Royal Blood
1st May 2018
Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by David Watson.
The English have landed. And they’re flying the victory flag for rock n roll. Royal Blood, easily one of the hottest acts currently working the international circuit have arrived in New Zealand to a packed out Logan Campbell Centre that are poised to greet them.
However first, with the illustrious task of warming up the crowd is local Auckland band Dead Favours. With their latest single ‘Better the Weather’ doing the rounds on radio, the four piece have been making quite the name for themselves. Coming off the back of very favourable performances at both Rise Against and the annual Rock The Park event, there were fans a plenty pressed up against the barrier to watch them play. Flashes of white light against a darkened stage sees the members take up position, before being bathed in red for their opener ‘On Your Own’. One of the elements that make Dead Favours stand out from the crowd is lead vocalists Jared Wrennall’s distinctive voice, often reaching a higher octave range than one would expect. Following the obligatory thanking of the audience, Dead Favours settle into their set list pulling out the big guns such as the very catchy ‘High Flying’ with its quirky intro guitar riff.
Cloaked in muted reds and greens with subtle coils of stage smoke it brought a whole new presence to the song in its live form. While Charlie Smith anchors the band with his impeccable drum work, bassist Ross Larsen – who spent much of his time out at the front edge of the stage – added the body work to the tracks that both Wrennall and lead guitarist Kyle Wetton fed off. While Wrennall certainly impresses as a frontman, often standing atop the drum riser or performing a long legged split across the photo pit to get a little closer to the fans, it is Wetton who delivers tonight, his beautifully restrained yet commanding solos on tracks such as ‘Battles’ clearly demonstrating his formidable talent on the strings. Finishing their set with crowd favourite ‘Dig’ expect to see Dead Favours in support of international acts on a regular basis as their trajectory remains firmly locked in the upwards position.
As the crowd jostled for a better position, Logan Campbell Centre was suddenly filled with the sound of KC and the Sunshine Band; ‘Get Down Tonight’ prompting several audience members to break out some dance moves. Those moves soon turned to wild cheering however as Royal Blood appeared; a semi- circle of giant florescent tubes that glowed with intermittent colours throughout the night framing the impressive amp stack in the middle of the stage. Off to the right perched upon a riser that required a small set of steps to reach, an imposing drum kit. Donning his bass, vocalist Mike Kerr stepped forward, the volume of applause rising as he did so; with Ben Thatcher ready and waiting seated at his kit, you could almost feel the audience hold their breath as Kerr raised his hand and hit that first chord.
As ‘Where Are you Now’ from their recently released sophomore album How Did We Get So Dark? rang out across the room the crowd imploded, those stationed in front of the stage immediately heaving in time with the music. Moving straight into ‘Lights Out’ from the same album and it is almost incomprehensible how these two men are managing to make such a rich and all-encompassing sound by themselves; Royal Blood of course being known for their musicianship and not their reliance on backing tracks. Watching Kerr play his bass and yet somehow manage to fill the room with both the sweet highs of a guitar and yet simultaneously the bass notes one would initially expect to hear is nothing short of watching magic. While the technologically savvy know that he is splitting his signal via the series of guitar and bass amps just behind him – using his preferred pedals to not only complete the split but to add an octave or shift the tone, how exactly he has managed to do this to such perfection has become the eighth wonder of the world.
“How you doin’ Auckland? We’re Royal Blood!” Kerr dressed simply in a black and white striped t-shirt raises his arm to the crowd, watching as they cheer loudly back at him. Hailing from Worthing, Kerr and Thatcher – friends since college – formed Royal Blood in 2013, releasing their self-titled debut album just a year later. Since then they have taken the world by storm. With a set-up reminiscent of The White Stripes, Royal Blood encapsulate everything that is great about rock n roll. Their music is radio friendly enough to appeal to a wide audience (as evidenced tonight) while still hard enough to have a bite to it. Many have likened them to current big players such as Queens Of The Stone Age; the duo managing to produce anthemic rock tunes that engage their audiences and hold them through the entirety of their set. While Thatcher, a man who wears his heart not on his sleeve but quite literally on his chest tonight, pounds out the skins as if they are in need of some serious discipline, Kerr serenades the audience with vocals that remain tantalisingly clear throughout the night, their edges ruffled by just the right amount of that rock n roll growl.
As Royal Blood stood poised ready to rip into ‘Look Like You Know’, from behind them came the stunning sound of not one but two female vocalists who would join them intermittently throughout the set on tracks such as ‘Sleep’ and the divinely satisfying ‘Hole In Your Heart’; both their presence and vocals allowing the music in a live setting to grow beyond itself into new territory. Being decent English lads, tonight’s set was punctuated with some English humour and a bit of banter; however a particular audience members demands for a shoey to be performed were quickly shut down by Thatcher; “We’re not in Australia mate, we don’t do that.”
With two ten track albums to their name, fans tonight were treated to a hearty mix off both, their latest work fitting in seamlessly with the old; although it has to be said that favourites such as the swaggering ‘Little Monster’ – which included a jaw-dropping solo from Thatcher complete with compulsory cow bell – and the rhythmical set closer of ‘Figure It Out’ both easily elicited the biggest reactions from the crowd. While Royal Blood have previously shied away from encores, tonight sees the duo return after the expected howling demands of those who are present, for not one but two tracks. ‘Ten Tonne Skeleton’ a favourite amongst most fans is delivered with an underlying ferociousness that chomps at the bit, Kerr harnessing this energy and turning it back on the crowd as he plays a quick game of ‘which sides the loudest’ before they close the evening with ‘Out of the Black’ the climax of which results in Kerr standing atop the drum riser before deftly displaying his skills for all to see. With one hand working the neck of his bass the other grasps a drumstick with which he strikes one of Thatchers symbols, impossibly keeping perfect time; combined with his piano work earlier in the evening, it would appear that Kerr is in fact a musical deity.
And who said rock was dead?
Were you there at the Logan Campbell Centre for this magnificent rock show? Or have you seen Royal Blood perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Royal Blood Setlist:
- Where Are You Now
- Lights Out
- Come On Over
- You Can Be So Cruel
- I Only Lie When I Love You
- Look Like You Know
- Little Monster
- Hook, Line & Sinker
- Blood Hands
- Sleep
- Hole In Your Heart
- How Did We Get So Dark
- Loose Change
- Figure It Out
- Ten Tonne Skeleton [encore]
- Out Of The Black [encore]
Dead Favours Setlist:
- On Your Own
- Heatstroke
- Battles
- High Flying
- Waiting
- Better The Weather
- Dead Favours
- Lost On You
- Brothers
- Dig
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