Photos by: Barry Sigman

Words by:  Gina Sigman

March 28 Santa Barbara CA----We don't know about you but we are LUKE HOT for the Struts!  That is, hot for front guy lead singer, Luke Spiller who took the stage in Jacksonesque spangles and skinny jeans; drawing rave reaction from the crowd.  Lead guitarist Adam Slack (who is no slacker himself), bassist Jed "the head" Elliot,  and drummer Gethin Davies comprise the British band which has been slammin' out tunes since 2010.  Spiller's flashy, classic rock style , vivacious spirit and croaky vibrato vocals can be traced back to his childhood, growing up in a Victorian-like town and listening to Queen and Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson and Led Zeppelin.  Spiller refers to that type of Queen music sound as "Victorian Rock-n-Roll".  Whatever he or anyone else likes to call it, the combination of romantic angst and wailing harmonic guitar sounds with heavy background drums, holds the silver key to many fans' hearts.  If they'd forgotten the words or had no queue monitor, the fans would have been there to help them out. Songs such as the hit, "Kiss This", had fans singing every word in detail.  As Spiller stepped off stage during one of his songs and walked the narrow phone-lit path the crowd made for him, he almost appeared angelic as if walking on water instead of the concrete floor it was.  He didn't disappoint the fans nor did they him as they respectfully allowed him to walk among them without touching a hair of his clothing.  The show was an anomaly of sorts, being at such a small venue but the effects were surreal. The Velvet Jones, which only holds about 300 people, packed them in like sardines for the sold-out Monday night show.  The Struts are no strangers to big crowds.  In 2014, they opened for the Rolling Stone's show in Paris, playing for 80,000 screaming fans.  Since then, the band has relocated to Los Angeles and is out touring the US this spring and summer promoting their latest album, Everybody Wants.

Page 2 of 2 — 48 pictures in album

Page 2 of 2 — 48 pictures in album