Royal Blood prove their worth at Brixton Academy
ROYAL BLOOD prove their worth at Brixton Academy. As they tear the roof off the iconic South London venue, a confident show from the two-man powerhouse confirm that the hype is more than justified
A Royal Blood gig comes with more expectation than most. Formed in 2013, the band was nominated for BBC Sound of 2014 and were the winners of Best British Group at this year’s Brit Awards. With no shortage of fans in high places, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Radio One’s Zane Lowe were early advocates of the band.
When tickets came on sale for their headline show at Brixton Academy, they sold out in minutes. As I walk up to the venue someone tries to buy my ticket for a substantial sum of money.
It’s safe to say that Royal Blood’s star is on the rise. It’s not bad for two friends from Brighton who started the band “for a laugh”.
But with adulation coming out of their ears, would all the hype turn out to be just smoke and mirrors? Would they actually be any good live?
In short: yes.
For their set in Brixton, Royal Blood have only one album to draw from. But what an album it is. They warm up the crowd with Hole before getting into their stride with the riff-packed Come On Over and You Can Be So Cruel.
"I can't tell you what it means to be here," says lead vocalist Mike Kerr. "We used to play these songs in a spare room with a washing machine in it."
Next up are crowd pleasers Figure It Out, Little Monster and Ten Tonne Skeleton as the energy in the room turns up a notch.
I look to my right and see Nick Grimshaw and Douglas Booth in the crowd, screaming along with their hands in the air.
To my left my boyfriend cracks out an air guitar. I consider joining in. He tells me that drummers can expend more energy playing a gig like this than a premiership footballer at a match. Watching Ben Thatcher beat the life out of his drum kit, I can see why.
The set ends all too soon on Out Of The Black and a circle pit of sweaty twenty-something men forms in the crowd in front of me.
"Pardon my French but this is blowing my f**king mind," says Mike as the pair leave the stage, Ben kicking his drum stool into the air as they do so.
With raw grit and enough on-stage energy to power a small town, Royal Blood brought Brixton to it’s knees. The band posses the confidence of one with a decade's experience.
Give it a year and they’ll be headlining Glastonbury.
If so, I’ll see you at the front.
