HotWax, Royal Blood

Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, Oklahoma

November 20, 2023

Review and Gallery By: Maddie Walters

Royal Blood crossed the pond to bring their tour to Tulsa for a stop at the historic Cain’s Ballroom, marking the band’s first return to Tulsa in over eight years. Hot Wax provided support for this leg of the tour. 

Hot Wax started the night off with their unique brand of alt-rock, an agglomeration of Brit rock and Riot grrrl. Most recently, the trio signed with Transgressive Records and released their debut EP A Thousand Times, playing predominantly from this record. Without a doubt, Hot Wax will become a house name imminently. 

The group more than sufficiently warmed up the highly excited crowd for Royal Blood. Opening up with “Mountains at Midnight,” the band went on to play a set filled with fan-favorites and a healthy amount of Back to the Water Below and Royal Blood. 

It’s remarkable to see/hear the sound this two piece band created; they just might be one of the loudest—-most put-together—two piece groups (though they did bring out keyboardist Darren James intermittently throughout the set). 

The powerhouse sound quite literally had the old dance floor of Cain’s vibrating from both their music and the crowd’s infectious stomping. The only thing that rivaled the energy of the audience was the band itself as singer/guitarist Mike Kerr bounded across the stage, left to right in time to the music.