Glam rockers The Struts recently closed their marvelous show at The Anthem with their thriller “Put Your Money on Me” from their debut album, Everybody Wants. Throughout the show, frontman Luke Spiller totally dazzled the comfortably full house, but he saved his best moment for last.

As The Struts extended the beat of the song, Luke waded down into the heavy crowd, gently yet decisively parting them to clear a path in front of him. He then led the right side and left side of the room in bebop-style singalongs separately and in unison, totally and completely putting the show into showmanship.

The Struts performed at The Anthem on August 1 in support of their excellent new album, Pretty Vicious, released via Big Machine Records in 2023. The band say the album was designed to capture their electric live performances. But after witnessing The Struts easily command the cavernous Anthem with charm and style, how the heck could an album ever truly frame that power? The Struts truly are a band to see live, and everyone at The Anthem became a believer as The Struts graduated from regular appearances at 9:30 Club (max capacity 1,200) to their first performance at The Anthem (max capacity 6,000).

The show as a masterclass in concert brilliance.

Staring the show strong with “Roll Up” from Everybody Wants (2014), The Struts generated an incredible energy that never waned throughout the show. Although Everybody Wants stood out with the star tracks of the show, The Struts pleased the audience with several bangers from sophomore album Young & Dangerous (2018), including “Body Talks” and “Primadonna Like Me,” early in the show.

The Struts had a lot of fun with new album tracks in the top half of the concert with raucous renditions of “Too Good at Raising Hell” and “Bad Decisions.” These songs were expertly crafted for good times, and the audience had *fun* learning them.

Watch the official music video for “Too Good at Raising Hell” by The Struts on YouTube:

As amazing as Luke was, he didn’t carry the show alone of course. He has bandmates that are equally impressive, and the show gave them each moments to shine. Guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies each had great solo moments and each electrified the audience with turns on their respective instruments.

Although each of the four bandmates were extremely beguiling players, Adam was a standout contributor for me at The Anthem show. Beginning the show as a mysterious shaggy figure at stage right, Adam emerged as a fully formed guitar star as the show progressed. In one of the night’s most arresting moments, Luke and Adam as an acoustic pair performed “Mary Go Round” (again from Everybody Wants) at the concert’s midpoint. The Anthem lit up with smartphone lights as Luke invited everyone to shine their beacons to complement the song’s emotional beats. The audience sang along with heartfelt feeling to the refrain of the torch song: “Mary go round and round and round/Mary go up, Mary go down/Mary go round.”

Of course, not to be outdone, drummer Gethin shattered the tranquility with a monster percussive solo that left the house screaming for more. It was a total smash, literally and figuratively!

As Jed noted toward the end of the show, the performance was a special opportunity for The Struts, as they opened The Foo Fighters on the inaugural night of The Anthem on Oct. 12, 2017. Those of us who saw them then (myself included) knew immediately that we were witnessing something remarkable, and we had no doubt The Struts themselves would one day headline the venue.

The Struts blazed through the last leg of the show to that wonderful moment with Luke parting the audience through “Put Your Money on Me.” They returned for a three-song encore that began with the title track of Pretty Vicious (2023), continued with “One Night Only” from the special edition of Young & Dangerous, and closed with “Could Have Been Me,” their very first single and still one of their best stompers.

Go see The Struts and dance and sing your heart out.

You’re only going to see them on the biggest stages from now forward!

Here are some photos of The Struts performing at The Anthem on August 1, 2024. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.