Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming
The Admiral was on fire Wednesday (11/8) with the spirit of rock and roll!
Coming all the way from the U.K., The Struts made their way to Omaha on their "Remember The Name" tour. Hot off their brand-new album release Pretty Vicious (Nov 3) and a Good Morning America appearance, The Struts were fired up and ready to party!
This was my third time catching The Struts and I have to say it was their best show yet. The first time I saw The Struts, I went out of my way to shoot a Shinedown show just to see them open. Of course The Struts stole the show and from then I definitely remembered the name. I was able to shoot The Struts last summer at Stir Cove but it was a much bigger outdoor venue and it ended up raining. This time around the Admiral was the perfect spot to see this larger than life band. The sound was crisp, the lighting was on point, and the room was just big enough to have that rockstar feel while maintaining a sense of intimacy.
The house music thundered with "We Will Rock You" by Queen as the crowd stomped their feet in anticipation for one of the best rock bands on the scene today, The Struts!
Luke and the boys hit the stage dripping with rock star swagger. Luke of course was draped in royal purple from his flowing silk shirt to his leather pants with purple fringe. He was Freddie Mercury and Mick Jagger all rolled into one.
Right from the start Luke had the crowd eating from the palm of his hand. With a steady stream of shoutouts like "I see you baby", "Are you ready to rock?" and "I'm having fun baby" you just can't help but smile. It's one thing to be a great singer, guitarist, or performer in general, but when you can entertain a crowd beyond musical talent that's the real special sauce. I would put Luke in the same category as Pelle from The Hives, Billie Joe Armstrong, Steven Tyler, or Dave Grohl. Once you've experienced a Struts show you'll want to come back every time.
The band kicked things off with "Dirty Sexy Money" from their very first album "Everybody Wants". What a clever album title by the way. Rolling into "Body Talks" Luke was shimmying his fringes and flashing his best jazz hands making the front row go wild. Next, the band pulled out their hit from last summer, the one-off single "Fallin With Me". The room had a big pop of energy when the band played a big hit from their first album "Kiss This". One of the highlights for me being a photographer was "She's In Love With The Camera". Luke made his way to the front of the stage to snap pictures of the crowd with his "finger camera".
Channelling his best Freddie Mercury Luke plunked down on the piano for "One Night Only" which starts as a slower ballad but builds to a full on rocker. I stood in the back in awe, knowing I was witnessing one of the greatest bands of the last ten years. I really hope The Struts continue to build their fanbase and come back next year even stronger. While the show was pretty full I would love to see them sell out The Admiral next time and then move to the CHI arena. These guys work really hard putting out consistently great music and hitting the road as much as possible.
Throughout the rest of the set Omaha was treated to a nice mix of old and new, including the title track to The Struts newest album Pretty Vicious and another new track "I Won't Run". Before the encore Luke had a sing-off between the left and right sides of the crowd and declared "Omaha, you've got some lungs on you!"
In a refreshing twist the band pulled out the title track to their 2020 album which was aptly titled Strange Days. Of course The Struts closed with their biggest hit to date "Could Have Been Me". I recently caught an interview with The Struts where Luke declared "You won't find a higher energy show out there, except for maybe The Hives". I have to agree, for your money The Struts are one of the best bands out there right now. If you missed them this time around, don't fret. I'm sure they will be back soon, but in the mean time check out The Struts' latest release Pretty Vicious and dream of when you'll get to have your face melted by these bonafide rockstars!
Thanks so much to The Struts management for photo access!
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The Struts
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