Royal Blood, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets @ Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide 19/12/2023
Elite! As 2023 draws to a close and we reflect on the year’s best another contender emerges. We always knew that UK’s Royal Blood would be incredible but hot damn they were brilliant. Hot of the heels of their new album Back To The Water Below the infamous UK duo Mike Kerr (vocals, bass guitar) and Ben Thatcher (drums) treated Adelaidians to ninety minutes of rock ‘n roll.
Opening act the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets played a barnstorming thirty minute set to make sure the crowd was amped up and ready to roll. At first drop was Tally-Ho which was followed bu front man Jack McEwan saying “we’re The Beatles, the other Beatles from Perth”. The band ploughed their way through Mundungus and Nootmare (K-I-L-L-I-n-G) Meow! Acknowledging that it had been a while since they were last in Adelaide with McEwan saying that the last two years felt like ten. Up against a time constraint Lava Lamp Pisco, Cubensis Lenses, Cornflake and Hymn for a Droid rounded out the set.
For a Tuesday night the energy level in the venue was right up there with the crowd getting there well early to get a good spot. It was a killer way to start with theme music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly or commonly referred to as the Western Whistle as Royal Blood emerged from the darkness. Right from the get go of Out Of The Black it was on and the scene was set for an awesome show. For a two piece they make a hell of a racket (of the good kind). Duummer Ben Thatcher requests the crowd on the floor to part forming a path for him to get amongst the crowd before taking us his position again to power their way through Mountains At Midnight.
What this show did highlight was how many killer songs they have in their armoury to draw on from all four albums. With Mike Kerr wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and that they were a long way from where they live suggesting they only play Christmas songs. Come On Over, Boilermaker, Lights Out and new song Shiner In The Dark and were exceptional. There wasn’t a lot of banter with the crowd but rather letting the music do all the talking. “Hot off the press” from their new album Supermodel Avalanches was killer. It was back to back hits of Trouble’s Coming and Typhoon that lifted the vibe in the venue to an even higher level.
Little Monster was followed by a huge drum solo and there were plenty of great moments to come with How Did We Get So Dark?, Tell Me When It’s Too Late and Loose Change. The band returned for an encore kicking up the level of awesomeness even further with Waves and storming their way home with belters Ten Tonne Skeleton and Figure It Out. As the crowd spilled out on to Hindley Street after the show there were plenty of discussions about how great what we just experienced was and I agree one hundred percent. Incredible! Perth, you’re up next, don’t miss this.
Live Review By Rob Lyon