Royal Blood at Roadrunner Boston – September 27, 2023

British rock duo Royal Blood took over Roadrunner on Wednesday night, as they take the Back To The Water Below Tour across North America alongside indie rockers Bad Nerves. The band makes their return to Boston shortly after the success of the Typhoons Tour last year, to the delight of the many die-hard fans that made their way to Brighton for an evening of hard-hitting rock and roll.

Bad Nerves

The night started off with a bang with Bad Nerves, kicking right into “Don’t Stop” and “Baby Drummer”. The band grabbed hold of the crowd immediately, with a furious mix of punk and garage rock that lit up the room from the get go. On their first time ever playing in Boston, the band focused on their 2020 self titled debut album, as well as introducing their most recent single, the aptly named “USA”. The energy was electric and fast paced, with mosh pits forming several times during the set; the band’s confidence was palpable as they dominated the crowd. Wrapping up with ” Dreaming”, Bad Nerves left a great impression and earned brand new fans in the process.

Royal Blood

As the lights went down, the wait was finally over as the duo took their places on the stage; the haze and warm lights are reminiscent of the ethereal album art for their latest release, Back To The Water Below. Surprisingly kicking the show off with fan favorite “Little Monster”, the band had fans in a trance from the very beginning. Singer Mike Kerr stood dominant and cool behind his sunglasses, and drummer Ben Thatcher didn’t wait too long to jump off the stage shortly after, stepping on the barricade and getting as close to the crowd as he could. The band took on hit after hit, from “Lights Out” and its explosive drum breakdown, to the powerful “Mountains at Midnight”, the first single off their newest release, as the energy from the crowd got more intense as the show went on.

With a sudden lighting change, Typhoons signature pink and blue hues covered the stage for “Trouble’s Coming” and “Typhoons”, marking a visual distinction from the rest of the set. The crowd started to also get more involved, especially after the band blasted through “Loose Change”: the mosh pit had finally opened up and would not stop until the show was over. Thatcher jumped off the stage once again, after having the crowd split up in the middle for him to run through and greet fans. After an explosive performance of “Out Of The Black”, the band stepped out for what felt like an eternity, as eager fans were screaming and clamoring for one more song. Royal Blood obliged, this time with Bad Nerves’ Will Phillipson joining in for “Waves”. Classics “Ten Tonne Skeleton” and “Figure It Out” brought the concert to a close, with the band expressing their gratitude to everyone in the room for making these shows possible. Make sure to catch Royal Blood on tour as they make their way across the US.