Duo Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher, AKA Royal Blood, are stateside for an extensive tour in support of their recently released album.
Hot on the heels of the release of Back to the Water Below, which came out on September 1, Royal Blood came to The Riviera Theatre in Chicago. This is their fourth album, which followed in the footsteps of its predecessors by going to number one in the Official UK Charts. It was also their first fully self-produced album.
The show started how they meant to go on with a rousing performance of “Mountains at Midnight,” the opening track from their new album. A total of five songs from their latest release were interlaced through songs from all three of their previous albums, but the bulk of which came from their self-titled debut album. The set included the songs “Out of the Black,” “Little Monster,” and “Come On Over” from their first release, amongst others. “Pull Me Through,” “Shiner In The Dark,” “Triggers,” and “Waves” were included from Back to the Water Below and we all very well received by the fans.
Their sound is so much bigger than just the two of them. It is impressive how much they achieve with a bass, a drum kit, and a voice. The energy emitted from the stage was equaled by the ample size crowd who had gathered at the Riviera Theatre to see them. Kerr and Thatcher put on one of the tightest performances you will ever see from a band. It is impressive to witness them perform live, and to hear Kerr magically make his bass sound like a guitar.
Their 16-song set was rounded out with a rendition of their mega-hit, “Figure It Out.” Talk about ending the night on a high! The audience was left both fulfilled and hoping for more as the last notes of the evening rang out across the music hall.
They have tour dates spanning through until the end of November. It’s still early days for this tour, so you have plenty of opportunities to select a date and get yourself along to this one.
This show was covered as part of our fundraising trip for National Independent Venue Foundation and Musicians On Call. We are traveling across the country and stopping at independently-owned music venues to cover a show and to chat with their owners about the importance of independent music venues within the music industry. Chicago was our fourth stop of the trip and we were lucky enough to make a stop at the Riviera Theatre on our travels.
You can read more about this fundraising trip here. If you would like to donate to NIVF, you can do so here, and if you would like to donate to Musicians On Call, you can do so here. All proceeds go directly to your chosen organization.
