As a sweaty Luke Spiller stated upon the conclusion of the show, “Remember the name: The Struts.”
Indeed, we will.
The up and coming British rock group, The Struts, channeled the ghosts of classic rock Jan. 15 as they took the stage of Rock and Roll Hotel in front of a devoted, sold-out crowd.
After having postponed the original gig, scheduled for October, The Struts didn’t leave fans disappointed.
After the lively opening set by The Karma Killers, The Struts made a grand entrance to the stage in tune to a British march, evoking screams and cheers from audience members adorned with vintage Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Ramones t-shirts.
I couldn’t help but think to myself, was this what the British Invasion music movement of the 1960’s felt like? Upon reluctantly exiting the venue at the end of the performance, I had answered my own question.
It most definitely was.
The relationship the group created with their audience in such a short time was noticeably impressive. Spiller, with two eccentric costume changes and adorned with eye shadow and gold accents on his cheek bones, descended from the stage multiple times to be one with the crowd, shaking hands, kissing cheeks, baptizing others with his sweat and conducting liveliness contests between the left and right sides of the venue.
His stage presence was phenomenal beyond words, resembling the charismatic persona of the late Freddie Mercury and Mick Jagger, having his audience eating out of the palm of his hand, hanging on his every word and begging for more.
Every member of the audience jumped upon his command during “Kiss This,” Could Have Been Me” and “Where Did She Go” from the group’s first EP “Have you Heard” released last August.
Alongside the anticipated antics of Spiller, bassist Jed Elliott undoubtedly won the hearts of all female attendees, evoking squeals and screams with every pick he tossed.
As Spiller explained in the beginning of the show, the group chose to film this concert for a promo video, and considering the one-of-a-kind energy present that night, they could not have chosen a better one.
This level of energy was kickstarted from the very beginning with the fantastic opening set by the New Jersey punk rock group, The Karma Killers. Their music and presence was oddly reminiscent to that of the Struts—down to lead singer Micky James’s jet black hair, nose ring and physical demeanor obviously resembling The Struts’s Spiller— proving that this pairing was far from accidental.
The lulls of chatter between songs was met by reverb and delay by the group’s guitarist, Billy Stevens, and his tight guitar riffs in combination with James’s screaming vocals left a buzzing ebullience by the resolution of the set.
Fans left the Rock and Roll Hotel on a music high to say the least; showered with champagne, gripping newly purchased t shirts and realizing that they weren’t merely a part of a musical performance, but rather a musical revolution.
Featured Photo Credit: Lead singer of The Struts, Luke Spiller, performing at Rock and Roll Hotel. (Cassie Osvatics/Bloc Reporter)
Jordan Stovka is a freshman journalism major and can be reached at jstovka@icloud.com.
