Kopek
fills The Slade Rooms from the second they step
onto the tiny stage, with good, positive energy
bringing a real fresh rock n' roll sound mixed
with some real dirty grunge undertones and it's
clearly heard on 'Cocaine Chest Pains' and 'Love
Is Dead', of which the latter features on the
'Saw 3D' soundtrack. It’s very appealing,
Vocals from Daniel Jordan are perfectly executed
and clear, with the bass sounding so good from
Brad Kinsella you can feel it running through
your whole body. Add to that the energetic drumming
from current drummer, Eoin Ryan and you have a
band that could quite possibly be the next big
thing.
Kopek finish the ( over too quickly! ) set with
belter 'Bring It On Home', featured on the 'American
Reunion' soundtrack, a fast paced track to which
(the much smaller crowd than I would expect tonight)
really get into. Overall, a top notch opener for
tonight!
Royal
Republic kick off their set (after what feels
like an age in the darkened Slade Rooms) with
'Save the Nation' from the latest album of the
same name. The crowd erupts into a unified bouncing
ball, with hands and pirate swords poking out
of it as we swiftly charge through 'You ain't
Nobody ('Til Somebody Hates You)' and the ridiculously
catchy 'Full Steam Space Machine'.
Royal Republic are a band that enjoy the banter
and interaction between themselves and their audience,
more so this evening as there is a football match
on between Sweden their home country and England.
The banter continues mid-way through the next
track, 'Walking down the Line' (which is performed
as part of a two track acoustic set), as front
man Adam Grahn encourages the crowd to find a
dance partner each for some 'old style dancing'.
Second acoustic track for tonight is a cover of
Take That's 'Back for Good', no, I'm kidding it's
just another tease from the guys (much to everyone's
relief!), it's actually an Acapella version of
'Addictive' which the crowd really seems to like.
Just like that, we plough back into the electric
set with 'Let Your Hair Down' and 'Cry Baby Cry'
before taking it down to a slight reggae sounding
'Sailing Man'.
Crowd pleaser 'Underwear' gets the room jumping
again, pirate swords still in the air along with
a crutch now, before the encore heads in. Starting
off with the stomping 'Everybody Wants to Be an
Astronaut', where the crowd sing a chorus word
for word perfect on their own. 'Be My Baby', a
cover of 'I Don't Wanna Go Out' and a quick version
of 'Ace of Spades' sang by Jonas that sounds awesome!
The final track to end this highly entertaining
and enjoyable evening is the fitting 'The Royal',
lots of happy faces indeed. Great job lads!
Kopek 4/5
Royal Republic 5/5
Review By Jude Onions
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