(this is a royel otis review for newcastle, o2 city hall)
The Australian duo bring their indie pop renditions to Newcastle’s O2 City Hall.
Photo: Press
Royel Otis arrived in Newcastle riding a wave they never quite expected to catch. From the runaway success of Oysters in My Pocket to the shimmering nostalgia of their sophomore record, the Australian duo have surged upward on jangly guitars, reverb-kissed harmonies and the unlikely virality of their covers of Linger and Murder on the Dancefloor.
As hickey deepened their melancholic glow and pulled new listeners into their orbit, Royel Otis suddenly found themselves almost accidentally everywhere. Their return to the Northeast felt less like a routine stop and more like a milestone, a moment where a once-emerging act stepped confidently into a venue now too small to contain them.
They launched straight into i hate this tune, the traditional opener for the meet me in the car tour, and the irony of the title instantly dispersed as, behind the duo, a neon pink screen flickered with the tour’s traditional commandments: ‘meet me in newcastle’. These lit-up comments continued to shine behind the duo all night with a demand to ‘dance with the person next to you’ for the duo’s 2023 hit I Wanna Dance With You. In seconds, strangers became dance partners, shoulders once bumped now linked in shared rhythm. It’s a quiet superpower Royel Otis holds; the ability to dissolve the invisible walls between people, to turn a room of 1,400 into a house party.
Their set unfolded as a well-curated journey through the band’s catalogue, a reminder of their steady rise with early releases like Kool Aid and Sofa King hitting with a nostalgic glow. As the classic chant of Sofa King’s chorus hit, the neon pink screen shone once again, this time stating: ‘newcastle, you’re so fucking gorgeous,’ ultimately leaving a collective blush across O2 City Hall.
Watching Royel Maddell command his guitar with such tenderness and ferocity made it impossible not to feel a pull toward the instrument yourself. His playing bridged tracks like Bull Breed and Fried Rice with effortless flair, prompting whistles and cheers that felt genuinely uncontained.
Tracks from PRATTS & PAIN and this year’s hickey slotted seamlessly into the atmosphere. who’s your boyfriend?, moody, and more to lose were delivered with the kind of emotional precision that fuelled an already-devoted crowd. The production team deserves their own ovation with the kaleidoscopic visuals, snippets of music videos, and playful audience cues elevated the performance into something closer to a cinematic installation than a standard gig.
Their cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor transformed the venue into an unexpected disco, the kind of moment where you look around and realise everyone is dancing, no exceptions.
They closed the main set with say something, though no one bought the illusion of finality. The lights stayed mercifully dim, and when the chants for one more song reached boiling point, the pair returned.
“Do you guys like oysters?” Pavlovic teased, before the unmistakable shimmer of Oysters in My Pocket burst through the speakers. It was a pure summer night in cold November feeling. As ‘meet me in newcastle’ glowed on the screen one last time, it felt less like an invitation and more like a promise. A year ago, Royel Otis were playing Newcastle’s intimate Cluny. Tonight, they not only filled O2 City Hall, but they also transformed it.