On Stage: Royal Blood @ Paradiso

Brighton rockers Royal Blood seemingly came out of nowhere three years ago when they took the music world by storm with their first album that is full of heavy rocking songs. The two musicians skipped the smaller venues and sky rocketed directly into middle size ones and the bigger stages on festivals. A few weeks back they announced the follow up album and added a show at Paradiso that already is too small for them.

Royal Blood at Paradiso Amsterdam, May 24 2017

That show sold out in no time and I was glad to have bought my tickets in the presale. Shortly after they announced a new show in November in the AFAS Live which is triple the size of Paradiso but will probably fill up quite fast as well. Two singles have been released so far off the new album How Did We Get So Dark? that will come out next month. Those tracks already revealed that the duo wasn't gonna mellow down but will continue just as loud as they did before.

And if there was any doubt, tonight it is clear that the new album will be a massive rocking record again, since they start off with two new songs that come down like a sledge hammer. They didn't change much about their formula, so much is clear, but instead perfected their sound even more. The giant wall of heavy rock has an even more firm foundation of ear piercing riffs and tight in your face drum grooves. The two are having so much fun on stage that their energy rubs off to the fans immediately.

Only once their is a slight change when a keyboard is put on stage and Mike Kerr combines synth sounds with his riffs. For the rest he is rocking the left of the stage, regularly visiting drummer Ben Thatcher at the other side. A nice touch are the lasers at the front of the stage that once and while form a light fence that separates the band from the crowd. It produces a surreal effect that works quite well.

There simply is no stopping to this band and it is clear the new record is gonna be a killer once more. Like a monster truck their show keeps rolling with high speed and shakes Paradiso with great force. People are jamming all the way to the back and without hardly any breaks the duo plays on. Without an encore the truck stops after 75 minutes, leaving the crowd begging for more. I'm pretty sure it will be a rare sight seeing them play these kind of venues again, since they have moved on to much larger ones for good.



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Setlist:
01. Where Are You Now?
02. Lights Out
03. Come on Over
04. I Only Lie When I Love You
05. Little Monster
06. Hook, Line & Sinker
07. Blood Hands
08. How Did We Get So Dark?
09. Figure It Out
10. Better Strangers
11. Hole in Your Heart
12. Loose Change
13. Ten Tonne Skeleton
14. Out of the Black


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Best Kept Secret 2015 Day 3

Last night's sudden and nasty end of the second day had one advantage: I had a great night's sleep and am totally ready for day 3! Not after we had bacon and eggs of course and a lot of coffee. This is going to be a long day! No, really, it's midsummernight so it's the longest day.

Best Kept Secret 2015 Day 3, June 21 2015

Although I slept a good night I don't make it in time for Johnny Greenwood and the London Contemporary Orchestra, which is too bad because it would have been quite nice.



Marmozets
Instead we end up at the main stage for something completely different. Marmozets are going full force with powerful rock songs and singer Becca Macintyre is screaming her lungs out. It's not really crowded yet and the rain that is falling at one point doesn't help. But it gives us a good spot at the front to see the band put in a lot of effort. Maybe not all songs are really original, but the band adds so much energy it turns into a fun performance.

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Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice's name has been buzzing around lately and their first album My Love Is Cool that came out this week, is getting raving reviews. I listened to it a few times now and it had to sink in, but now I love it. The group sounds more heavy and less electronic on stage, with the clear voice of Ellie Rowsell. Once and a while they will take it a bit more slow which balances out the set very nicely. It's a very convincing show and the band wraps the crowd around their finger with great ease. Bought tickets to their show later this year right away.

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Waxahatchee
Katie Crutchfield recorded her first album in her bedroom. She formed a band to play it live and recently released her third album. Her melancholic music is quite interesting and sounds pretty good. But her band are almost invisible and her performance would have made a bigger impression without them. It's simply not enough to keep your attention, no matter how good the songs are.

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Alvvays
Canadian band Alvvays are all ready for the summer with their positive music. The dreamy indiepop songs are bit rough around the edges giving them a bit of a bite. I do like the sound, with the feel good tunes, but the band with singer Molly Rankin still look a bit shy on stage. Although I really want to like it and music wise I do, the performance is not impressing me.

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Black Mountain
Time for some dark and heavy psychedelic rock and Black Mountain are the right band for that. The start of their show is a bit slow, where the band looks kind of static and singer Amber Webber looks a bit lost. But once they are warmed up and get in the groove, the songs become longer and sound more dangerous. Sometimes it's leaning towards Pink Floyd especially when the songs have a dark repeating groove. Guest saxophone player René Evers adds a nice touch to the dark rock songs and in the end this turns out to be a good show.



