Live Review: Royal Blood
Back on the 21st of July I was making my way to Bristol to go to the O2 Academy to see Royal Blood perform live. This was the first gig back for me and for so many others, including the band, who had recently released their third album Typhoons. This was already set out to be a monumental night. Here I was stood in a music venue for the first time in over a year and a half, the band was about to come on, the crowd was ecstatic. I already knew that wasn’t a show I was going to forget.
The support band Tigercub had done a good job at getting the crowd ready to go, I had enjoyed their set, especially the song ‘The Autumn Of My Years’, but nothing could beat the reaction of the crowd when the starts of the show, Royal Blood, took to the stage. When I say we were straight back into it, I mean it. Just as the first notes of the first song rang out I was already drenched in beer and a mosh pit had started right in front of me. It was like we had never left, yet the crowd was more ferocious than I had seen for a while. It was letting all of the frustrations of the last year and a half out in the form of shouting along to songs that got you through that period in time. It felt like freedom.
The band were phenomenal, energy pouring out of every note and movement on stage that night, with a setlist that had hit after hit, what more could you want? You could see this show meant a lot to them as well, along with having back that incredible audience reaction and a crowd who were full of energy to throw back at them.
Mike Kerr’s vocals soared through the venue with a practised ease while his bass playing was just incredible, I love how he utilises the instrument to create the different types of sounds we hear in Royal Blood’s music, and seeing that live was just amazing. The energy drummer Ben Thatcher displays when performing live is also something to behold, with a massive drum kit and boundless energy, the band definitely know how to draw the crowd in to their every move.
It was also really cool to see some extra vocalists join the band onstage for some of the new songs, as I felt it gave more dimension to the show, as well as differentiating between the older songs and songs from ‘Typhoons’.
This show was definitely an incredible comeback for Royal Blood and for live music. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to return. If you ever have the chance to see Royal Blood perform live, I would definitely recommend it, as you know you’re going to get a show.
Setlist:
Typhoons
Boilermaker
Come On Over
Lights Out
Hook, Line & Sinker
I Only Lie When I Love You
Trouble’s Coming
Oblivion
Little Monster
How Did We Get So Dark?
Blood Hands
Loose Change
Ten Tonne Skeleton
Out Of The Black
Figure It Out
Limbo
(All entrants had to show proof of a double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test taken within 24 hours to enter the venue.)
Thanks for reading, until next time…
Listen to Typhoons by Royal Blood on Spotify here.
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