June 11th 2024, Glasgow: On an unusually chilly June evening in Glasgow, the anticipation in the crowd at the O2 Academy for Royal Blood’s new “Back to the Water Below” tour was certainly hotting up. Also coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the release of their self titled debut album, the eagerly awaited show was a sell out. Getting the crowd revved up for the evening were Crawlers, the rock/indie four piece who are gathering a huge amount of interest both in the UK and Stateside, having previously supported Mother Mother. Kicking off with “I Don’t Want It”, lead singer Holly Minto grabbed the crowds attention straight away with a powerhouse performance that didn’t let up throughout their set. With Amy Woodall on guitar, Liv May on bass and Harry Breen on drums they are a force to be reckoned with live, the floor vibrating with the sound of the bass through songs like “Hit It Again”, ‘Better If I Just Pretend” and their most well known track “Come Over (Again)”. They have a devoted (and growing) following and this electric performance proved why they are a band to keep a close eye on.
With the audience well and truly ready for Royal Blood, the boys took to the stage with an atmospheric light show paving their way. Drummer Ben Thatcher led them onstage with singer and bassist Mike Kerr following, and they launched straight into “Out of the Black”, producing such an incredible sound you’d swear blind there was a full band playing in front of you. So started a relentless, pulsating show that barely let you catch a breath. During “Come on Over”, Ben left his drum kit and made his way into the hyped up crowd (now that takes a brave man in Glasgow, trust me).
Mike kept the music rolling and demonstrated the phenomenal music he can make come out of a bass guitar, it sounds like a lead electric guitar and bass all at the same time. “Boilermaker”, my own personal favourite song of 2021, followed with it’s driving beat and the crowd had no time to catch their breath before the momentum hammered on with the likes of “Mountains at Midnight”, “Lights Out” and “Supermodel Avalanches”, although a slight issue Mike had with his bass meant a quick restart. The boys were joined on occasion by Darren James on keyboard/synth/vox and added an extra dimension to their wall of sound for some of their newer tracks. The crowd were all on their feet as they launched into “Little Monster”, clearly a favourite of everyone in the hall, and again it felt like the structure of the balcony was hanging on by a thread as everyone jumped and sang along. Ben got stuck into a blistering drum solo at the end of the song, and the audience appreciation was evident. Kudos also has to be given to the stage lighting, each song having its own theming and perfectly complementing the performance. “How Did We Get so Dark?”, “Tell Me When It’s Too Late” and “Loose Change” ended the main set, but no one was ready to let them leave on that. Their encore of “One Trick Pony” and “Figure it Out” rounded off an outstanding live performance, one that I’d most definitely be happy to watch again. As we all made our way out into the cold evening, I’m certain that everyone was still feeling the pulsing heat of Royal Blood‘s performance.
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SETLIST:
- Out of the Black
- Come on Over
- Boilermaker
- Mountains at Midnight
- Lights Out
- Supermodel Avalanches
- Shiner in the Dark
- You Can Be So Cruel
- Hook, Line and Sinker
- Trouble’s Coming
- Typhoons
- Pull Me Through
- Little Monster
- How Did We Get So Dark?
- Tell Me When It’s Too Late
- Loose Change
Encore: - One Trick Pony
- Figure It Out