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Rats on Rafts
One of the most interesting Dutch bands still is Rats On Rafts, the band Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos loves so much. And that's for a good reason since the band's no nonsense new wave punk music is working again today. The band grow into their set and have mixed in more surf music. I still haven't listened to their new record properly, but I really like this sound. I'd rather see them in a small dark club though and I have to leave halfway since I want to see Future Islands as well.

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Future Islands
It's clear you either love or hate this band, telling from the reactions around me. I love their danceable electronic pop music, although the sound is terrible today. But fortunately Samuel T. Herring's performance makes up for that. Some say it's all just an act, but I think this is actually the way he feels the music. He just has to add the silly dance, the expressions and the grunts. I think he really pulls it out of his soul. It's not their best performance and it's too bad I missed my favourite song 'Sun In The Morning'. Herring pulls another stunt today where he ends the show off stage, runs towards the fence and climbs over to get back stage again.



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Royal Blood
British rock duo Royal Blood are shooting up in the music scene like a comet and are playing every festival there is this year. That's not bad for a band who formed two years ago and released their first album in August last year. Although the songs not always have a lot of variation, the powerful grooves are too damn good. Live on stage they are knocking them out with great force. Big hit 'Figure It Out' is even early in the set and should set this place on fire. Bass player and singer Mike Kerr looks unhappy with the crowd's response which seems to make him even more determined. If you're into this music like me and the people at the front in the big pit, this show is simply irresistible.



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Alt-J
We stick around for the big headliner of today, Alt-J. Their music is definitely not my cup of tea which I find simply boring. But of course they have become a big name so there's a large turn up. Despite an impressive light show, their performance is very static and combined with the music it can't grab me at all. Too bad for me, however it seems most people are definitely enjoying the show.



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Instead we end in style ourselves with white wine and great oysters. By the time we finish them, all our friends have gathered there as well and we make sure today and the festival ends on a big high. This was another great edition of this festival with a lot of good performances, great food, wonderful vibes and a lot of fun. Hopefully they can keep this up and I will keep visiting.

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Best Kept Secret Day 1
Best Kept Secret Day 2

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On Stage: Royal Blood

Last year rock duo Royal Blood were playing Paradiso as part of the London Calling festival. Then they released their debut album and things exploded for the band from Brighton. With many miles on the road behind them they now return to the Amsterdam venue that already sold out months ago. I was lucky enough to get my hands on tickets only a few days back.

Royal Blood at Paradiso Amsterdam, March 16 2015



Mini Mansions are the band to warm us up. The trio with Queens of the Stone Age's Michael Shuman play indie rock songs with a bit of psychedelica mixed in. Schuman is standing behind a kind of rockabilly drum kit, but when he's too busy playing guitar a drum computer takes over. The songs are light to digest and have a nice ring to it. Not a bad way to warm up for the Brighton duo.



A huge roar sounds when Royal Blood take the stage. It's obvious the crowd have been anxious to see the band play and are eager to have a rocking night. And they won't be disappointed. Right from the start the big Royal Blood rock machine runs smoothly and full speed. It is simply amazing how they can create such a big sound with just the two of them. The heavy tight grooves with screaming guitar in the hard rock and blues rock songs keep pounding the venue for over an hour. Mike Kerr is very active filling up the empty space of the stage by walking around it like a caged animal, dragging his bass with him.



Every song is met with great enthusiasm and especially hit single 'Figure It Out' shakes the venue where half of the ground floor turns into a wild pit. Kerr addresses the crowd now and then to fire them up even more. But for the rest the lights keep flashing and the machine rumbles on. Ben Thatcher is seemingly unmoved behind his drum kit on the high drum riser, knocking out the irresistible grooves with great ease. But at one point he's so excited himself he jumps off the riser and into the crowd for a short crowd surf. Every single song from the album ends up on the set list and together with songs of their 'Out Of The Black' EP they can keep it going for an hour but after the 'Out Of The Black' track the machine stops and the two lads leave the stage triumphantly. When they will return for a next tour it is unlikely that it will be at this venue since they can fill up much larger ones now.



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Setlist:
01. Hole
02. Come On Over
03. You Can Be So Cruel
04. Figure It Out
05. You Want Me
06. Better Strangers
07. Little Monster
08. Blood Hands
09. One Trick Pony
10. Careless
11. Ten Tonne Skeleton
12. Loose Change
13. Out of the Black


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Rock Werchter 2014 Day 4: Dancing In The Rain

On the last day of the festival we wake up to a nice sunny day. But the forecast is one that expects heavy rain storms. We'll just see about that. Nothing our friend Joe Piler can't fix. Here we go!

