Page 57 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine - Issue 100

BV100 pg57_BV100 pg57 12/03/2019 01:07 Page 1

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THE STRUTS / KELSY KARTER / MYOKE – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 27.02.19
It’s been five long years since The Struts last played Birmingham. Granted, they’ve played other UK shows since then, but not Birmingham – so
to say we’re eager to see them is an understatement. They bring with them chanteuse Kelsy Karter, and a duo called Myoke, the latter hailing from
Derby, home of The Struts (or at least guitarist Adam Slack). Both impress the crowd in their own way, Myoke for their experimental sounds; very ex-
pansive for just a guitarist and drummer. Kiwi Kelsy Karter, meanwhile, has more of a soulful pop/rock ‘n’ roll vibe. In case you missed it, she made
the news after announcing that she’d tattooed Harry Styles on her face – later owning up to it being fake, as her single ‘Harry’ – about Harry Styles,
was released. This girl definitely knows how to hit the headlines, although soon it will be because she’s a talented singer in her own right. We can def-
initely see her becoming a fu-
ture starlet. She puts on a cap-
tivating performance and songs
such as ‘Harry’ are catchy,
quirky and fun.
The Struts open with ‘Pri-
madonna Like Me’ and for the
next hour and a half, the crowd
is singing and dancing along
with the band. These guys
know how to write hits and can
back it with quality musician-
ship. Luke Spiller’s voice never
falters. Dressing in a tassled
black and beige suit, he is the
ultimate showman, parading
around the stage while singing
every note to ‘Body Talks’, ‘Kiss
This’ and ‘In Love With A Cam-
era’. They have bright lights,
which help make the show ap-
pear even larger than it is.
Songs such as ‘Dirty Sexy
Money’ and ‘Put Your Money
On Me’ are feelgood and fun.
Adam Slack is quite the master
at guitar solos. The flamboyant
Luke changes tops numerous
times in the set, each having
large draping batwings and
being very shiny. ‘One Night
Only’ sees Luke play piano at
the back of the stage. They
could do with bringing the piano
forward a little though as it’s
hard for those stood on the far
left of the room to see the back
of the stage.
The band switch things up
with their cover of Bruce
Springsteen’s classic ‘Dancing
In The Dark’, which sees them
requesting a female audience
member to join them on stage
to be ‘Courtney Cox’ and sing
and dance with Luke. They also
get the audience involved,
dancing and clapping along
and putting their arms in the air
– then later crouching down
and jumping up. All in all,
there’s a real glitzy let-your-
hair-down and party atmos-
phere for the whole time they’re
on stage and after another
piano-driven number, ‘Ashes’,
that starts the encore, ‘Could
Have Been Me’ ends the night
in high spirits. “We may not be
Radio One’s band or Radio
Two’s band,” says Luke regard-
ing their lack of airplay in the
UK, “but we’re YOUR band”.
That they are – and we hope
we get to see OUR band again
soon. Don’t leave it five years
next time, guys.
YYYYY
Shari Black Velvet

Luke Spiller (The Struts)
Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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