ROYAL BLOOD RULE THE FONDA

Even when you know going in that it's just two guys, it's still a bit of a jolt—Black Mammoth/Warner Bros.' Royal Blood kick up a royal racket. And since they're in town between fire-breathing Coachella sets, they stopped by Hollywood's Fonda Theatre on Monday night and delivered a powerhouse set.

Bassist/singer Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher manage to capture the glorious force of classic riff-rock—via the former's pedal-enhanced slab of sound and the latter's precision power—without any of the bloat. And the songs, with Kerr's supple, expressive vocals on top, are superb. Highlights from their impeccable debut album included first single "Figure It Out," dead-sexy follow-up "Little Monster" (now moving up at Modern Rock radio), "Careless," "Come On Over," "Loose Change" and "You Can Be So Cruel."

The pair can work a crowd—it's as though they were born in a stadium—and every dynamic shift elicited a roar (and a visible cloud of pot smoke) from the packed house at the Fonda. And it's worth noting that this very heavy band's ardent fan base includes a lot of women. If that's not good news for rock music, I don't know what is.

Warner Bros.' EVP/Head of Promotion Peter Gray, Alt Promo hitter Rob Goldklang and Rock Promo queen Heather Luke, among other label players, were seen throwing goat.

Having won the admiration of luminaries like Jimmy Page—who presented them with their BRIT Award for Best British Group earlier this year—and the Foo Fighters, with whom they'll be touring, Royal Blood are clearly already part of the rock aristocracy. Prepare to bend the knee.