Rock Werchter 2014 Sunday, July 6 2014



Reignwolf
On the main stage a small band is opening the day. Reignwolf is the project of Jordan Cook. It starts out as a three man band, while Cook is climbing a loose bass drum at the front of the stage. His music is blues and classic rock and indeed he can howl like a wolf. Then the other band members leave the stage and Cook gets freaky. He's playing guitar while at the same time holding his microphone. Or he's playing the bass drum at the same time. Or, sure why not, he's actually behind the drum kit playing it, while playing the guitar and singing. This guy is a one man band! It's pretty impressive and quite entertaining. Still I want to see other bands so I leave before the end.



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Oscar & The Wolf
I want to see the Belgian band Oscar & The Wolf, who make nice dreampop songs that take you away to tropical islands. And the stage looks exactly like that with palm trees scattered around and mostly red and green lights. Their music is the kind where you close your eyes and let it carry you away. It may not sound too exciting or energetic but the band succeeds in creating that tropical atmosphere, the high temperature inside helps too, with sultry versions of their music.



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Parquet Courts
And now for something completely different. No tropical atmosphere with Parquet Courts, but excellent punk rock songs. Their new album Sunbathing Animal shows more depth and melody while it still sounds powerful. The four guys play them quite convincingly, although it doesn't light the fuse as you would expect. That's because the band doesn't exactly go wild on stage. Still because of their strong repertoire it is a nice show, but could have been a lot better.



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Royal Blood
There are only two musicians in Royal Blood and still they know how to produce a very big and solid sound. Singer and guitar player Mike Kerr uses a heavily distorted bass guitar to lay down heavy riffs where drummer Ben Thatcher is putting very tight grooves on top. The duo from Brighton are convincingly playing their blues rock songs and have no trouble entertaining the full tent. It's remarkable how these two can create this sound by just the two of them.



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Bastille
We take a break and have some food outside the festival side. While we're inside a tent to eat, a heavy rain storm passes by. We're lucky that we can sit this one out. We return to the main stage for Bastille, where the side has turned into mud and everyone is soaking wet. It's still raining, but not that bad anymore. No one is letting the rain get them down. It seems as everyone is eager to party anyway and Bastille has no trouble making the people dance. Their music isn't that brilliant or special but it's the right band at the right place at the moment.



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Franz Ferdinand
Although we have seen Franz Ferdinand twice in the last couple of weeks, we decide to go see them instead of Foals anyway. Not because we don't like Foals, on the contrary, but because we don't want to go inside another full tent. And of course because Franz Ferdinand never disappoints. It's the same set as the previous time, which is a perfect festival set. Again it doesn't miss its effect at all. The build-up in the beginning with some hits, then the middle part with some more down tempo songs, followed by the big blog at the end where the field explodes. Any festival should try to book this band.



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Kings Of Leon
We want to have a look at MGMT, but the tent is too full. We stand outside for a bit, but then decide to go check out Kings of Leon. The band is bigger than ever and you know what you're going to get. They play a decent set with many of their hits and some songs of their successful but quality wise poorer last few albums. We can even see Caleb Followill smile a few times. But the band just doesn't add a lot to the live experience. There are no surprises, no improvisations, everything is well rehearsed. It is actually quite boring. I wish they would spice it a up and look for a bit of adventure.



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Interpol
It looks like Interpol have found their balance again. After Carlos Dengler left the band, it was as if Interpol was somewhat disoriented. Today they prove there's still enough fire in them to play a convincing set. Their songs sound dark and threatening again, full of tension and power. The new song the band is playing, sounds promising and I'm really looking forward to their new album later this year.



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Stromae
Although it looked as if Kings of Leon were the headliner today, actually Stromae is the one to close the festival. And although some people were questioning it, no doubt he deserves it. It may be a risky choice by the Rock Werchters programmers, but one that works out great. From seemingly nowhere he rocketed into the spot lights last year with his hit 'Formidable'. And he proves to be a wonderful entertainer. I don't like his music too much, especially the songs that are more or less eurotrance, but boy what a great artist. His mimicry is great, the way he acts on stage, everything looks magnificent. He's a worthy ending to another great edition of this festival.



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What a blast it was again. I wonder though, why the festival didn't really celebrate their 40th anniversary or give it more attention. But maybe they wanted to let the line-up speak for itself, since it worked out in a great way. The crowd is always lovely here, full of energy, and many bands did feel this and played great sets. But next year we won't be there. We can't handle the four day camping anymore and we want to try out some new festivals. But I'm sure we will return some day to this wonderful place.

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Rock Werchter 2014 Day 1
Rock Werchter 2014 Day 2
Rock Werchter 2014 Day 3

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