I am no stranger to seeing a concert announcement from somewhere out of state and then buying tickets and figuring the rest out later. This was the exact case, a few months ago, when I saw that Royel Otis was performing at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California, on April 16th.
Royel Otis, the Australian indie pop duo consisting of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, are primarily known for their covers of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” and The Cranberries’ “Linger” as well as their original song “Oysters in My Pocket.” Although I do enjoy these three songs, this was not the selling point for me to make the flight to California in the middle of a school week.
STRFKR, originally from Portland, Oregon, was set to open this concert. STRFKR has been one of my and my family’s favorite bands for as long as I can remember. With their infectious synths and dancing astronaut stage performers, I will always find an opportunity to see them live and recommend others to listen. Additionally, shoutout to STRFKR’s guitarist and keyboard player, Ari, who is from Tucson. I had the pleasure of meeting him at Time Market a few years ago, where I had to do a double-take, and this interaction is one of my silliest music-related memories.
I am incredibly blessed to share the same music taste as pretty much all of my immediate family. In fact, some of my favorite concerts I have seen have been with my family members in attendance. This especially makes it easy for me to make trips like these happen. My dad became a really big Royel Otis fan during the summer of 2025 and even saw them live, by himself, in September 2025. When I told my dad, who is also a huge STRFKR fan, about this show, it was a no-brainer whether we would go or not. At this point, I was not tapped into Royel Otis, besides the three songs I mentioned previously, and the bits of other songs that my dad was constantly playing. However, I knew I would enjoy their music just from what I had heard so far, and I can confidently say I am definitely a fan now.
The Greek Theatre, located at one end of the University of California, Berkeley campus, was built in 1903 and seats 8,500 guests with three different types of seating options, including the floor section, stone benches, and lawn. The entire venue is general admission, meaning that any spot is fair game and thus offers many different viewing experiences. We arrived around 4:30 pm, and since the venue is an amphitheater, we were able to hear both acts’ soundchecks, which was pretty fun! My dad splurged and got the VIP tickets, which included early entry, a signed laminate, a mood ring, and a shirt. After getting our goodies and waiting for a little bit, we were finally let in. Instead of making the mad dash for the barricade, my dad and I decided to explore the venue because we had some time before everyone else was allowed in. The other VIP guests opted for various locations in the amphitheater, whether it be the first or top row of the benches, the back of the pit, or the barricade. We decided to stand in the second row, near the middle of the stage, and ended up with a great view of both bands.
STRFKR came on at 7 pm, and I was extremely happy to hear that they were performing a 40-minute long set. They played all of their classics, which I had no complaints about because all of the songs played are essentials, although it would have been nice to hear songs from their newer albums, Parallel Realms and Future Past Life. STRFKR is primarily known for their 2010s electropop hit, “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second,” but, in all honesty, this song, even though it is their most popular, is never the highlight of their live shows. They came out with a bang, playing “Florida” (one of my mom’s favorites), and two astronauts joined them on stage to dance along. This is a staple of STRFKR performances, and it was so fun to overhear people around me who were unfamiliar with the band and weren’t expecting it. The dancers came and went throughout their set, with outfit changes and different choreography for certain songs. The best part of their opening came near the end, with “Open Your Eyes,” the song I always recommend people listen to first by STRFKR (this is your sign to listen to it). Of course, the astronauts came back out for this song, and one of them crowd surfed and flaunted a split. Following this was their crowd favorite cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girl’s Just Want to Have Fun,” which had everyone dancing and singing along. This marked my 10th time seeing STRFKR perform, and I cannot recommend seeing them enough. Throughout their performance, I could see Royel Otis and members of their touring band watching and supporting them from the side of the stage, which was awesome to see and made me even more eager to see them play.
Royel Otis hit the stage around 8:15 pm (thank you to the 10 pm weekday noise ordinance, because I do love an early show), and now that the sun has begun to set, it made the lighting easier to see and appreciate, which is definitely one of my favorite parts about going to concerts. In particular, they had a large screen behind them that had different graphics for each song. This included replacing several song lyrics with “Berkeley,” which adds a personal touch that I appreciate and makes the concert more memorable. For “Linger” and “jazz burger,” Royel Otis made their way to the bowl steps near the back of the venue to perform at a second stage. It was really refreshing to hear them sing these songs acoustically, and it was really easy to hear the whole audience sing along. Some of the fans around me were annoyed to hear “Linger” from far away, which I understand, because “jazz burger” was one of the songs I was most anticipating. This definitely shows that there is some give-and-take in choosing to stand near the barricade, but I do not regret it at all. Throughout the set, I would occasionally turn back to see the crowd lining all the steps and watch everyone dance as they were lit up by the stage lights. The highlight for me happened with the final four songs before the encore. “Fried Rice,” which has been on repeat for me since the show, led into “Sofa King.” Although “Sofa King” is not one of my favorite songs, I left the show appreciating it more because of its fan incorporation. Before the show, fans could submit their names to be displayed on the screen, and during the chorus, their names were shown saying “[name] you’re so f—ing gorgeous,” mimicking the song’s lyrics. They closed the show with “Murder on the Dancefloor” and then “say something,” my dad’s favorite, followed by a two-song encore.
After squeezing our way out of the venue, we made the walk through campus with all the other fans. Royel Otis explained that this was their biggest headlining show yet, making the night even more special. This was especially amplified because this concert occurred between Coachella weekends, where Royel Otis performed and made their debut at the Indio festival. Now that I have been to a show in Berkeley, I definitely want to come back and enjoy it from the steps, which would provide a scenic view of the crowd, stage, and the UC Berkeley campus. It was a great Thursday night in California, and I will always recommend planning trips to shows in other states because of the memories. I will patiently wait to see both STRFKR and Royel Otis live again, but in the meantime, I will relive the night through my shaky videos and headphones.
