Concert: The Struts

Headliner: The Struts (Genre: Rock)

Opening Act(s): BONES UK and The Glorious Sons

Thoughts: On Wednesday, I went to go see The Struts play at the 9:30 Club. I first came across this band when I saw them ranked on a list as the second best rock group of 2019. This was a phenomenal show, top to bottom. I’ve been watching shows at 9:30 Club for years now, but if you are not familiar, you should definitely check it out at some point. It is probably my all time favorite venue, but that might also be because I have great memories there.

The first band up was BONES UK (started at 8pm), who I had never heard of, but they quickly made their presence felt. They had a very cool sound, and are some hard rocking women. I liked their story about being told they could never play guitar as well as a man because they don’t have big enough hands; they used it as inspiration for their song: “Girls Can’t Play Guitar”. Their cover of David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans” was funny too, because, being from the UK, they were obviously a little nervous to play it in the nation’s capital, and kept clarifying that they weren’t afraid of “all” Americans. The Glorious Sons (started at 8:45pm) seemed like a bunch of buddies that were drinking together, got too drunk, decided to start a band, and it actually worked out for them. They are the 1%. I really enjoyed their show; they were high energy and gave off the vibe that they were just buddies playing a show, not really caring. The music was very good and they definitely have talent. I can’t get the chorus from “Sawed Off Shotgun” out of my head – the drunk woman behind me shouting it in my ear might have permanently lodged it in there – but I don’t mind.

This was a sold out show. I had decided not to drink during the concert, and by the time The Struts took the stage (10pm), those who were drinking had just organically gotten out of my way on their trips to the bar. I ended up being closer to the stage than I think I ever have at 9:30 Club previously. It was a unique performance from start to finish. Greta Van Fleet continue to get compared to Led Zeppelin, and, in the same way, Luke Spiller of The Struts could be compared to a young Mick Jagger. Luke is constantly in motion, either dancing or flying between the different ends of the stage. I am not comparing the band as a whole to the Stones though; they are less edgy, and that seems purposeful. They all were very talented (as expected), and there were some nice solos by Adam Slack on the guitar. The thing that struck me most about this band was how much they got the audience involved without it really feeling forced. You felt like you wanted to participate because the music was so good, instead of the band just asking you to.

If you have not listened to any of the three above bands, I think you would at least find one that strikes a chord with you. It is rare that I feel so strongly about the openers, but them, combined with the great performance of The Struts, makes this one of the better shows I have attended in a while. If you are a fan of The Struts and/or have some musical suggestions please sound off in the comments below!