Royal Republic

Review: Royal Republic – Bristol

It takes something a bit special after the year I have had, to come out of a gig thinking “That was the best gig I have seen all year”, but that was exactly how I felt leaving Trinity Arts in Bristol after Royal Republic left me smiling, soaked in sweat and exhausted.

Blackout Problems, Royal Republic This was a new venue for me, an old church in the centre of Bristol and my heart sank when I got there early on a chilly night to be told that firstly, there was a VIP meet and greet so we would be stood outside in the cold and secondly, that there was no photo pit but that I could “stand near the front” for three songs. I gently manoeuvred my way to the stage, secured a decent vantage point and got myself prepared.

To warm the crowd up Royal Republic had brought with them alt rockers Blackout Problems. Rarely have I seen a band attack a stage with so much energy! From the off, singer Mario Radetzky vaulted into the crowd, complete with mike stand. Guitarist Moritz Hammrich stamped and pirouetted across the stage and rhythm section of Marcus Schwarzbach and Michael Dreilich laid down a furious beat.

They were so keen to get into the music that they didn’t even introduce themselves to the crowd until pretty much the last number! “Sorry”, “Kaos” and “Queen” were all seriously impressive and performed with intensity and power. Check out their album, also called “Kaos” to put some bounce in your day.

The crew quickly cleared the stage to reveal a nightclub style backline hiding the amps and covered with various lighting effects. The houselights went down and the venue bursting crowd gave a huge cheer to welcome onstage their Swedish heroes. What an entrance! Never has a rock stage seen such sparkly sequinned jackets or such shiny shoes!

Royal RepublicNow, bands know that they have to hit the ground running and so will usually play two or three songs before taking a quick breather and talking to the crowd. Nope! Royal Republic played eight! EIGHT! Jesus Chris! Talk about not getting chance to breathe! “Fireman and Dancer”. “Can’t Fight the Disco” (complete with the lighting rig behind taking us all into our favourite cheesy club). “Make Love Not War”. “Under Cover”. “Getting Along” all just warming us up before two of my favourites :”Underwear” (complete with two man drum solo as Adam joined drummer Per Andreasson) and “Full Steam Space Machine”. “Like a Lover” completes the barrage before Adam takes a moment of time out.

Next up is “Stop Moving”, where bassist Jonas brings out a gloriously kitsch Keytar and treats us to “Final Countdown” and “Jump” amongst other snippets to demonstrate just how skilled these guys really are musically.

At a Royal Republic gig every night is Saturday (apart from Manchester apparently where even though it was, the crowd didn’t catch on) and it is one long party. Adam is warm and engaging. His wit is backed by a twinkle in his eye and, as he says, he loves the sound of his own voice! “Boomerang” is superseded by “Fortune Favours the Brave” (described by Adam as Rammstein playing a Tom Petty song and it truly does sound that way!) You would assume by this point that the energy would have to drop a little? Not a chance!

“Walk” is immense. It is a song that stays in your head, finds itself on your playlist and needs singing along to. Guitarist Hannes does a nifty little bop around the mike stand, grinning all the time, before the three line up and perform the cheesiest but most gloriously funny series of choreographed guitar poses and walks. The wink Adam gives the crowd halfway through is utterly priceless.

Royal Republic“Tommy Gun” is another monster from the back catalogue and gives rise to more of the bands humour and silliness as Adam “forgets” how to play the solo and invites a young lady onto the stage to play his guitar. Of course he plays the notes and she strums along, both loving every second before he escorts her back to the crowd, leaving her with a chaste kiss to his cheek……ahem! Finally the moustachioed singer introduces the last song. Firstly telling us that of course it ISN’T the last song but they have to pretend it is, or the whole thing about going off and coming back looks silly; and secondly introducing the serious, deep and meaningful song that shows they aren’t just about fun – “Anna Leigh” (My wife, a huge fan, literally only got this two days later!). The fact that they performed the song in the style of an 80s AOR supergroup just added to the pomp and bombast of the thought provoking lyrics.

Quickly back for encores and utterly exhausted, dripping with sweat, they didn’t seem to want to go home! Firstly “When I See You Dance With Another” then “Flower Power Madness”. Adam gets a crowd vote going on which people prefer, Maiden or Metallica. Maiden win and the band then appear to start jamming “Fear of the Dark” before playing pretty much the entire song complete with a stunning Bruce impression from Grahn! The genuine last song we get to enjoy is “Baby” and the shouts of “Cheese Nachos Baby” ring out across Bristol.

I have no idea why these guys aren’t a much bigger thing in the UK. They have played Download several times and got great reviews every time. The variety in their songs is extraordinary. Their musicianship superb and their showmanship off the scale.

As I said at the start. In a year of being lucky enough to see some great gigs this was my stand out night of the whole lot. Come back soon guys – please!

Review and images – Rob Wilkins 

All remaining Royal Republic tour dates can be found here.

Check Also

MOON SHOT | album’s title track “The Power” released

Scrap the old-school idea of a rock band and replace it with MOON SHOT, a …

AMIGO THE DEVIL | UK & RoI tour 2024 : US singer-songwriter announces July dates

US singer-songwriter Amigo the Devil (aka Danny Kiranos) has announced a July UK & RoI …

Introducing: The Lyricals

The musical combination of friends Josh Bovington and Dino Mensano, The Lyricals formed from a …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *