THE CHEAP THRILLS MAKE A 120-CAPACITY ROOM FEEL LIKE HOME AT LEEDS’ OPORTO

LIVE REVIEW | THE CHEAP THRILLS | OPORTO, LEEDS | 11th October 2026 by Lucy Holden

Four lads from Liverpool, a room full of sweat, and a reminder that some gigs mean more than just the music.

There’s barely room to breathe inside Leeds’ Oporto before The Cheap Thrills have set foot on stage. A 120-capacity room is dripping with sweat, pints are flowing, and the Leeds lot are out in full force on a Sunday.

In the middle of it all, I’m standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers, watching four lads from Walton Vale bring a little piece of home to a city 80 miles away.

And that’s what makes tonight feel different.

I’m used to seeing The Cheap Thrills in places like Liverpool’s Mountford Hall, a venue that holds 2,300 people. Even The Windsor, our local pub and a place the band knows inside out, feels bigger than this. No massive stage, no huge crowd stretching into the distance, no barrier separating the band from the people. Just a tiny room and a band I’ve been desperate to see away from home, all for £12 a ticket.

There’s no grand entrance. The lads come through the back door and make their way to the stage. No green room, no side stage, no fancy production. Just four musicians and whatever they can bring to the room.

As it turns out, that’s more than enough.

Fresh off the back of releasing their debut album, Keep Cheap, The Cheap Thrills waste absolutely no time reminding everyone why they’re here. New fans and familiar faces are singing along to ‘Last Orders’, the band’s 2024 single, like they’ve been waiting for ages for this moment.

The disco ball catches whatever light the room has to offer, scattering little flashes across the crowd. I’m watching it spin whilst taking in Lewis Pike’s vocals and the stunning harmonies coming from Terry Eaves. There’s something special about hearing these songs in a room this small and being right there in it.

A few songs in, the place is drenched. Women are standing on couches, while fellas old enough to be my dad are knocking about in Walton Vale merch, belting out the words with thick Leeds accents. It’s brilliant. There’s a genuine connection here, something that stretches beyond Liverpool and into a city that’s clearly taken them to heart. I can only imagine what it feels like for the band to look out and see that.

Around 20 minutes in, they launch into their new single, ‘Looking’. If you haven’t watched the video yet, do yourself a favour. It stars fellow Scouser Mike Noble, best known for The City Is Ours, and features the band’s beloved Windsor, affectionately known as the Castle.

But it’s when Lewis launches into his spoken-word section that the room really pays attention.

“Tory Britain, pensioner labour camps, with no freedoms, no buses, no bingo.”

The words linger with anger in them, Lewis doesn’t just deliver the lines; he sounds like he means every single one. You can hear the frustration and the feeling behind the words. It’s a reminder that these songs aren’t written just to be shouted back over a few pints. They’ve got something to say.

The reaction is immediate as huge cheers fill the room, and from that point on, Oporto feels like it’s properly found its feet.

The boys are clearly having a few drinks themselves, laughing between songs and winding each other up, with chemistry you can’t fake. Years of playing together show in the small things: the looks, the jokes, the way they recover when things don’t quite go to plan. There’s no polished performance here, but thank God for that. A little chaotic, a little messy, and all the better for it.

One of my favourite moments comes when they kick into ‘Tranquilio’. It’s groovy, it’s infectious, and suddenly everyone seems to be moving. For a few glorious minutes, the entire room is dancing.

Then I remember it didn’t make the album.

Fuming.

At this point the energy is completely unfiltered; even though this isn’t the Olympia or Mountford Hall, it doesn’t feel like anything is missing. Before I can get too homesick, the band launch into their single ‘Walton Vale’.

The synths kick in, the lyrics land, and suddenly the whole room feels like it belongs to somewhere else. Somewhere familiar.

There’s something special about watching a band carry their hometown with them. Not in a forced way, but through the people they are and the things they write about. The Cheap Thrills have spent years building this, and now Keep Cheap is out in the world; those songs are finally finding their people. Hearing them live, in a room full of people who might never have set foot in Walton Vale, makes it all feel even more significant.

After some pounding drums and guitars, ‘Calypso Blue’ brings a slower pace and a more melancholic vibe. Me and my mates are hugging and singing along to the lyrics “I’ll be there with you.”

For a moment it’s just us with our arms around each other, no phones held up and no big production, just a gorgeous song, your friends and an overwhelming feeling of love.

Drummer Anton Eager knows exactly when to shift the energy, turning quiet into full-blown anthems. The band make these transitions look effortless, with each member perfectly in tune with the others.

Then comes ‘Party’, and the crowd are chanting, “We’re not going home, we’re not going home.” The end is coming, and nobody’s happy about it.

Four young lads with no major label safety net and an independent debut album that’s hit number one in the charts. Even when Lewis thanks the crowd for singing about “our shithole”, it’s pure love. Because when it’s your shithole, it means everything.

And then ‘Codependence’ rings out. This one means a lot to me. It means a lot to the band, too, and judging by the faces around me, it means just as much to plenty of people in this room. As the final chords begin to ring out, Lewis throws himself into the little pit forming in the crowd.

The singing, the shouting, the emotion of a room that knows its night is almost over. I find myself hugging a bloke easily three times my age, someone I’ve never met before, connected by lyrics written by four lads from the same small corner of Liverpool I call home. We’ve got different lives and probably very little else in common. But for a few minutes, none of that matters. We know the same words and feel the same thing.

And that’s the bit you miss at the massive shows. You can have the lights, the screens, the production and thousands of people singing, but you can’t manufacture this.

There’s a quick thank you to the crowd, and a reminder to get tickets for their next Leeds gig, at the bigger Brudenell Social Club. Judging by tonight, they won’t be playing rooms this small forever.

Before the final drumbeat has properly settled and the last synth chord has disappeared, Lewis has already thrown himself towards the back of the venue. No disappearing backstage. No rushing off into the night. Just four very appreciative people hanging around, talking to the people who are helping them build something special in a city that isn’t even their own.

It’s a small gesture, perhaps, but it says a lot.

I leave Oporto that night with a ridiculous amount of love for this band, their music and everything they represent. The homesickness is definitely alive; there really is nowhere quite like L9. It’s a strange, specific feeling to belong to a place like that, and even harder to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it. But watching The Cheap Thrills carry that feeling into other cities, watching people connect with songs rooted in the same streets that shaped me, is something I’ll hold on to.

Tonight wasn’t about the size of the venue, the number of people in the room, or how far the band have come. It was about the four of them getting to the end of this UK tour and playing their hearts out.

The Cheap Thrills are massive. And if this is what they’re doing in a 120-capacity room on a Sunday night, just imagine what comes next.

Get on board now. You don’t want to be the one who missed the fun stuff.

Thanks for overwhelming demand, The Cheap Thrills will hit the road again in 2027 with tickets on sale now.

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Lucy Holden

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