{"id":49912,"date":"2025-10-09T14:26:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T18:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=49912"},"modified":"2025-10-10T10:06:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T14:06:25","slug":"review-the-living-tombstone-royale-10-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2025\/10\/09\/review-the-living-tombstone-royale-10-5\/","title":{"rendered":"The Living Tombstone @ Royale 10\/5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photography by Ria Northover<\/p>\n

Review by Maaya O’Flaherty<\/p>\n

Nearly 15 years after first uploading videos to YouTube, The Living Tombstone has transformed from an internet phenomenon into a full-fledged global act. The electronic rock duo, composed of producer Yoav Landau and vocalist Sam Haft, brought their world tour to Boston on Sunday night at Royale, transforming the sold-out venue into a neon-soaked show of nostalgia and spectacle.<\/p>\n

Formed in 2011, The Living Tombstone (TLT) made their name with viral songs inspired by video games and internet pop culture. Over the years, they\u2019ve evolved beyond their fandom roots, creating multi-genre anthems with their signature electronic sound. Their second album, \u201cRust,\u201d was released in May 2025 and explores heavier themes of social justice and personal identity while still embracing the group\u2019s distinctive high-voltage sound. The tour marks the duo\u2019s first large-scale international run.<\/p>\n

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The show opened in near darkness, with the stage framed by pulsating laser lights. As the first notes of \u201cI Can\u2019t Fix You,\u201d one of their most recognizable \u201cFive Nights at Freddy\u2019s\u201d (FNAF) tracks, cut through the air, two glowing silhouettes emerged: \u201cRust\u201d (Haft) and \u201czero_one\u201d (Landau), both dressed in LED-lined suits and masks that encompassed their onstage aliases. The visual spectacle instantly pulled the crowd into their digital world. Hundreds of fans, many cosplaying as game characters inspired by TLT\u2019s earliest songs, jumped and shouted to the beat.<\/p>\n

The set list covered a wide range of eras from the band\u2019s catalog. The duo revisited fan favorites such as \u201cNo Mercy,\u201d based on the video game \u201cOverwatch,\u201d and \u201cDie in a Fire,\u201d based on FNAF, both of which ignited wild sing-alongs in the crowd. Haft leaned into the chaos, holding the mic to the crowd for alternating lines. The audience needed no prompting; they knew every lyric.
\nSongs from their debut album, \u201czero_one\u201d, such as \u201cDrunk\u201d and \u201cSunburn,\u201d filled the room with thunderous bass and energy paired with more personal lyrics. But the true highlights came from \u201cRust.\u201d The new songs \u201cSomebody\u201d and \u201cOrphans\u201d offered moments of reflection amid the high-energy chaos, showing how far the band has evolved musically. In their live performance, the contrast between their older gaming-inspired songs and newer studio tracks demonstrated their versatility and growth beyond the TLT\u2019s YouTube origins.<\/p>\n

One of the most impressive aspects of the show was how Landau\u2019s signature robotic voice, as heard in TLT\u2019s YouTube tracks, translated perfectly to a live setting. Rather than relying on pre-recorded filters, Landau used live vocal processors to recreate his digital tone in real time. It was a case of virtual sound design feeling even more powerful in person.<\/p>\n

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Between songs, Haft and Landau frequently addressed the audience, sharing gratitude and stories behind their art. In one especially touching moment, Landau opened up about his experience with autism and how creating The Living Tombstone allowed him to express his emotions and passions through music. His honesty was met with applause, underscoring how deeply fans relate to the band\u2019s authenticity.<\/p>\n

Audience interaction was a core part of the night. The band repeatedly encouraged crowd participation, leading chants, organizing dance breaks, telling corny jokes, and prompting call-and-response moments throughout the show.\u00a0 During \u201cDiscord,\u201d Haft and Landau made their way down to the front row, high-fiving fans. One of the night\u2019s funniest moments came when Landau borrowed a fan\u2019s furry head and performed their last song, \u201cFive Nights at Freddy\u2019s,\u201d while wearing it, prompting laughter and cheers. The duo also took time to individually name and thank the members of their sound team, lighting crew, manager, and even their costume designer\u2014a level of recognition rarely seen onstage.<\/p>\n

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During the encore, Rust and zero_one transformed from their anonymous personas into Haft and Landau as they finally removed their glowing helmets, revealing their faces to cheers. The unmasking was followed by a back-to-back sprint through their most popular\u2014and arguably most iconic\u2014songs: \u201cIt\u2019s Been So Long,\u201d \u201cDiscord,\u201d and \u201cMy Ordinary Life.\u201d Each track hit with the force of pure nostalgia. The encore also included one of TLT\u2019s long-standing live traditions: before launching into \u201cMy Ordinary Life,\u201d Landau ran his finger along Haft\u2019s tattoo of the sheet music for the song\u2019s opening melody, eliciting excited screams from the crowd. By the last chorus of \u201cIt\u2019s Been So Long,\u201d the entire audience was jumping and chanting along to the now-iconic \u201cmeow\u201d outro. Before the final song, \u201cFive Nights at Freddy\u2019s,\u201d the band thanked the audience for helping the song blow up online, saying it turned them into \u201crockstars\u201d and eventually led to its feature in the movie of the same name.<\/p>\n

As the final notes faded and the LED lights dimmed to black, The Living Tombstone left the stage unmasked, and it was clear that they had achieved balancing the playfulness of their gaming-inspired origins with the emotional depth of their newer material\u2014reminding everyone why their music has resonated for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

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Photography by Ria Northover Review by Maaya O’Flaherty Nearly 15 years after first uploading videos to YouTube, The Living Tombstone has transformed from an internet phenomenon into a full-fledged global act. The electronic rock duo, composed of producer Yoav Landau and vocalist Sam Haft, brought their world tour to Boston on Sunday night at Royale, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25371,"featured_media":49913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1895,1525,1523,15,1530],"tags":[2549,701],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25371"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49912"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50015,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49912\/revisions\/50015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}