CONCERT REVIEW: Unstoppable Energy From The Struts At 013

It had been a little over a year, but this past Wednesday, The Struts were back in the Netherlands. Along with James Bruner and Barns Courtney, they made it a night to remember at 013 in Tilburg.

The doors opened around 6:30 PM, and half an hour later, it was time for James Bruner to kick off the show. I hadn’t listened to his music before, but he pleasantly surprised me. Together with the other musicians, there was a great energy on stage. I thoroughly enjoyed his set and will definitely listen to him more often. I’d describe the vibe of his music as fairly dark, but in a very pleasant way. It was a shame that his set was short, but I’ll certainly keep an eye on him in the future.

After James Bruner’s set, it was time for Barns Courtney. While waiting in the venue, it became clear that many fans had come to the show specifically for him. Unlike James Bruner, I had listened to Barns before. He opened his set with the song Fun Never Ends, and what a banger of an opener it was. The energy was incredible, and you could feel it even at the back of the venue. There was a lot of interaction with the crowd. At one point, the singer tried to take Polaroid pictures with a fan’s camera, but it didn’t quite work out. I loved the vibe of the entire performance. The audience was fully engaged, and there was plenty of dancing. Toward the end of his set, the singer thought it’d be a good idea to stage dive. I hope it worked out better for him in other venues than it did in Tilburg. He didn’t get far into the crowd, and from where I stood, it looked like he almost hit the ground a few times.

After Barns’ energetic set, it was time for The Struts at about 9:25 PM. I had seen them last year in Utrecht, and they blew the roof off. So, I was curious to see if they could do the same in the larger venue of 013. And boy, did they live up to expectations. The band opened with Primadonna Like Me, and I immediately felt the floor shaking. They kept up the momentum with Fallin’ With Me and Body Talks.

There weren’t any slower songs during the set, which I didn’t mind at all. It was a party from start to finish. Frontman Luke Spiller frequently exchanged glances and gestures with the front rows, while encouraging the entire crowd to sing along to certain parts of the songs. The band also played a new track that will be released on October 18th, 2024. Since no one had heard the song Can’t Stop Talking before, Luke taught the audience the basics of the song. Man, what a great song!

As mentioned earlier, there was a lot of interaction with the audience. At one point, there was even a contest to see which side of the venue was the loudest—the side of guitarist Adam versus the side of bassist Jed. To judge this fairly, a path was cleared through the middle of the audience so that Luke could stand in the crowd. In the end, both sides were declared winners.

If you want to have a great night, I highly recommend going to a show by The Struts. The interaction is fun, the atmosphere is great, and even if you don’t know any of the songs, you’ll still find yourself singing along.