Royal Blood, Tigercub.

Bedford Esquires Lev 2. 22nd February 2014.

For the second successive week, all eyes in the musical world were on Bedford Esquires. After last weeks gig was, somewhat surprisingly, not sold out, tonight most certainly is as ROYAL BLOOD's current tour dynamically hits town. They comprise Mike Kerr, bass and vocals, and Ben Thatcher on drums. They formed their lethal combination in December 2012 and last year was a musical whirlwind of events for this likeable duo. The catalyst to their success came during Glastonbury festival when Arctic Monkeys' drummer Matt Helders, who had previously caught sight of the then unknown Royal Blood, demanded to wear one of their shirts when the Sheffield boys headlined the Pyramid Stage. After hastily printing one out, the rest, as they say, is history.

The bonus exposure has catapulted them from the promising Brighton scene of scuzzy rock to much acclaim, including a nomination for BBC Sound Of 2014. NME can't get enough of them and a number of high profile gigs are up and coming, including a support slot with the aforementioned Arctic Monkeys. Added to this they are now signed up to Warner Bros record label; certainly a heady turn of events. With all these credentials it was not surprising that the tickets soon sold out for this show. Royal Blood operate with influences ranging from QOTSA, Led Zeppelin and, naturally, The Black Keys.

In the past few months at this venue we have seen quite a few two piece offerings in this vein, most notably Drenge, but also Dolomite Minor. A personal favourite, championed by Juicebox, are Kent duo Slaves. All these bands, at least for this reviewer, gave me much more excitement than Royal Blood ever exuded on tonight's show. They have the musical talent, but they look to be a polished and veneered package whereas I would have preferred a grubby rawness. Indeed, I must admit that I was expecting something far more raucous. Perhaps they have pitched squarely for the heart, ie wallet, of the corporate music industry and at the moment the fickle finger of fate is pointed directly at Messrs Kerr and Thatcher.

They begin with "Hole" which instantly buckles the vociferous crowd and an immediate bond is struck up with the band and their followers. Mike looks genuinely touched with affection for the reaction that they receive. He warmly greets us with a "Thanks so much for coming". Their chaotic sonic canvasses enchant and enthrall the audience, especially on "Come on over" and also "Figure it out". The latter was their debut track. It is a real winner and seems to magnetize the crowd. Current single "Little monster" is intestine juddering and abrasive and the band play it with an easy confidence and a natural boisterous demeanour. Riffs honed from granite permeate the room. They take great delight in making one helluva racket which is amply demonstrated on "Loose change". With sweat dripping off of them, it is soon time for their turbo charged finale of "Out of the black" before Mike utters a farewell shout of "We can't thank you enough". The audience cheer wildly and applaud these last lashings of red royal blooded rock, but I for one would not travel many miles to see them again. Emperor's new clothes??

The amount of bands seemingly percolating in the Brighton area is amazing. At present it seems a fertile throbbing hub of sub pop bohemia. This random thought springs to mind as TIGERCUB open the evening. This trio offer up distorted grunge. The one instantly noticeable thing about this band is that the vocalist/guitarist is incredibly tall. Hair spills over his face like a junior J Mascis. Nirvana obviously play a big influence in their material as they impressively bash out "Trendsetter" and next single "Blue blood". The set is slow and dark at times, but their deft use of quirky guitar is good. The vocals also impress with little in the way of screaming or cracked voice fragility. They do hold the attention of the packed room for long periods, but eventually it does seem as though most of the crowd are twitching and impatiently waiting for Royal Blood! Another success for The Pad Presents.