Royal Blood’s 2023 has been defined by two things: releasing yet another brilliant record in their fourth studio album, Back to the Water Below, and p*ssing off an entire crowd at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, not to mention even more people watching back home with their viral antics.
With that in mind, we weren’t exactly sure how we were going to feel or what this audience was going to be like before we stepped foot inside the O2 Apollo, but we can confirm the whole storm in a teacup has now well and truly blown over and we didn’t care one bit once they started playing.
The second we heard Mike Kerr’s bass being ripped like both rhythm and lead guitar at the same time, and the pure ‘oomph’ of Ben Thatcher’s unmistakable drum-playing, we completely forgot that they slightly upset the music world just a few months ago and remembered one thing: they’re rockstars and we’ve seen plenty worse.
This was the story of Royal Blood’s return to Manchester and their gig at the legendary venue on Friday night as Storm Babet hit the region — and it was fitting really, given that their set featured ‘Typhoons’, ‘Trouble’s Coming’ and lyrics like “crashed down in a hurricane” in ‘Ten Tonne Skeleton’.
Even before we knew what we were in for, the surprisingly dramatic duo delivered a proper entrance, walking out to the iconic theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, which was then followed up by an impressive light show that we’ll admit caught us by surprise and really did something epic to the atmosphere throughout.
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It didn’t take long for fans to get off their feet as they kicked the show off with recent single and album opener, ‘Mountains at Midnight’, before the pits started opening up as they got stuck into fan favourites such as ‘Boilermaker’, ‘Loose Change’, ‘How Did We Get So Dark?’, ‘Out of the Black’ and so on.
It’s been a while since we’ve been to a proper rager at the Apollo, so we’re glad that the place is still more than capable of whipping up frenzies like that. We were concerned that there wasn’t much movement during the support act but that’s always the gamble you make with the warm-ups.
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That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy them, by the way; Hot Wax were more than a pleasant surprise with arguably more overall energy on stage than the main event. Although it was clear the vast majority of the crowd were unaware of them prior to the gig, you’d be a fool to not go away and listen to more.
Once you were in the pit, there was no coming out.
With plenty of frenetic on-stage presence and more than enough confidence to remind you they’d be having just as much fun if the crowd wasn’t there, they felt plenty post-punk, a bit funk thanks to the basslines and modern enough thanks to some more intricate strum that made sure they didn’t feel like an old hat throwback.
In a word, they were great; we liked them a lot and it didn’t take long for us to realise why they were a good fit to support Royal Blood, boasting the same ability to go big with their sound using just three instruments as Mike and Ben do with just two.
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And that summed up the night as a whole, to be honest: a total of five musicians (six if you include the headliner’s session player who dipped in on a fair few songs) making a frankly ridiculous amount of noise between them — far more than a trio and just a pair of blokes should feasibly be able to make.
That’s the one thing that, regardless of whatever you think of them post-controversy, has always stunned us about Royal Blood. How do a frontman whose main instrument is a bass guitar and just one drummer make such explosive sounds between them and get people like thrashing like they were a full-fledged five-piece rock band?
We ended up being swept into various different parts of the crowd — always a good sign.
One thing’s for sure, they are well and truly in their ‘rockstar’ era right now, whether you like what comes with that or not. Mike might be four years sober now, with both he and Ben looking more svelte and stylish on stage — not only physically but in their overall presence — but they now look and feel like graduated performers who can command a crowd with a lot more authority than they did when they burst onto the scene with their debut in 2014.
And perhaps that’s why the Big Weekend moment went the way it did; these two are seasoned pros now and have earned a lot of plaudits in the genre over the past decade, so to find yourself playing to nearly 80,000 people who were mainly there to see pop acts probably felt like a loss of control and their frustration came out in the wrong way — even they’ve admitted that.
But that wasn’t the case at the Apollo. As the gig reached its crescendo with ‘Figure It Out’ and Ben stood atop a speaker and began conducting the crowd before jumping into it and preparing them for one last mosh as Mike kept the riff going, it was clear they were back in control and the audience in the palm of their hands.
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Now that’s how you get people back on-side: by simply going out there, making a big old racket and leaving the gig-goers to do the rest. We all know there’s no place that guarantees that more than right here in Manchester.
Royal Blood polished off their return with a big finish.
In a statement shared today, the Co-op Live said it has been ‘undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans’.
It said that the shows are being rescheduled to ensure they can ‘run safely’.
The 23,500-capacity arena said this will give them ‘the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly’.
The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May, and Peter Kay on 23 and 24 May.
As for the Bolton-born comedian, he sounds somewhat in disbelief himself:
My apologies once again but unfortunately the Co-op Live still isn’t ready and so, as yet, remains untested for a large-scale audience. Consequently, they are having to reschedule my two shows yet again (I know I can’t believe it either).
Co-op Live’s statement reads: “Since making the difficult decision to postpone the live shows at Co-op Live due to take place this week, we have been undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans.
“To ensure that we can run all shows safely, regretfully we have now had to take the decision to reschedule the planned The Black Keys and Peter Kay shows.
“Both The Black Keys and Peter Kay have graciously agreed to reschedule their shows. The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May 2024, and Peter Kay will now perform on 23 and 24 May 2024.
“All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend.
“We deeply appreciate the impact this will have on excited fans, and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that this change will undoubtedly cause.
“Rescheduling Peter Kay and The Black Keys will give us the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly.
“This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size to ensure that our fans, artists and staff have the safest experience possible.”
Co-op Live boss resigns just days before venue’s official opening
Daisy Jackson
The boss of Co-op Live, Manchester’s enormous, ground-breaking new arena, has resigned from his position just days before the venue is set to open.
The enormous music-first arena has been taking shape beside the Etihad Stadium for several years, and was due to welcome its first official audiences this week, but has been hit with last-minute challenges.
And now Co-op Live‘s boss Gary Roden has quit the mammoth project, with the news of his resignation announced late Thursday evening.
Oak View Group, which Co-op Live is part of, said in a statement that they would like to ‘thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans’.
Stepping into his shoes as interim general manager will be Rebecca Kane Burton, who previously ran the U.K.’s highest-grossing venue, London’s The O2 arena.
Gary has previously come under fire for saying that some grassroots music venues ‘poorly run’ – a statement that OVG has now distanced itself from.
A separate statement said that ‘neither Co-op Live nor Oak View Group share the sentiment expressed by former Co-op Live General Manager Gary Roden regarding the grassroots industry’.
It continued: “As OVG Chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke has repeatedly stated, Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond, including teaming up with Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on the Artist of the Month campaign, and as a founding partner of Beyond The Music.
“Co-op Live also donates over £1m a year to the Co-op Foundation to support communities and empower young people to take social action through its new Young Gamechangers fund.
“Oak View Group and Co-op Live remain happy to meet with grassroots organisations once the venue is fully operational.”
Co-op Live boss Gary Roden speaking at the launch of Co-op Live just days before he resigned. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Co-op Live in Manchester
The news of the venue’s boss stepping down comes at a time when all eyes are on Co-op Live, the opening of which has been delayed.
The venue did host a test event with Rick Astley last weekend, but even that faced difficulties, with thousands of tickets cancelled to reduce capacity just hours before showtime.
It’s now set to officially open this Saturday 27 April with a performance by rock group The Black Keys.
The full statement from OVG about Gary’s resignation said: “Gary Roden has decided to resign. We’d like to thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future.
“Rebecca Kane Burton has been named Interim GM, effective today. Rebecca is a seasoned veteran of venue management and live entertainment in the UK having served as VP/GM of The O2 from 2012-2016 and CEO of LW Theatres from 2016-2021.