Photo of Royel Otis by Laura Jerele
The Factory hosted a kick-ass good time with bands from England and Australia bringing their vibes to us in full force. Start the night off was BBY (pronounced baby), a band out of London whose young and fresh energy blended with a tight, close setup on stage. Instead of spreading out and trying to own the entire space at The Factory, they played together, physically close, like they were in their rehearsal space, practically shoulder to shoulder, which gave off this cool vibe that matched their sound perfectly. The energy was polished, but simple, and their music was super catchy. Their fans crammed up to the barricade and shouted along to every song, and I loved that they brought their own little crowd of diehards and there was no ‘winning the crowd over.’
BBY’s set was all over the place in the best way: rap-influenced at moments, rocky and anthemic at others, then dropping into full-on swoon pop. What really stuck out, though, was how unafraid they were to get real. At one point the lead singer Benjy Gibson pulled out his phone and dropped freshly written lyrics straight into a song, calling out the current state of America with a truthful and raw verse that had people hanging on every word. It was a reminder to put the phone down, engage, and actually show up for one another, and it landed hard. I caught a hot blend of guitar tones and influences from Rage to Fleetwood Mac. I really enjoyed BBY’s set a ton, and will not miss them on future stops here, that’s for sure.
Royel Otis brought the smokey, electric dance party with their edgy and synthy indie rock. They’re a super cool Australian duo from Sydney led by the elusive Royel Maddell and in-your-face Otis Pavlovic, and they knew exactly how to turn this room into their own playground. Roy, hiding behind that trademark shaggy hair, shredded on guitar like it was second nature, pulling all the Cobain vibes while Otis’s vocals carried this mix of ease and intensity that lifts. Their stage design was minimal but clever, built around huge text graphics that flashed song titles, themes, and little winks at the crowd, including one that cheekily read “Meet me in St. Louis.” Fog poured across the stage the whole set, giving everything a hazy, dreamlike glow that played perfectly against the hot pink words pulsing behind them throughout the night.
The setlist pulled from across their catalog and hit plenty of favorites. “Moody” filled the room with its hazy groove while those fog machines kept pumping and kept the atmosphere thick. “Say Something” and their cover of “Linger” by The Cranberries felt both reverent and fresh at the same time. The energy never dipped once, and the crowd matched them song for song, especially during “Oysters in My Pocket.” With “Sofa King,” the LED backdrop flashed “St. Louis, you’re so f*cking gorgeous” during the chorus—the whole place was roaring it back, laughing at the wordplay, and absolutely locked into the moment. There were flyers with QR codes for the audience to scan to enter a post-show meet and greet, and I thought that was just absolutely clever. The band hid handwritten notes in the venue for a scavenger hunt with clues given on their socials. Playing all the angles, they know how to connect with their fans, but the biggest one being showing up and kicking ass with incredibly catchy songs.
These bands are fire. So damn positive and fun to see and dance to! If BBY brought the spark, Royel Otis fanned it into a fire, and we loved every minute of it, it was sofa king fantastic! | Laura Jerele
