When we last saw Dea Matrona (which means “divine mother goddess” in Celtic) a couple of years ago, we said that they were a band that “were young enough to do anything they wanted to, and it will be interesting to see where that goes”.
There’s still a bit of that here. When they play “Stamp On It” for example, there’s an energy; however, they have a “big” sound, as “Stuck On You” proves.
That one is the lead song on the debut album that they put out in the spring, and it, like their set here, is particularly hard to pin down.
One minute they’re playing Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”, the next it’s the darker “Black Rain”, and then the superb “So Damn Dangerous”, all substantively different, but all bound together by utter class.
Orláith Forsythe and Mollie McGinn have been performing together since they were at school and they do “Glory Glory (I Am Free)” solo acoustic, before “Red Button” absolutely thunders.
Dea Matrona are a band that has everything they need, and we’re still looking forward to seeing where they go.
About a third of the way through their set, Royal Republic plays “Stop Movin'”. MV happens to look around the crowd and happens to see a chap who we might say is old enough to know better but equally not to give a monkey’s, taking the chorus “wouldn’t stop movin’ if I could stop movin'” a bit too literally. By the end of the first chorus, he’s done (to the general amusement, it has to be said, of his mates).
When it comes to Royal Republic, you’d best be ready, but you can’t outlast them. They are born to rock your disco.
Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock N Roll” serenades them on for “My House” – and if you’re in their house, the strobe lights are on and there’s a crushed velvet three-piece, I’m telling you – and for the next hour and 40 minutes, never mind the house, you’re living in their world.
That means “Lovecop” is as camp as a row of tents, but “Baby” struts, and if “Boots” – like many – passes by in a Technicolor blur, then it gives Per Andreasson his first chance to beat his kit like it owes him money.
No mention of RR is complete without mentioning Adam Grahn. The ringleader, if you will, he’s a mighty frontman. One of the best, and with a simple “let’s make this evening sexy” they’re into “Anna-Leigh” and he unfurls his falsetto.
“Back From The Dead” sees the drums light up, and “Freakshow” acts as a kind of centerpiece, as Grahn reckons they’ve been trying for a parental advisory sticker for years, and that’s another stab, but you always get the sense that this is all nothing more than some leather-clad, knockabout fun.
They dust off the early tune “Full Steam Spacemachine” and give it a modern makeover, and if you had “Kazoo solo” on your bingo card, then “Wow Wow Wow” (played in the acoustic close harmony section) has you sorted.
“Electra” moves things into an almost post-punk place, before “Ain’t Got Time” sees Grahn don a mobile mic, appear in the middle of the crowd, and give an audience member a cowbell to smash the crap out of.After the “Fireman and Dancer” and the oldie (much of the new “Lovecop” album had been played), “Tommy-Gun” feels almost normal. Almost.
Black leather-wearing rock stars need an encore, and they get one. “Lazerlove”—whisper it—even slows the tempo a touch. “Battery” has been a long-standing cover, and the gloriously dumb “Rata-Tata” ends it all.
Not before the singer races around on a lap of honor and returns to the stage to thank the audience for giving “us the best job in the world” and promising to return.
It’s interesting with the double R’s. You call them dumb, but actually, they’re anything but.
Rather, they are arguably the greatest disco crossover in rock music. And one of the finest live acts you’ll see.
It had been over eight years since MV had seen them, and in that time, they’ve very much had a real royal ascent.
ROYAL REPUBLIC PHOTO: KEITH TRACY
