Concert Review: Royel Otis at Stubb’s
Indie-pop duo Royel Otis brandished new tracks and revisited classic hits for its ‘meet me in the car’ tour on Sept. 21 for their second performance at Stubb’s.
Written by Valeria Mota
Photos by Mckenna Sefcik
Australian duo Royel Otis, made up of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, bonded over their shared love of music in 2019 after meeting through family friends. Now, they’ve rocked the world with their iconic and quick guitar riffs, unique viral covers, and catchy choruses. Fresh off the release of their second studio album, hickey, Royel Otis is rocking the world with its thoroughly entertaining ‘meet me in the car’ tour, highlighting the band’s refreshing take on the indie-pop genre.
At 8:00 pm, East London indie band bby walked onto the stage with a swagger that would permeate throughout their entire opening set. Lead singer Benjy Gibson began the set by acknowledging that it was a Sunday, but that did not stop the group from giving a performance fit for any day of the week. Gibson's long, curly hair bounced along with his light dancing while guitarist Jessy Jacquet-Cretides and bassist Deon Graham played side by side and occasionally joined in for backing vocals. The set’s second song, an unreleased track that Gibson had recently finished writing, was rife with American social and political commentary, as Gibson acknowledged that America was “filled with beautiful and terrifying contradictions,” which garnered massive cheers of agreement from the crowd. The unreleased song’s explosive rock chorus only added to the gravity of bby’s commentary, making the band’s set immediately memorable.
As the crowd grew more entranced with bby’s set, the band members only amped up their energy; Gibson eventually took off his shirt, eliciting some whoops from the crowd, which only seemed to fuel his already passionate vocals. The band’s 2024 track, “Leftside,” quickly had the audience shouting back the line, “Without you, I don’t know where I’d be,” as Gibson lowered himself down to the crowd and led their singing. Gibson culminated his set with a peace sign and a promise to return to Austin next year; the crowd responded with satisfied cheers and a buzzing energy that would carry throughout the rest of the night.
As soon as the lights went out at 9:12, the crowd immediately stopped their conversations and put down their Duolingo exercises to cheer for the band. At 9:13, Royel Otis walked on stage and immediately kicked off with their opening track from hickey, “i hate this tune,” which amplified the audience’s energy. The LED panel behind the band had a pink background with a white text that announced “(this is royel otis live),” showcasing the band’s signature lower-case and parentheses-encased style. The pair’s laidback performing techniques were evident from the start, which had the crowd singing the relatable chorus with ease: “So please, please / You're tearing us apart / No need to stand so far / Away, away, away.” The song ended with the screen flashing a “(welcome to the show)” text, to which the audience responded with boisterous hollers.
The band immediately transitioned into the moody “Adored,” with audience members screaming the “Kiss, kiss, kiss” part of the song with Pavlovic. Maddell and drummer Tim Commandeur were focused yet energetic during the track, while Pavlovic maintained his easygoing presence with a smirk and a Bob Dylan t-shirt. The band’s attitude carried into the 2024 tune “Heading for the Door,” which the crowd instantly recognized with exuberant yells as soon as Maddell played the song’s slow yet catchy riff. The audience swayed to the song as Pavlovic walked around the stage to check in on his fellow band members, almost too enraptured in the performance to directly interact with the crowd.
Eventually, Pavlovic acknowledged the fans with a lighthearted “What’s up, Austin?” to which they screamed enthusiastically. “Why is it so fucking hot?” Pavlovic asked. “Let’s sweat it all out!” As the crowd hollered in agreement, the band jumped straight into playing one of their newer tracks, “who’s your boyfriend,” while the description “(this is a song about a friend)” flashed in pink letters on the screen behind them. While “who’s your boyfriend” was met enthusiastically by the audience, fans only got louder for the following track, “car.” With a backing montage of people kissing each other in cars, Pavlovic bounced along to the beat as he sang, while Maddell made sure to cover his face with this long, blonde hair as he expertly played his guitar. As the crowd cheered for the performance, Pavlovic plainly stated that they will perform “Kool Aid,” one of the band’s most popular songs, which was met with excited shrieks from several fans.
While the studio version of “Kool Aid” leans more towards more sunny production, the band opted for a more rock-heavy live rendition, with Commandeur delivering an impressive performance that audience members air-drummed along to. The swift transition into the duo’s 2024 track “Foam” brought the energy from explosive to groove-driven, as the screen instructed the audience to “(show us your crooked teeth)”. Commaundeur’s consistent drumming only elevated the song further as Pavlovic closed his eyes to focus on his singing. The song ended with a charming Pavlovic saying, “Cheers, Austin!” as he held his beer up in the air. The crowd exclaimed “Cheers!” back with their own beverages before the band transitioned directly into hickey’s first single, “moody.”
“moody” was instantly acknowledged with excited shrieks from audience members, with Maddell’s strumming and Commandeur’s drumming bringing out an extra layer of passion to the song. The audience’s shouting only got louder as the chorus progressed: “But she's my everything / She's all that I need / Sometimes more than I want.” Pavlovic gave a quick smile as he saw the crowd’s lively singing, and advised the crowd to stay hydrated when the song ended. “I’m going to play some songs from hickey,” Pavlovic announced, to which the crowd whooped in encouragement. The Australian duo began to play the bass-driven “come on home” as the screen announced that “(this is a song about being homesick).” While the crowd did not fully know the verses, they swayed along and faithfully joined in for the song’s choruses.
