performance of the tour.