Canadian-American artist Grandson (stylized as grandson) brought his brand of fiery political rap-rock to Royale Nov. 6, producing a concert that kept the audience fired up and emphasized the need for action despite tumultuous times.
The Boston concert was the midpoint of the North American leg of the “INERTIA” tour, supporting Grandson’s third album “INERTIA,” which was released in September. The album was played in nearly its entirety, and is by far his most political.
“AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY ROBOTS,” kicked off the concert following an intro featuring voicemails from fans and is about surveillance technology and autonomous robots like those made by Boston Dynamics.
The theme of politics was present throughout the concert. Prior to “LITTLE WHITE LIES,” from “INERTIA,” Grandson gave a speech describing the goal of the concert as “giving people the permission to access the anger within themselves” and spoke on the need to stand up for marginalized groups and against the actions of the Trump administration.
Grandson spoke of the people trying to strip away civil rights in the United States and across the world before the track, “SELF IMMOLATION,” and told the audience to “keep your foot on their necks and don’t let up for a f*cking second” by creating pressure for political change.
The original opener, English punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, was unable to be a part of the tour after having their visas revoked by the Trump administration’s Department of State after leading chants of “Free Palestine” and “Death to the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces]” at a live-streamed Glastonbury Festival performance.
As Benjamin described prior to the song “WHOS THE ENEMY,” originally meant to be performed with the duo, “you talk about the wrong things, you label the wrong people the enemy and you will be banned from the U.S.” Following the song, a pre-recorded message from Bob Vylan was played, explaining the duo’s regret for not being able to play in the U.S. and expressing the need to continue supporting pro-Palestinian causes.
American-based punk-rap duo Ho99o9, pronounced horror, did a solid job as replacement openers, bringing energy and mosh pits to the crowd, which carried over to the main set. During “6:00” in Grandson’s set, the band’s guitarists went into the crowd and played the breakdown to the song, being surrounded by a circle mosh pit.
While the concert was certainly about building political energy, the need for self-care and care for others was another major theme. Before the track “Oh No!!!,” Benjamin described the need for care for others in the crowd, even with the moshing and energy present in the audience, talking about the fact that everyone had different paths to be able to attend the concert.
He also described the need for self-care while trying to fight for change prior to “Heather,” a song from his 2023 album “I Love You, I’m Trying” about a fan who unfortunately committed suicide.
The night ended with the same energy it began with, as grandson’s biggest hit, 2017’s “Blood // Water,” closed out the main set with a message of the power of collective action.
The encore was shortened due to time constraints, consisting of “WWIII,” a song about the military-industrial complex, and “Stick Up,” which Grandson got the entire audience to crouch on the ground before popping up for the final chorus to close the show.
