Pop Break Live: The Struts with Thunderpussy and The Wrecks at The House of Blues in Anaheim, California
A night out with The Struts isn’t a night out with any other band. The Struts don’t just put on a show – they host an event. With two incredible opening acts greasing the wheels of the whole machine propelling the evening forward, The Struts played before a sold-out, Saturday-night crowd at the House of Blues in Anaheim. Even with Disneyland literally around the corner, the true fireworks took place inside the legendary venue.
Starting the night off strong, Thunderpussy took the stage first. Despite the venue appearing so full when the opening act began, it didn’t seem that many people knew much about the Seattle-based female quartet. Quite quickly, however, Thunderpussy would gain a room full of fans. All dressed in either skin-tight leather and fishnets, or gender bending garb, Thunderpussy brought forth a queer 1970’s, classic rock vibe with arena-sized energy. Lead singer Molly Sides ran around the stage, twisting and bending with the guitar’s power chords and punkish drums. Without hesitation, I can say that Thunderpussy are a band on the rise and ones to watch.
Switching gears almost entirely, LA-based band The Wrecks took the stage with quite a different attitude. Lead singer Nick Anderson and crew walked out mostly empty-handed before quickly explaining that the truck that was holding all their gear broke down somewhere in Arizona after the previous night’s show. Obviously, this was pretty devastating for the band – not to mention the several rows of fans toward the front of the stage.
And yet, instead of skipping the whole performance, they turned the unfortunate circumstance into an opportunity. Nick pulled out an acoustic guitar alongside his bandmate, someone else pulled out a tambourine, and somehow a six-pack of beer ended up onstage. In lieu of silence, the Wrecks played what they had – and it was still totally awesome. Even stripped down and acoustic, the band delighted the crowd by inviting a few fans onstage to drink beer (and perhaps smoke an illicit substance or two) and playing a few fan-favorites. They busted out a fun rendition of Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” and their own track “James Dean,” which will surely reaching radio waves soon.
Then, even though the night was quite eventful already, The Struts finally arrived. With heaps of bombast and energy, lead singer and songwriter Luke Spiller danced across the stage like the crowd was voting him to the next round based on his performance. Dressed head to toe in black and white leather with copious fringe hanging off him, Luke lead the band into “Primadonna Like Me.” Something about the song, the iconic setting of the House of Blues, and the band’s performance really transformed the evening into something special almost immediately.
By the time the band began lead single “Body Talks” off their newest record Young and Dangerous, it was quite clear that The Struts were intending on taking the audience on a wild ride of a night. Coordinated clapping, orchestrated singalongs, and audience participation took new tracks like “In Love With a Camera” and old hits like “Dirty Sexy Money” into a totally new realm. When Spiller demanded the crowd jump and live their best lives during “One Night Only,” even grown men in the back of the venue let themselves get lost in the music.
The highlight of the evening came about halfway through the performance when The Struts channeled one of the few heroes they’ve yet to work with so far: Bruce Springsteen. Guitarist Adam Slack stepped into the spotlight from beneath the brim of his hat to begin “Dancing in the Dark,” and bassist Jed Elliott had no problem twirling around while plucking his bass excitedly.
In a wonderful nod to the song’s iconic music video, Spiller searched throughout the crowd for his “own Courteney Cox” to dance with onstage. To everyone’s delight, he chose a young girl named Samantha, who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old and admitted this was her first time seeing The Struts perform. Despite probably having no frame of reference for Springsteen or Monica Gellar’s dancing, Samantha spun around with Spiller in a way that would’ve certainly made The Boss proud.
Whether Luke Spiller was jumping three feet in the air to hype up the crowd, or uncharacteristically sitting behind a new piano, The Struts did more than just perform old and new tracks for the Orange County crowd. They transformed the entire night into one that felt so special and far away from the troubles of the world.
It’s not easy to forget the outside world on a late-night in early November with midterm elections nearing in a heated political year – and yet, The Struts did it. From the first note played to the final bow, the band allowed fans to run away and escape. For that brief hour and twenty minutes of their set, we only existed in a place of love, joy, excitement, and where rock ‘n’ roll was king. We all lived in the world of The Struts.
By Kat Manos
