Photo: Richard Gray
It has been remarked upon many times, and with reason, that the sheer noise that Brighton duo Royal Blood create on stage is powerful and staggering, but at Koko last night they proved – like most well executed music on the heavier side on the spectrum – that it is the moments of quieter control and vulnerability which highlight the strength of Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher’s talent.
Opening with 'Come on Over', 'You Can Be So Cruel' and 'Figure It Out', this is start to prove that Royal Blood are already playing stadium-sized worthy music. More than chemistry, there is camaraderie between Kerr and Thatcher - a notable concentrated effort from both parties is made to deliver something bigger than the sum of its parts.
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Despite the huge success of their last 12 months, there’s a sense that they still want to prove themselves. The result is a testosterone fuelled, high energy performance. In some ways the music is simplistic – not necessarily to its detriment – and there have been and will be many bands similar to Royal Blood; but the difference between the many and this band is the tautness of the execution and their power.
Kerr’s clear vocal and the bass rhythms are reminiscent of QOTSA and the White Stripes, but the unrelenting bluesy groove-driven nature of their live set puts them closer to Muse and the Black Keys than to their heavier metal brothers. With a limited back catalogue to work with, the set is short.
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Every inch is squeezed from the guitar riffs and every beat from Thatcher’s drum purposeful and necessary. It’s stripped back and bare and it seemed fitting rather than disappointing when the boys left the stage after ending on a boisterous, stoic rendition of 'Out of the Black'; leaving with no room for the pretence of delivering an encore.
Royal Blood played:
1. Come On Over
2. You Can Be So Cruel
3. Figure It Out
4. You Want Me
5. Better Strangers
6. Little Monster
7. Blood Hands
8. Careless
9. Ten Tonne Skeleton
10. Loose Change.
11. Out Of The Black
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