The Struts 04.01.16

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F41A1258 - The Struts 040116The Struts are rockers.  That much is clear.  They may be 30 years too late, but they are definitely rockers.  The Struts performed live at Tempe Town Market on April 1, 2016 in a free show sponsored by 93.3 Alt AZ.

The Struts had quite a year in 2015.  They headlined a number of sold-out U.S. shows, opened for The Rolling Stones in Paris and helped Motley Crue close out their last 4 shows ever.  And to open 2016 they have released their debut full-length album Everybody Wants.  The album has received early critical acclaim from sources as diverse as Yahoo Music and the New York Times.  The Struts will continue touring throughout this upcoming summer in support of Everybody Wants.

Singer and frontman Luke Spiller appears to want to singlehandedly revive the glam metal/hair band aesthetic of the ‘70s and ‘80s.  His appearance and on-stage performance are reminiscent of the New York Dolls circa 1975.   Bandmates Adam Slack (guitar), Jed Elliott (bass) and Gethin Davies (drums) seem perfectly content to let Spiller do his thing even if they don’t appear to be fully-committed participants in his theatrics.

The Struts put on a good show.  I can’t imagine what it must be like for a band to go from opening for The Rolling Stones in Paris to performing on a small stage between Dave  & Busters on one side and CPK on the other at a shopping center in Tempe.  You wouldn’t know it, though, from the band’s energy and enthusiasm.  Spiller worked the crowd along the security barrier and pranced around the stage as if this was a premier show.  At the end of the day, the Struts put on a good old fashioned, slightly over the top rock and roll performance at Tempe Marketplace.

If you missed the Struts performance you can catch them opening for The Killers at the Marquee this coming Sunday.

Review and photos by Greg Cohen


Photos © Greg Cohen 2016


The concert was part of a free concert series hosted by 93.3 Alt AZ and Tempe Marketplace.  The effort was admirable and should be commended even if the execution was a little lacking.  The District Stage, unfortunately, didn’t seem ideal for a performance like this with speakers sitting on the stage and blocking site-lines for the entire left third of the stage.  There was also a tight restriction on the number of people let into the District Stage area despite there being plenty of room to move about and it certainly not being packed.  Finally, Tempe Marketplace needs to figure out a better way to let people move from one end of The District to the other without having to walk out to the parking lot like they did this evening.  Again, commendable effort and if they can perfect the logistics around the concert it would have been just about perfect on a beautiful spring evening beneath a desert sky.

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