Before I get there though, I have to note that we caught the last song of Thunderpussy, the aptly titled "Thunderpussy," and it was freaking great. I reviewed them for ACL, but never got there in time to see their shows at the fest, but that particular song is some deeply rocking stuff. Very good. And then they were followed up by Emily Wolfe, who I saw a few years ago at Sound on Sound, and she was super impressive last night. Local gal, with the most basic of accompaniment (drums and bass), but she could make that fat black guitar freaking talk. I was definitely surprised at how good of a guitarist she has become. Funny thing, they kept telling her to play another song because she had more time, and she seemed genuinely annoyed about it. I was enjoying the tunes, so I was glad for the bonus time.
Now, as for the main event. The lead singer of the Struts, Luke Spiller, strutted and paced and bounced and pointed and whirled and did everything in his power to hype up the crowd from the start of the first song (the relatively weak, new "Primadonna Like Me"). The drummer and the bassist did a good, workmanlike job of keeping the tunes going, and the guitarist threw down some good guitar heroics (although he sometimes looked stoned out of his gourd on 'ludes or something, just standing there in his Nashville hipster hat staring at the crowd or like vacantly smiling).
Generally a good setlist, although they played a lot of tunes from the new album, which has only been out for 10 days, meaning that those songs weren't nearly as fun for the majority of the crowd who didn't yet know them. Or maybe just me? But when they broke out the classics from the first album, it got rowdy in the crowd. Likewise, when Spiller sat at the piano, and therefore removed himself from the center of the stage, it sucked some of the energy from the room. His power is his stage presence. And like 8 flashy and exciting costumes that he switched out throughout the set.
Because I'm an old man and now will apparently randomly cry at the drop of a hat, I have to mention the moment during the show when, in the midst of a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," he paused to bring two young twins onto the stage (I'm going to guess they were 12) to dance and sing with him. Pretty awesome.
And overall, the show was fantastic. They genuinely rock out, with fabulous guitar work and fun sing-a-longs. Felt very much like a group event of people there to have some fun. Very eclectic crowd too, from kids to gray hairs to frat guys to tat-and-pierce aficionados. Saw t-shirts ranging from Motorhead to Public Image Limited to Ke$ha. And while I wasn't up on the new tunes, a lot of folks in the crowd knew every word. Good stuff.
Now, my beefs with the show are two-fold.
First, the volume was way too damn loud. I know, "if its too loud then you're too old." But for real, even with good earplugs in, my left ear is ringing this morning. And the problem isn't hearing damage or whatever (although I should probably be more concerned about such things), the problem is that you get a shit mix of the music when everything is up to 11. The vocals get washed out, the bass disappears entirely, and you can't even tell if the crowd is singing along. I'm not saying it needed to be quiet or anything, but a touch of nuance would make for a better experience for everyone.
Second, there was a little too much dead time in the show where Spiller was trying to exhort the crowd into participating. A few too many call-and-response pieces, a few too many can-this-side-of-the-crowd-yell-louder-than-this-other-side-of-the-crowd bits. Those are all well and good - I'm sure Spiller has watched the Queen show at Live Aid and knows how well Mercury could get the crowd going on those call-and-response bits, but once is surely enough on those.
But those quibbles are minor in comparison to the joy of getting to see a fun band rising in a good, small venue. Fully enjoyed the night.
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