Project Description

ROYAL BLOOD

@ HBF Stadium

13/05/18

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Melanie D Griffiths

Royal Blood // HBF Stadium // crii. photography

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Rock was front of stage at HBF Stadium on Sunday night. Royal Blood, in their first headliner concert in Perth, ripped into their set like they were carrying out an exorcism giving a unforgettable fiery performance.

Hometown group Psychedelic Porn Crumpets opened, with Polish Club following on. The Sydney group provided a set of surfer, jazzy rock built around upbeat melodies,a big sound and simple songs. With muesli bars being ditched out to an eager crowd, and some good natured banter, they gave a fun set, offset by a cover of Savage Garden’s Truly, Madly, Deeply which sounded more like a threat than a lovesong.

Coming out of the gate with the one-two punch of Where Are You Now and Lights Out from 2017’s How Did We Get So Dark? Royal Blood’s Mike Kerr (bass) and Ben Thatcher (drums) played furiously as if they felt the need to attack their music harder to ensure it sticked. Punctuated with a set of simple alternating lights the band amply filled the stage.

As they went through You Can Be So Cruel and Look Like You Know they built the energy with determination against a varied all ages crowd, that whilst appreciative, seemed to need to be reminded, more than once, that it was okay to get raucous. At a later point Kerr basically demanded those in the stands get on their feet before he’d start Loose Change.

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Royal Blood // HBF Stadium // crii. photography

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Little Monsters played mid-set, and an extended drum solo by Thatcher had them hit their loppy stride. It’s hard not to like this band, if not for what they manage to achieve with just a bass guitar and belligerent drumming, but for their downright catchy, bluesy take on garage rock that sits in that sweet spot where their other contemporaries like Queens Of The Stone Age and pre-2009 Muse existed.

Certainly as Kerr deliciously crooned and Thatcher laid into his kit through Blood Hands they made an alluring pair, allowing Kerr’s magnetism and Thatcher’s volatility to cover some sins such as the flow of the concert. There were Kerr’s fallen out earpieces, and extended blackouts between songs which were minor hiccups. It looked like it didn’t concern them too much, as both musicians declared, between long swigs from a Patron bottle, that their music was all about this..the reason for spending time with your mates and doing “whatever the fuck you wanted”.

To fill out the soundscape a backing track was used throughout the concert, along with two strangely utilised she-devil type back-up singers. During Hole In your Heart, as Kerr played on his keys, it gave an insight that the concert could have been extraordinary had they had a full band.

By the last three songs, that Patron was hitting the spot as Royal Blood stopped giving a concert and instead were playing for a couple thousand mates. Kerr, with his tongue out, stalked around the stage for Figure It Out, eventually joining Thatcher at his drums. Ten Tonne Skeleton with its stomping drum beat and bittersweet vocal lead into Out Of The Black which was a monster of song, with a fierce guitar part. At one point it felt like the song was over, as Thatcher came to walk Jesus style across the audience but after another shot of tequila they launched back into the song, both now manically smashing on the cymbals, then tumbling off the drum rise at the song’s conclusion and telling Perth how much they loved us before leaving the stage. It’s was loud, it was messy but it was also a moment of pure rock n’ roll greatness.

4 / 5 stars

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Royal Blood // HBF Stadium // crii. photography

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