The Arena in Leeds is an amazing venue. We were pretty high up, but the sound is fantastic wherever you are. The sound at this gig was incredible from just two people (with the occasional pair of backing singers). From a bass guitar and drums these guys don’t give a second to breathe.
Who went? This one was supposed to be just my wife, Clare, and I. Unfortunately, Clare was ill for most of the week and had only just got back to work with a lingering headache. A Royal Blood gig was not what the doctor ordered and so she took a pass out. Ste stepped in at last minute and we headed down to Leeds after work. On arrival at my house, Ste got ready, packed up his car and we were about to leave in mine…
Only not quite straight away. Ste managed to lock his car keys in the boot of his car. The car was new, it was dark and there was no obvious release mechanism. 15-20 minutes later after lots of sighing and random button pressing, we found the release mechanism and were on our way.
Some bad traffic meant we didn’t actually arrive in Leeds until about 6.30pm and had to source some food before heading in to the arena.
A local shopping centre had a chinese place with preprepared chicken, rice and noodles. It was quick, plentiful and tasty and did everything it was required to do. We headed into the arena, grabbed a quick pint of Heineken (expensive – > £10 for 2! – but tasty) before taking to our seats. We were on the third tier up about 15 rows from the back. Black Honey were already on stage, more than halfway through their set. I like this band and enjoyed what I saw. Oddly, when we caught them at Glastonbury this year, we only caught the first part of their set. I’d like to acth them again in the future.
At The Drive-In were up next. I didn’t know the first time around and so didn’t know anything. There were a some blokes outside noting that they didn’t know who the support acts were, but that their next gig was At The Drive-In and they couldn’t wait. They were in for a treat. We weren’t. Clare and her headache would definitely have struggled with this one.
Ste & Andrew say Royal Blood in Newcastle earlier this year and they did a pretty short set. They were one of my highlights at Glastonbury too. At Leeds, they did almost two hours in total, playing 9 off How Did We Get So Dark? and 8 off Royal Blood, and it was brilliant.
Opening with Lights Out set the tone for a powerful and spirited gig. Royal Blood are a band that always seem to be enjoying themselves, happy to be on the journey they’ve found the pair undertaking. Every song was a belter with both giving their enthusiastic all. The were some menacing mosh pits forming in the standing area and at one point the band had to stop playing for fear of potential crushes. They resumed and more mosh pits followed. When they closed on the immense Figure It Out, we weren’t expecting an encore, but were pleased to get one. During the encore there was a moment that I find incredibly puzzling. Someone through a shoe at Mike Kerr. A shoe. It hit him too and I believe he rightly noted the audience member as a c**t before handing the offending shoe to a security guy pointing out that if the shoe fits… I could give the benefit of the doubt and say that I’m sure he didn’t intend to hit the lead singer, but honestly.
After leaving the gig we settled in for an hour in the multi-storey car park. I expected it, but still frustrating. Ste managed to get out of the car, find a local vending machine and get us some pop for the way home. As he arrived back, I was just ready to leave. We headed home about midnight. It was a great night. It also gave me the excuse for a second Mike Myers quote in the space of two reviews. Smashing baby!