The Struts, Great Hall, Cardiff
Having come in a bit late of openers King Nun, I can't really give them a fair review, but their jangly angst ridden indie did very little for me. However the very eclectic crowd lapped it up, so what do I know?
Yes an eclectic crowd, everything from suit wearing corporate types, numerous couples of all ages, students and of course fans all filled out Cardiff's Great Hall for a band who have opened for The Rolling Stones, Guns N Roses, The Who and The Foo Fighters with Dave Grohl calling them "the best band ever to open for the Foo Fighters". Clearly these support slots have really increased their popularity in the UK (they are already quite a big thing in the USA), meaning that this was something of a step up in terms of venue from when I first saw them at Bristol Thekla, along with a much bigger crowd. As the anticipation grew Delilah by Tom Jones came over the PA whipping the Welsh fans into a frenzied sing along as it was followed by Song 2 by Blur but as the peak was reached it was time for the headliners to take to the stage the lights went dark and Adam Slack (guitar), Jed Elliott (bass) and Welsh boy Gethin Davies (drums) took to the stage with one big chord hit it was time for the show to begin and in an explosion of glitter and pomp vocalist Luke Spiller romped onto the stage and Primadonna Like Me opened the show with the trademark tongue in cheek style.
The preening frontman a bundle of energy not slowing down for a minute reinforcing why he's called the lovechild of Freddie Mercury and Mick Jagger as he effortlessly delivered his powerful vocal lines as Davies and Elliot gave the glam rock grooves and Slack peeled off easy riffs. The pace was kept high for the naughty Body Talks (alas without Kesha) and the defiant Kiss This. Spiller never dropping a single note despite running a marathon. In Love With The Camera came fourth, the irony not lost on our photographer who had only just left the pit. The crowd was singing every single line back to the band, engaged form the first moments they chanted, clapped, bounced and later on even jumped from the floor as the band plowed through their 17 song setlist, the massive Queen-like single One Night Only bringing the sleaze with Dirty Sexy Money and Tatler Magazine keeping the crowd going through a medley of tracks from their first album, the tracks were The Ol' Switcheroo/Black Swan/Roll Up/Young Stars as Spiller took to the piano in true Freddie style for the slower sections.
They were playing it like an arena show with the crowd eating out of their hand with every bombastic song hitting home there was no chatting even with ballads such as Mary Go Round, the obligatory guitar solo, Spiller's call and response schtick and even the cover of The View's Same Jeans featuring The View's frontman Kyle Falconer who opened the show. The main show ended with the huge anthem Put Your Money On Me and the glam rocker Where Did She Go leaving the crowd to stomp and clap for an encore. Having gone through a costume change during the main show, a more relaxed look was used for the the encore that started off with Somebody New that led into the Elton John moment of Ashes (Part 2), part 1 Fire had come earlier in the night, bringing a tear to everyone before their sports arena anthem Could Have Been Me ended this absolutely riotous evening of music. Surely this will be the last time we will see The Struts in a venue smaller than an arena, they clearly have the bravado and the songs, with a bigger stage and better production values (though their light show is brilliant) they will be the next generation of festival headliners. 10/10
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