{"id":79726,"date":"2018-07-11T22:43:23","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T02:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=79726"},"modified":"2018-07-11T22:43:23","modified_gmt":"2018-07-12T02:43:23","slug":"martial-artists-acrobats-tianjin-amaze-audience-2-3-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=79726","title":{"rendered":"THE STRUTS DELIVERED A HIGH ENERGY SHOW TO A SOLD OUT MUSIKFEST CAF\u00c9 &#8211; Review &#038; Photographs by Diane Fleischman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.df-foto.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Review &amp; Photographs by Diane Fleischman<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fans lined the spiral staircase from the ground floor straight up to the third floor of the Musikfest Caf\u00e9 for The Struts concert Tuesday night. The show sold out fast, equally matched with this band\u2019s talent and popularity.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"su_carousel_69f46b69d0fb0\" class=\"su-carousel su-carousel-centered su-carousel-pages-yes su-carousel-responsive-yes su-lightbox-gallery\" style=\"width:100%\" data-autoplay=\"3000\" data-speed=\"600\" data-mousewheel=\"true\" data-items=\"2\" data-scroll=\"1\"><div class=\"su-carousel-slides\"><div class=\"su-carousel-slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1019r.jpg\" title=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1019r-182x200.jpg\" alt=\"DSC_1019r\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"su-carousel-slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1056r.jpg\" title=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1056r-182x200.jpg\" alt=\"DSC_1056r\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"su-carousel-slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1151.jpg\" title=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1151-182x200.jpg\" alt=\"DSC_1151\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"su-carousel-slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1221r.jpg\" title=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-3\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1221r-182x200.jpg\" alt=\"DSC_1221r\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"su-carousel-slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1479r.jpg\" title=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-4\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSC_1479r-182x200.jpg\" alt=\"DSC_1479r\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"su-carousel-nav\"><div class=\"su-carousel-direction\"><span class=\"su-carousel-prev\"><\/span><span class=\"su-carousel-next\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"su-carousel-pagination\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Struts hail from the U.K., a four piece band consisting of Gethin Davies on drums, Adam Slack on guitar, Jed Elliott on bass, and front man, Luke Spiller, who singlehandedly may have brought back glam fashion.\u00a0 Their music has a strong metal base, but often very melodic, with many punches of pop.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As the show began, each band member greeted the crowd, and started to play.\u00a0 This provided the grand introduction for Spiller to take the stage and meet his adoring Bethlehem fans. The anxious crowd applauded and screamed which brought the excitement to a fever pitch.\u00a0 \u00a0They opened with \u201cPut Your Hands Up\u201d with bass and drum lines that punched hard enough the entire room shook, and as the song title indicated, the audience clapped and waved with their hands high in the air.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The energy continued to build as \u201cBody Talks\u201d followed, Spiller covered the entire stage with his larger than life high energy dancing.\u00a0 It has been said that Spiller carries a stage presence similar to Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury, and I\u2019d have to agree.\u00a0 Spiller\u2019s presence is over the top, dance and \u00a0theatrical movements that he pulls off with ease.\u00a0 His vocals are versatile and full, and I noticed he even rolls his \u201cR\u201ds in a most regal way.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Struts also slid into the set list some new songs, from their long awaited second album, like \u00a0\u201cFire (Part 1)\u201d and \u201cPrimadonna Like Me\u201d, a slightly cheeky fun song full of pop pizzazz.\u00a0 Spiller removed his gold-fringed jacket, as her performed in a short sleeve sequined shirt. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The crowd went crazy and clapped along during \u201cKiss This\u201d, an early favorite of the night, also it seemed the most phone-recorded song.\u00a0 \u201cDirty Sexy Money\u201d followed, then \u201cLet\u2019s Make This Happen Tonight\u201d, which featured a long vocal solo between Spiller and the crowd, very similar to what you might expect at a Queen concert. Spiller controlled the crowd, when he said \u201cJump\u201d, the crowd eagerly followed his command.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With true British charm, Spiller explained the history of the band. He explained that the band was not well received in England, and that once they came to the States, their music took off.\u00a0 The Struts have been touring as the opening band for The Foo Fighters for the past nine months, and when lead singer of the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, was interviewed after the Wembley concert, he proclaimed that The Struts are the best opening band.\u00a0 Spiller admitted his phone started ringing after that statement.\u00a0 \u201cWe absolutely love them.\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell you everything the band has done for us.\u201d\u00a0 He humbly thanked the audience, \u201cWe will always be your band.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">They covered Bruce Springsteen\u2019s classic hit, \u201cDancing in the Dark\u201d, punched up with fast beats, and similar to Springsteen\u2019s video of the song, a lucky fan was pulled onstage to sing and dance with Spiller. \u00a0The set closed with \u201cPut Your Money on Me.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The crowd howled and chanted which brought The Struts back out for an encore of \u201cCould Have Been Me\u201d, and \u201cWhere Did She Go\u201d. Spiller had changed into a full sequined suit, jacket with long tails, and an oversized top hat.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">One thing is for certain at a Struts concert, no one sits on the sidelines.\u00a0 This is a full on audience participation event, whether one is clapping, singing along, jumping, or dancing, the audience becomes just as overheated and sweaty as the band at the end of the night. \u00a0The Struts possess a very large presence on stage, commanded the power of music, and in return, the audience is given a completely satisfying performance experience.\u00a0 Catch The Struts as their tour continues through September.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><div class='adkingprobanner sidebar banner3023'><a href='http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/' target=\"_blank\" data-id='3023' data-ga='{\"campaign\":\"\",\"banner\":\"\",\"implemented\":\"universal\",\"imp_action\":\"Impression\",\"click_action\":\"Click\"}'><img src='https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inpostblank.jpg' alt='' \/><\/a><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><div class='adkingprobanner sidebar banner7036'><a href='http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com' target=\"_blank\" data-id='7036' data-ga='{\"campaign\":\"\",\"banner\":\"\",\"implemented\":\"universal\",\"imp_action\":\"Impression\",\"click_action\":\"Click\"}'><img src='https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/inpostblank.jpg' alt='' \/><\/a><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?post_type=adverts_posts&p=7036\" class=\"read-more\">Click here to read more... <\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79732,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5716,2290,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allentown","category-diane-fleischman","category-photography"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Struts-Bethlehem.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79726"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/79732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}