Last night The Struts descended on the O2 Ritz stage in what was the last-but-one leg of their UK 'Homecoming Tour', their first gig in Manchester in 3 years, and managed to take what already was the hottest day of the year to another level.
The distinguished job of setting the mood was awarded to Cardinal Black, an alt rock formation led by powerful, bluesy vocals of Tom Hollister. Their stellar performance, accompanied by 'you sexy bas*tard' chants belted out by their faithful fan-club who placed themselves stage right, certainly got the crowd ready for the main event.
Slowly, the Ritz was filling up in preparation for the arrival of The Struts; a Derby formed band who's appreciation for 70's glam rock, heavy influences of Queen, The Darkness and, judging by Luke Spiller's dance moves alone-Michael Jackson, cannot possibly be missed.
They walked onto the stage in darkness with the lead, Luke, sneaking in to the front almost surprising the photographers gathered in the pit with his arrival. All dressed in variations of black and purple satin, a selection of cowboy boots and already looking slightly affected by the heat of the evening they opened swiftly with 'Primadonna Like Me', followed by 'Body Talks' and 'Kiss This'. Spiller's powerful vocals and his 'jump! jump!' encouragements, Gethin Davies's powerful drums, Adam Slack's guitar and Jed Elliot's bass quickly had the audience bouncing and singing back at the band…with woo woos aplenty
'Are you here for a good time!?' and indeed the atmosphere kept on getting hotter, as the audience was relentlessly joining in on the lyrics of 'Hate How Much I Want You'. ‘The Struts have come back to Manchester, are you ready to get even hotter!?' which inevitably was followed by 'Fire' with guitar riffs soaring to the roof.
'Ladies and gentlemen, I have a feeling tonight is going to be absolutely sexual' said Luke, which promise was followed by 'One Night Only' and 'Dirty Sexy Money' closed by a frantic drum vs. guitar play-off.
The band have treated us to their brand spanking new song 'Fallin', preceded by a swift singing class courtesy of Spiller. Did the crowd like it - oh they certainly did.
Audience were offered a moment to breathe with 'Low Key in Love' and acoustic 'Mary Go Round', during which the stage was lit up by tens of mobile phone lights swaying to the rhythm
'Its f*cking hot, go get some water, nobody is dying on my watch tonight' Luke belted out, as indeed sweat was glistening, covering the band and the audience alike.
We were later treated to a lovely rendition of Chris Isaacs 'Wicked Game' which suits Spiller's vocals remarkably well, after which the band conferred to decide whether its ending 'was $hit or not'. It certainly wasn't.
This was followed by 'Wild Child' which saw the band do the freeze challenge and 'I Do It So Well' which ended with Luke, accompanied by relentless drum beat by Davies, introducing band members, a left stage-right stage cheer competition and an audience sing off.
The band have left the stage briefly, but were not allowed to stay off for long as 'encore encore' chant permeated the air. They inevitably walked back to thank the venue staff, the team and the audience then proceeded to treat us to piano notes of 'Strange Days' closing with 'Could Have Been Me' which for the last time that day filled the venue with cheer and applause as band members were flicking plectrums, throwing drumsticks and some lucky soul had a somewhat questionable pleasure of landing Luke's sweaty towel which he might or might not had just done some flossing with seconds earlier.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable, energising and incredibly powerful performance. If you have not had the pleasure to see The Struts live do yourself a favour and grab a ticket next time they are in a city near you. You will not regret it.
