Rock N Roll was in full effect last night as two very talked about bands took the stage at the Roxy, England’s Royal Blood, and former Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk’s new band The Last Internationale.
Kicking the evening off was The Last Internationale. This female fronted three piece takes their love of 70’s rock and adds thought provoking lyrics that deal with more social issues. Singer/bassist Delilia Paz has a voice that is reminiscent of a cross between Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick. The dirty distorted bass lines that come from her side of the stage are commanding. Guitarist Edgey Pires plays with a more bluesy soulful approach that is lost amongst most guitarists today. Brad Wilk still has one of the tightest drum sounds around. His energy behind the kit is very noticeable. Their upcoming debut which was produced by Brendan O’Brien will be out in the next couple months.
Royal Blood is on the cusp of breaking out. This two piece band has more guts and gusto than other two pieces like The Black Keys and The White Stripes. Their music is loud, melodic and heavy. Vocally and lyrically they are steps ahead of those other bands mentioned. Starting their set with the song “Hole,” got the crowd into a frenzy of head bopping and dancing. “Come On Over” has a very Muse inspired riff all the while, a sort of sexy vibe to it. Newer songs from their upcoming full length sounded great, if not better than the songs already released. Closing out their set was their hit “Out Of The Black.” The crowd erupted when the drums for the song started. The more harder tinged songs really got the crowd worked up. My friend and I were left stunned by how good they were live. Having only released an EP so far, the people in the crowd knew all the words to those four songs.
The Last Internationale are a terrific band and put on a great live show as well. I’ve said it before and I stand by it Royal Blood is what The Black Keys would sound like if they had balls!
The Last Internationale: https://www.facebook.com/thelastinternationale
Album Sampler:
Live From Austin:
Royal Blood: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalBloodUK
Come On Over:
Figure It Out:
By: Brian Lacy