Live Review: Palaye Royale – Fever Dream Tour 2023 – Eventim Apollo Hammersmith

On Approaching the Eventim Apollo, you couldn’t help but get the feeling that Palaye Royale had something truly special in store for their London faithful. The queue spanned for miles and everyone seemed in good spirits for a night jam-packed with eccentric music. Here’s what went down!

Starbenders opened proceedings to an already packed Eventim Apollo. Their angst-filled anthems resonated well with the London crowd and within no time they had the room in the palm of their hands. Groovy percussion blended expertly with ear-catching solos and transitions kept the feeling in the venue positive with nothing but good vibes around for miles. As more and more fans flooded the arena, the band really came into their element. Delivering an extremely powerful set with fan favourites on the night coming in the form of ‘Coming Up Roses’ and ‘IYNI’.

Up next was Yonaka and despite an extremely strong start the band’s set was marred by multiple stoppages due to issues going on in the crowd. The band stopped the show multiple times to ensure the safety of all of those in attendance and had zero hesitation in doing so. In response, the crowd’s fondness of the band grew larger and for the remainder of their set, everyone was grooving down to what they were cooking up.

Nearing the end of the set the band stopped and gave two lucky fans one of the happiest moments of their lives as a proposal was made and accepted. Would have been a bad look to say no in front of so many people. What followed was a powerful performance of ‘Rockstar’ and a tonne of good vibes. It certainly wasn’t the set they had planned to put on but it was one that will show the band’s morals and compassion for both their craft and their fans.

The anticipation for Palaye Royale to tackle the stage had reached its boiling point and as the lights went down, the excitement only grew! Opening with ‘Nightmares’, the band instantly unleashed their chaotic energy upon Hammersmith! Noticeably, Remington Leith was wearing the iconic David Bowie ‘Ziggy Stardust’ face paint which was a fitting and beautifully crafted tribute for Palaye’s biggest headline show to date!

‘No Love In LA’ would be the first of 9 tracks off the band’s new album ‘Fever Dream’ to get an outing and it was received incredibly well! ‘You’ll Be Fine’ only upped the ante with chaos ensuing throughout this track. From Guitarist Sebastian Danzig playing on the barrier to Remmington climbing upon the Piano to get a better view of his adoring sea of fans, this song really captured the passion and energy fans have come to adore from Palaye Royale over the years.

As the set progressed, fans were treated to a plethora of new and old tracks such as ‘Broken’, ‘Fucking With My Head’, ‘Mr Doctor Man’ and ‘Give Me Pain’. Unsurprisingly, the band’s stage presence was unrivalled. From sailing the Palaye Sea on an inflatable dinghy to isolating the stage with spotlights for a more emotional feeling, the band know how to capture the essence of their music and create a whole world for their fans to experience.

As the set drew closer to an end, the band took every proportion to ensure their fans’ safety was silk first. Asking the fans to all take a few steps back before their encore was a very smart decision as the enchanted crowd had noticeably surged forward. An encore starting with ‘Lonely’ followed by ‘Fever Dream’ and a climatic performance of ‘Get Higher’ sent the Palaye faithful home with smiles brimming ear to ear.

Despite some minor issues with crowd surges, the entire show was managed and executed brilliantly. A massive shoutout to all the performers and the security detail on duty that night for ensuring the crowd was safe! As for the show in general, it was simply breathtaking. Starbenders showed they have what it takes to be a real force in the scene, Yonaka, despite being ill, showed they are capable of controlling and enticing large crowds and Palaye Royale… Well, they absolutely smashed it. They felt like they belonged on the Eventim Apollo’s stage if not a bigger one!