Page 38 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 111

BV111 pg 38-41 The Struts.qxp_BV111 pg 38 14/12/2024 23:15 Page 1

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THE STRUTS / BARNS COURTNEY – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 02.10.24

Barns persuaded a
member of the audience
to throw their phone to
him so he can film a video
before passing it back,
while final number, ‘Fire’,
sees the audience crouch
down, before Barns
climbs over the barrier
and makes his way into
the middle of the room,
before urging the crowd to
jump up again all around
him. Barns Courtney’s dy-
namic set keeps everyone
captivated – and he is well
worth going to see, with or
without The Struts.
After a half-hour
change over, The Struts
turn up the electricity,
kicking off with the ex-
ceedingly energetic ‘Pri-
madonna Like Me’. The
boys are full of beans,
particularly frontman Luke
Spiller, who is dressed in
a red, satin, flared-
sleeved shirt with tasselly
trousers that shake
around as Luke moves.
Guitarist Adam Slack is
wearing an Aston Villa
Long term friends The Struts and shirt, particularly appropri-
Barns Courtney make the perfect co- ate considering that Villa
headliners for a UK tour. And with up- were playing Bayern Mu-
and-coming American singer/ nich in Birmingham on the
songwriter James Bruner opening what same evening – and won.
is known as The Grand Union Tour, it’s Obviously Adam’s support
a quality evening from start to finish. subconsciously helped!
The last time The Struts performed
in Birmingham was in July 2022. We
remember it well, as three days later
we tested positive for Covid for the first
time – and we’re pretty sure we caught
it from someone at the show.
Two years later and, hopefully,
there aren’t quite as many bugs flying
around. Although, one thing we do
catch is a penchant for Barns Court-
ney, who performs a very impressive
show. He has a full hour to do his
thang, and he makes good use of his
time, playing singles such as ‘National
Treasure’, ‘Supernatural’ and the
stomping ‘Glitter & Gold’, where he
manages to combine indie and rootsy
rock ‘n’ roll. He has a light-up micro-
phone, he stands on a stool at one
point, as well as climbing up some
speakers on one side of the stage. His
guitarist Andrew Berkeley Martin is par-
ticularly glamorous with long hair and
sparkly trousers, bending backwards
occasionally, creating rock star poses
– some of you may have seen him on
tour with Palaye Royale previously.

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