Alex Tearle
Cleopatrick put on a captivating show at Rescue Rooms, demonstrating their electric energy and down to earth attitude to an audience of diehard fans, proving they categorically deserve their spot supporting Royal Blood. Alex Tearle shares his thoughts.
Some bands were absolutely made for small venues, and Cleopatrick is one of them. There’s something about an intimate room, packed full of rock fans, that really creates an exhilarating atmosphere. It’s this style of venue that really caters to the heavy rock, distorted guitars and crashing cymbals that Cleopatrick are known for, providing the perfect gig space for such a fan favourite band.
the band’s sound was meant for this style of venue
Cleopatrick opened strong, with the tracks blending into each other well, clearly displaying an intricately planned setlist and showcasing the band in their best light. The band’s sound was meant for this style of venue and they clearly knew what they were doing, treating the crowd to their catalogue of angsty rock and opening up a good few mosh pits throughout their short but sweet set.
Both musicians are clearly very talented, and they played their hearts out the whole time that they were on stage. Frontman Luke Gruntz utilised an impressive pedalboard to mimic the sound of a much larger band, looping catchy riffs and power chords. This created the impression that Cleopatrick were a much larger force than they were, filling the venue with their unique sound. Gruntz was clearly having a great time, grinning back at his fans and interacting with the audience throughout the set.
Cleopatrick created a friendly and energetic atmosphere
Ian Fraser added crashing cymbals and fantastic drum solos to the set, sometimes standing to really take in the response to his skills and enjoying the raucous applause he achieved after each song. The pair clearly knew exactly what they were doing, treating the audience to a well-rehearsed set that the whole venue danced to.
The musical talent of the pair was genuinely impressive; the guitar solos were performed perfectly and the drumming was impeccable, an absolute treat to long time fans, some of whom had travelled from France to see the gig. Tracks like Hometown, The Drake and Family Van were especially great live, and the crowd screamed every lyric back at the band. Cleopatrick created a friendly and energetic atmosphere and stayed on stage to play their back catalogue of music, most of which translated well to live performance.
Unfortunately, the band did not stay for an encore after their 40 minute set, meaning the evening felt quite short when compared to other gigs. Where the shoutier tracks translated very well to Rescue Rooms, songs like Bernard Trigger felt comparatively disappointing, with its slower tempo and simplified chord progression lacking compared to their other excellent performances.
Cleopatrick are rising quickly in the garage rock scene and it’s easy to see why – performing an excellent set at Rescue Rooms, they are proving to be a band to watch.
Alex Tearle
Featured image courtesy of Ben Payne. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image courtesy of @cleopatrickband via @instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
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