The tenth song, “shut up,” was disclosed by the screen sharing that “(this is a song about not wanting someone to leave)” in bright pink lettering. The band’s well-known, short guitar riffs were on full display for this song, with Pavlovic even breaking out into some awkwardly charming shoulder shimmying. The set shifted its tone a bit with the 2025 “she’s got a gun,” and while the premise of the song is admittedly menacing, the audience still had fun dancing along to it.
The performance’s mood changed once again as Pavlovic pulled out an acoustic guitar to play the more vulnerable “more to lose.” As the lights pulsed along with the song’s beat, a fan held up a single Timberland boot and waved along to the rhythm. The boot would stay up for the entire duration of the show, but that did not stop the crowd from nodding along to Commandeur’s passionate drumming and Pavlovic’s raw vocals. The audience cheered when the song ended, and Commandeur and keyboardist Tim Ayre quietly exited the stage before Maddell began strumming his guitar to the band’s viral cover of “Linger” by The Cranberries. Fans shrieked in excitement and delivered their loudest singing of the night so far, as the screen requested the audience to “(help us sing this one).” Soon enough, Ayre came back on stage with a tambourine, encouraging the crowd to clap along to the duo’s unique rendition of the 1993 hit.
Afterwards, Pavlovic announced that tonight was a special occasion and invited a couple on stage. The woman explained that Stubb’s is their favorite venue and Royel Otis is their favorite band, claiming that the duo “started [their] love story.” The girl knelt down and proposed, to which the crowd screamed in elation. The woman’s partner said yes and hugged her, which only made the audience scream joyfully. The romantic moment served as a perfect transition to the band’s next song, “Merry Mary Marry Me,” which the crowd easily sang along to.
Pavlovic and Maddell maintained a stoic presence throughout their entire performance, until Pavlovic let go a bit when he told the audience, “Alright, let’s fucking dance.” The screen ordered fans to “(dance with the person next to you)” in different, flashing colors as the band played the appropriately danceable “I Wanna Dance With You.” The whole crowd grinned with their dance partners and waved their hands in the air as Pavlovic strongly pleaded: “Feet don’t fail me now.” The duo continued to rock out with their 2022 hit, “Bull Breed,” with Maddell maintaining a laser-like focus on his guitar playing and Pavlovic breaking out into some tense but charming dance moves, which was met with some light cheering. Pavlovic shouted, “Oh honey, I miss you!” before the second chorus, to which the crowd shrieked in response.
The indie-pop pair quickly slid into the energetic “Fried Rice” as the song’s lyrics flashed in pink and white lettering on the screen. Pavlovic grinned as he saw the audience singing the chorus back to him, with the Timberland boot still waving around to the song’s rhythm. After Pavlovic quickly asks different sections of the audience how they’re doing, the screen flashed an announcement that elicited loud shrieks from the crowd: “austin you’re so f*cking gorgeous.” The phrase is a reference to one of the duo’s most popular songs, “Sofa King,” which was confirmed by Maddell’s attentive guitar playing. Soon enough, the mood shifted from sweet to vibrant as the band launched into their Like A Version of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor.” The crowd responded with lively dancing as red and blue disco lights flashed around the stage, with the duo still managing to make their version of the song memorable in their own way. Commandeur delivered an outstanding drum solo to end the song, which brought in animated cheers from the audience.
Afterwards, Pavlovic abruptly announced that the following song, the temperamental “say something,” would be their last song. Different phrases like “(burning my first mixtape for you)” and “(laughing so hard together we cried)” flashed on the pink screen, adding to the song’s vulnerability. The crowd shouted the chorus along with Pavlovic, and the waving Timberland boot continued to stay in the air enthusiastically. As the song ended with the crowd’s eager whoops, Pavlovic and Maddell walked off stage, with Commandeur and Ayre following suit. Though the crowd didn’t believe this exit for a second; as soon as the band was off stage, fans were already chanting, “One more song! One more song!” Turns out the duo couldn’t resist the audience’s request — Maddell quickly got back on stage with his guitar with a wide grin that was barely visible through his hair, to which fans whooped in excitement. Pavlovic also walked back out on stage and picked up his acoustic guitar to deliver an emotional rendition of hickey’s closing track, “jazz burger.” The crowd responded to the heartfelt tune by waving their hands in the air — including the wiggling Timberland boot — with some turning on their lighters and phone flashlights.
“jazz burger” concluded with satisfied cheers from the crowd, and Pavlovic pointed and smiled in acknowledgement to the Timberland boot that had stayed consistently up the entire night. The fan holding the boot is elated with the recognition, only waving the shoe in a frenzy as the band begins to play their biggest hit, “Oysters In My Pocket.” Ayre pulled out his tambourine once again to amp up the crowd, but this was evidently the one song that every audience member knew from front to back. Maddell, hair still in his face, gave an expert guitar solo while fans spun and danced around to the upbeat tune. Commandeur’s energetic drumming only increased to end the song, and the screen promptly ended the show with the phrase “(this was royel otis live).” After some quick interactions with some audience members, Pavlovic and the rest of the band exited the stage, with Pavlovic donning his biggest smile of the night.
Despite their easygoing and reserved attitudes, Royel Otis delivered a vibrant show for its Austin audience that consistently kept the crowd engaged. Between Commandeur’s impassioned drumming, Maddell’s flawless guitar playing, and Pavlovic’s earnest vocals, the Australian duo gave an endlessly enjoyable performance that will surely stay in any fan’s — and Timberland boot’s — heart forever.