GIG REVIEW ROYAL BLOOD
ROYAL BLOOD
by Martin Currie
Brighton’s hard rock duo
Royal Blood have burst onto
the scene at such a frenetic
pace since they started their
hard rock project in 2013.
Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher
saw their debut album reach
number one, they were
nominated for the Barclaycard
Mercury Prize and have
recently announced their
support for Foo Fighters on a
2015 UK stadium tour that’ll
stop at Murrayfield after a
couple of Wembley dates.
There’s no doubt the band is
on an upward trajectory, and
showing no signs of slowing
down.
And at Glasgow’s ABC - they
were at their brilliant best.
Personally, I’ve probably been
to just shy of around 100 gigs.
Since starting at Kings of
Leon in ’05, I’ve since had the
pleasure of seeing The Stone
Roses in Manchester, as well
as Radiohead, The Libertines,
Arctic Monkeys, The Black
Keys, Oasis and Red Hot Chili
Peppers, to name just a few.
Okay, I’ll throw in another
just to embarrass myself, by
admitting I’ve paid to see
Towers of London...
However, the point is, Royal
Blood’s hour-long performance
is comfortably in my top three.
From the very beginning with
‘Hole’, one of four tracks played
that’s not on their self-titled
album (which they played
in its 10-song entirety); they
brought the raw energy they’re
renowned for. I shouldn’t be
surprised as they are known to
be an excellent live act, but after
losing out in the Mercury Prize
the night before, there was a
slight feeling of trepidation.
Would they bring the same
high energy levels?
Thankfully, there were no
disappointments here as they
then fired their way through
‘Come On Over’, ‘You Can Be
So Cruel’ and their latest single
at the time ‘Figure It Out’.
With no encore and just a little
chat in between their middle
section of the setlist, the duo
just embraced their music.
At times drummer Ben was
standing up smashing his kit
with sheer delight etched on
his face.
“...the duo just
embraced their
music.”
Bands often trot out the
“Glasgow, you’re the best
audience to play to” line
whether they mean it or not,
and although Royal Blood
didn’t indulge the fans with
this crowd-pleaser, you got the
impression they were probably
thinking it.
Milking the applause after
finishing on ‘Out Of The
Black’, their opening single that
first brought the band to many
people’s attention, you could
tell they’re enjoying where they
are at the minute.
And they’re right to drink it
in, because in a couple of years’
time it’ll probably be them
headlining the stadiums.
THE STUDENT VOICE: EDITION 3
31