On Monday night, Brighton rock duo Royal Blood played an electrifying, sold-out show at Brooklyn Steel, the first of a two-night run at the venue. Despite having fractured his foot just two days before, bassist Mike Kerr powered through the set inconspicuously – a testament to Royal Blood’s adept live performance.
The pair entered onto the stage with KC & The Sunshine Band’s “Get Down Tonight,” then grooved right into playing “Figure It Out.” Crowd surfers and mosh pits were rampant all night, and the setlist was a satisfying mix of driving riffs off of their two albums.
The highlight of the night was Ben Thatcher’s drum solo post-“Little Monster” – cowbell included. If the crowd were not already standing, the solo would have surely resulted in a standing ovation. Before playing “Loose Change,” Kerr said that their friend and occasional co-lyricist was in the audience and proceeded to sing, “John Barrett, John Barrett, where the fuck is John Barrett?” John Barrett happened to be side stage and hopped on for a moment. After “Loose Change,” the catchy tune was still on the audience’s mind, and without prompt, the crowd started chanting the jingle a few times.
Prior to closing with “Out Of The Black,” Kerr prefaced that there would be no encore. With an injured foot, there was no use walking off stage and “pretending.” Instead, the last song was an invitation to “be in the moment and be real together.”
All photos and written word by Alexandra Howard. Check out photos from the show below:
Royal Blood Online:
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Upcoming Royal Blood Tour Dates:
05/31 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
06/03 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
06/05 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
06/06 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
06/08 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
06/09 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
06/11 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
06/12 – Saint Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
06/14 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
06/16 – Richmond, VA @ The National
06/17 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival 2018
