Palaye Royale in Prague showed that rock ‘n’ roll is simply mainly p * del. Literally
“Hooray, concert!” We live in a time when you never know if the current performance is not the last. The gratitude that this is happening at all is therefore appropriate. And yes, opening with an emotional perex is convenient, because even if Palaye Royale themselves (or their wiki) would never admit it, they are emo.
Live: Palaye Royale
place: Small sports hall, Prague
date: March 28, 2022
setlist: Nightmares, You’ll Be Fine, Death Dance, Hold On To Yourself, Fucking With My Head, Don’t Feel Total Right, No Love In LA, Dying In A Horká, Get Higher, Teenagers (cover My Chemical Romance), Pan Dr. Man, Lonely, Cherie
Photo gallery
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
The foundations were laid great. During those two years, when the whole tour was over and over again, Palaye Royale grew into a relatively large band, basically all the stops were sold out. There was such interest in them in Prague that the organizers behind Rock For People decided to change the venue from the sold-out Lucerna Music Bar to the Small Sports Hall. It’s hard to say how much it paid off for them – worse sound conditions are unfortunately common in the former Incheba, and the auditorium was barely half full. But the original ambitions were much more modest, so it is necessary to look at the glass as a half-full. In addition, the band boasted that they were recording a new record in Prague, and even a video for the song “Broken”. So we should have icebreakers, even before the start, but in front of the audience, dressed mostly in black as multicolored eyes, the London Charming Liars took over. The platinum blond heel on the frontman’s head recalled Draco Malfoy’s adolescent years, but the singer and the squadron around him were the exact opposite. They tried to build a relationship with the fans by jumping to the front rows, after the end of their set they threw everything they could get into the people, and finally they took pictures with the visitors at the merchant. It’s a pity that their work was relatively flat and without an idea, so we don’t predict any big future for them yet.
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
And frankly, doubts remain in the case of the main stars. Sounding was a problem in itself and, for example, the guitar solo was hardly heard in one of the first songs played. But that can be picked up until next time. Rather, it is that more than the musicians who pursue the best they can, they act as a group of young people who want – to help their darkened, glamrock image – primarily to have fun and steam well. If you were willing to do so, it was easier to overlook that the frontman was an even worse singer than, for example, a similar audience heading for Yungblud, and that he was just shouting from the stage decorated with white flowers and a yellow sign. And that’s just the tones he dares to. For example, the cover of “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance was pretty awful because of that.
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
They are doing great in the studio. Their records are definitely worth listening to, many songs have key ideas, proper dynamics and do not blend in one uniform pressure, as sometimes happens to the competition. The current collection “The Bastards” would easily get an eight in the review. Or nine. And when the gentlemen and the queen were playing from her, it was great. “Hang On To Yourself”, “Fucking With My Head” or the first addition of “Lonely”, these are the highlights of the evening. But there was also a lot to see. In “Don’t Feel Quite Alright”, Principal Remington Leith decided to jump off a speaker that was about two meters above the ode. In “Dying In The Hot Tub”, the mobile phones lit up on the balconies, “Get Higher” was accompanied by a squat jump, the construction was done, a circle pit was done, the uppers crashed and finally the frontman showed us a bare ass.
The already mentioned “Lonely”, which deals with suicidal tendencies, depressions, and even earned a warning on YouTube, but offered the most. First, Leith moved to the center of the hall, where he began the composition behind the piano, then ran back to the stage. He climbed onto the structure, waved at it first, and then grabbed the top of his hands, which he saw as well as the light for a moment. Then they fired volleys of confetti. Stagediving. Finally, he ran into the drums and tore them all down. Rock’n’roll! It was only spoiled by their own photographer, who, unlike the wildly flying charges, hindered the pursuit of a stable image and a good shot, moved slowly and calmly, thus shattering the effort for an expressive visual show. Less content for social networking is sometimes more.
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
According to the setlist, this addition was to be followed by an acoustic version of “Ma Cherie”, but it was 22:09, and after the seventy-minute show, the lights came on and the reproduced music began to play. The performance was definitely good, despite a few reservations, it could just install a lot more songs. And that’s it! Ten minutes later, some of the people had already moved to the locker room or home, and suddenly it went out again, and the above song did sound. And with her from the mouth of the guitarist at least the verbal support of Ukraine. Even so, we only get together in twelve pieces. And this is also due to the fact that the band has a lot to choose from, a small hunch at an otherwise successful evening. PS: If you want more, let them head to the new Czech festival Soda Pop in August, where Palaye Royale will also play.