THE ROYSTON CLUB – ROUNDHOUSE LONDON – LIVE REVIEW

On night 19 of thier ‘Songs for the Spine’ tour, The Royston Club graced the stage of the iconic Roundhouse in London for what was undeniably a career defining moment of their lives.

From as soon as the doors opened the atmosphere in this incredible venue was simply electric. As with every date of this current UK/EU, devoted fans arrived early knowing they were in for witnessing a spectacualr show following the band’s packed out festival slots and headline shows over the past year. The Royston Club are a band that have simply gone from strength to strength and the fans are here for it.

The night kicked off with young singer/songwriter Jasper Hodges taking to the stage. This is a young man who knows his own potential, although largely still unknown he owned the space and stage with the confience and prowess of a seasoned touring muscian. Armed with an just an acoustic guitar or as he sings “every word that I sing with these six strings and wood in my hand”, Hodges wowed the already packed audience with his tender ballards and melodic harmonies playing tracks such as “Here and Now”, “Final Light” and newest release “Nomad”. Considering that he only got a last minute call that morning asking him to support that night, he showed no nerves whatsoever.

The house lights then dimmed and the eager crowd waited in anticipation for The Royston Club to enter the stage.

The waiting period was met with chants of excitement from loyal fans excited for a night of hearing their favourite tunes from the band’s two no-skip track albums.

Lead singer Tom Faithfull immediately connected with his adoring audience, prowling around a stage he rightfully owned – from left to right he stalked whipping the crowd up into an absolute frenzy.

The set for the night included tracks such as ‘I’m a Liar’ and‘Glued to the Bed’ which were performed with such a ferocious energy and passion setting the tone for the entire performance.

The rest of the setlist featured hits from the band’s discography, which many tracks coming from their latest album release of, ‘Songs for the Spine’.

”30/20′ and ‘Through the Cracks’ were met with joyous rapture from the crowd. The feeling in the room was palpable, the energy was infectious and catching to each and every person. The high octance tracks were met with dancing and the ballads with huge sing-a-long choruses.

‘Tender Curiosity’ offered a slower pace to the evening with guitarist Ben Matthias sharing the mic with Tom Faithfull as the two delivered a captivating duet, but with the audeince joining in as backing singers to every word.

This evening then took on an unusual turn as the band decided to offer up a cover version of ‘Waterloo Sunset’ by the Kinks which was met to much approval, followed by the newly announced as yet unreleased track of ‘Puddles’.

Other tracks in the setlist included the welcome return of ‘The Ballad of Glen Campbell’ as the show started to reach it’s conclusion, but, not before a much demanded encore from the band featuring the solid fan favourites of ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows‘, ’52‘ and ‘Cariad‘.

The Royston Club are undoutbedly a band who not only make amazing music but they know how to connect with a crowd making a large scale gig such as this feel so entirely unique and special for each and every person in the audience.

The Royston Club are a band doing things the right way, they are a band on the rise, but also a humble band who are well aware of their own grassroots beginnings and they do so much for the grassroots ecosystem supporting those coming up the ranks after them creating opportunities for the next generations to come. Well done all round !