Photo Credit: James Mirfield
Making their return to the UK for a short run of dates, Australian indie-pop duo Royel Otis graced The Piece Hall almost a year on since the release of their sophomore record ‘Hickey’. Having made their stance in Yorkshire with a main stage performance at last year’s Leeds Festival, the band’s headline show at the picturesque Halifax venue was the perfect chance to give their new material the real run out.
As the Sydney two-piece made their way onto the stage, accompanied by their live band, a huge cheer that could be heard across the town welcomed them to Halifax. Unleashing into their action packed set with ‘I hate this tune’, fans of the track certainly didn’t reciprocate the tracks titled, in fact, it was totally the opposite. Dipping in and out of material from both of their records, ‘Adored’ and ‘Heading for the Door’, both taken from their debut record soon followed before the fan favourite ‘who’s your boyfriend’ picked up the energy. Maddell and Pavlovic’s stage presence is second to none. From swaying back and forth while delivering lyrics and riffs perfectly, their live sound trumps the sound that is delivered on their records, proving that they are well and truly a live band that is worth witnessing.
‘Kool Aid’ grabbed the attention of their fans, just as it did when it was first released back in when the hype of their debut record began, while a large portion of ‘Hickey’ tracks came flourishing through. A surprise cover of The Cranberries’ ‘Linger’ had the entire courtyard singing along, with a series of older material then nestled in between before the next cover came. As ‘Fried Rice’ and ‘Sofa King’ ended, their rendition of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ followed. Having performed the track for Australian radio station Triple J’s Like A Version, the 10 million viewed track feels like it is one of their own by now. With the entire Piece Hall crowd joining in, Royel Otis ended with ‘say something’ ahead of a breather and inevitable encore.
Returning to The Piece Hall stage, Royel Otis had time for two more tracks to bow out with. Kicking things back off with ‘Sweet Hallelujah’, it was clear which song would be ending the night. As the first couple of notes of ‘Oysters In My Pocket’ hit, the roar from their fans filled the venue once again, and with whatever pent up energy they had left, was unleashed to give the Sydney duo one last hurrah for their biggest headline show in the UK one to remember.
Photo Credit: James Mirfield
