PRATTS & PAIN Tour: Royel Otis' Explosive Toronto Debut at Lee's Palace with Girl and Girl
Photo: Steve St. Jean
Guitar-pop duo Royel Otis, hailing from Sydney, Australia, brought their much anticipated PRATTS & PAIN tour to a sold-out Lee's Palace on Friday, April 26th, 2024. The band is currently on tour supporting their debut LP PRATTS & PAIN, and it was Royel Otis' first time playing in Toronto.
The night started with an electrifying opening act and fellow Australian band Girl and Girl, who formed in Brisbane, QLD. They were infectious the second they started playing as they slashed at their guitars and invited us into a full-on emotional onslaught of raw, noisy goodness. They played a tight-knit set, sounded terrific and evoked all the smiles with their occasional banter and charming accents. As they closed out their set, they playfully joked about getting into the pit for Royel Otis' set and moshing with the fans and also joked about being peeved that the postman they met on the street didn't show up to their set as frontman Kai James called out:
"Is the postman here? Is the postman here? No? We met a postman on the street and put him on the door. You think you know someone."
As Girl and Girl left the stage, Lee's Palace was jammed with fans of all ages to check out Royel Otis's set. Notably, there was such a range of ages that it was fascinating. The pit was overrun with youth, and around the venue's sides and back were middle-aged and even older fans. Their set kicked off "Sonic Blue," "Velvet," and "Bull Breed" to a frenzy of fans immediately pulsating together as one. They were even-keeled the whole set without much banter outside of giving Canada compliments about how nice we are and how good our beer is:
"You're too nice here. We love your beer. We're all pissed already." said Royel Maddell
Highlights from the night were when they kicked in "Heading For The Door," the joyous sing-along song that came to form with their impeccably played "Sofa King," and, of course, the highly danceable "Oysters In My Pocket" that officially transformed Lee's Palace into a dance hall.
From the electrifying opening of Girl and Girl to the final chord of Royel Otis' set, Lee's Palace was ablaze with energy that pulsed through the crowd like wildfire. As the night came to a close, it was clear that Royel Otis had delivered an unforgettable performance, leaving their mark on Toronto and etching their name into the hearts of all fortunate enough to witness their debut in the city.
For anyone who missed the show, check out all our concert photos from Royel Otis' Toronto performance at Lee's Palace below:
CONCERT PHOTOS
ROYEL OTIS
GIRL AND GIRL
THE SETLIST
Sonic Blue
Velvet
Bull Breed
I Wanna Dance with You
Fried Rice
Motels
Foam
Clawfoot (new song)
Heading for the Door
Adored
Till the Morning (new song, live debut)
Sofa King
Going Kokomo
Murder on the Dancefloor (Sophie Ellis-Bextor cover)
Oysters in My Pocket
Encore:
Linger (The Cranberries cover)
Kool Aid
Relive Royel Otis’ set with the playlist below:
Photography by: Steve St. Jean