The Struts takeover SOMA San Diego

It was an epic evening on Friday, February 28th as glam-rock group The Struts — hailing all the way from Derby, Derbyshire, England — hosted the first show of their ‘Tour de California’ at SOMA San Diego. The four-date run featured Starcrawler, an up-and-coming local band from Los Angeles, California. Starcrawler’s lead singer, Arrow De Wilde, demanded the the attention of the completely packed room, with a fresh take on a headbanger’s ball. The best way to describe the visual performance (along with the perfect blend of 70s rock-inspired, punky grunge) is hair whips, fast-paced body movements and lots of crab walks. Yep — I said crab walks! Starcrawler’s Austin Smith, Henri Cash and Tim Franco gracefully backed up De Wilde’s performance, complete with energetic guitar whips, poses for the audience and facial expressions to match. You’re going to have to check out this dynamic group out for yourself! These Cali natives were the PERFECT opener for what was to come next — The Struts.

From what was honestly the best live performance I have ever witnessed in my life, I am stoked to see these guys hosting yet another headlining tour this year!

After many minutes of tedious guitar tunings and sound checks, the lights finally dimmed and the crowd went wild. The band entered, starting with drummer Gethin Davis, followed by bassist Jed Elliot, guitarist Adam Slack and, finally frontman extraordinaire, Luke Spiller. The crowd was LOSING it; people of all walks of life came together in this moment, while Spiller graciously bowed for the crowd. They started it off as anybody would expect of The Struts, bringing to the table, high energy, constant movement. Spiller spent much of his time in the faces of the crowd, getting his lyrics shouted back at him and loving every second. The fans were stoked to hear “Young And Dangerous” right off the bat, followed by “Body Talks” and “Kiss This”. Just when I didn’t think the room could get any louder, Spiller asked the crowd “are you ready to sing?” and gets on a grand white piano to bring a brilliant performance of “One Night Only”. From what was honestly the best live performance I have ever witnessed in my life, I am stoked to see these guys hosting yet another headlining tour this year! Check them out as they headline the Make It Big Tour in America this spring. They start out in Boston on May 22nd and continue through the summer with their last American date in Fort Wayne, IN on June 27th. After that, you can catch them throughout festival season across the world, playing many world-renowned festivals such as Bospop Festival (Netherlands) and Mad Cool Festival (Spain). Don’t miss them!

Photography by Delfina Glover & Franny Kovacs

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