Live Review: Royal Blood - O2 Academy, Newcastle 22/07/2021
This is it. The return of live music. And because we have learned the hard way that it can be taken away again any minute, we are taking every opportunity we can. On the 22nd of July Royal Blood tore down the stage of the O2 Academy in Newcastle and took the entire audience with them on a journey of passion-fueled rapture.
There is possibly no better support act for Royal Blood than Tigercub. The emerging and explosive alt rock outfit threw their all out on stage and made the sound we have all been longing to hear for such a long time. The four-man band released their energy and frustration on the audience that was attending the O2 Academy. Blurts of loud recognisable noises and plenty of riffs filled the room, among which one of Tigercub’s latest top tracks; ‘Stop Beating on My Heart (Like a Bass Drum)’. The audience clearly had to warm up to the band but once Tigercub is playing international festivals their new and still unknowing fans will fondly look back on this incredible performance.
Royal Blood kicked off their set with the title track of their latest album, ‘Typhoons’, and the audience went wild. Beer had started flying as soon as the venue had opened up, but reached a high with the start of Royal Blood’s tumultuous and vigorous live set. With every thumping beat and every soaring riff, the Brighton-based duo upped their fuel output. The band have just released their latest album ‘Typhoons’, but Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher gave the people just what they wanted: the old hits. ‘Lights Out’, ‘Come on Over’ and ‘I Only Lie When I Love You’ all graced the set list and were received with open arms and loud cheers. The duo’s self-titled debut album was played nearly in its entirety and the title track of their second album ‘How Did We Get So Dark?’ wasn’t received with the energy ‘Loose Change’ got but they can’t all be fan favourites… Right?!
Ever since the release of their first album in 2014, Royal Blood have warmed the hearts and vocal cords of alternative rock fans all over the world. And their live sets amplify their and our voices with lyrics easy to remember and easy to sing-along. “I say run little monster/ Before you know who I am” being one of our favourites. The band played fourteen tracks and gave two more during the encore, Thursday evening ended with a bang and ‘Figure It Out’.
Being in a crowd of about 2.000 people while singing along to songs you all know by heart brings a feeling barely anything else does, the feeling of being part of one harmonious sound that comes from multiple mouths, multiple souls with just one intention: to enjoy every single second. Possibly the biggest challenge of getting back into the game of live music and events is sore feet at the end of the evening… But currently none of that truly matters, we are simply drunk on life, and drunk on music.
Words by Laura Rosierse
Photography by Lauren Stewart