The white-hot U.K. group was all swagger and arena-ready anthems in Sayreville
SAYREVILLE -- It's not often a band wrangles retro panache so effectively -- and with such little shame -- that the group can ride to success on audacity of style alone.
Meet The Struts, a white-hot U.K. outfit whose '70s glam gaudiness and Rolling Stones rips are just too intrinsically fun for rolling eyes, lest you miss a new dance pose or platinum smile from Jagger-ific frontman Luke Spiller.
The androgynous singer, whose thick eyeliner and narrow jawline matched him to Joan Jett as closely as to Mick or Johnny Thunders, was the man of a thousand gestures Thursday night, conjuring a fresh vogue, flourish or peacock prance with every downbeat of the group's buoyant pop-rock.
U.K. retro rockers The Struts live at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, Dec. 15, 2016. (Mark Brown | For NJ.com) The night was dedicated to rock as entertainment, and between relentless vocals that reminded both of Freddie Mercury -- what's become a common comparison -- and, more recently, Aussie rock revivalists The Darkness, Spiller, 28, played puppet master to the crowd, urging fans to jump, sway, dance, "ooh," "aah," and party with the rollicking foursome.
It seemed as though every track off the band's anthemic 2014 debut "Everybody Wants," rereleased July 28 as popularity boiled, was written with audience response in mind -- "yeah, let's put four-on-the-floor here so everybody can clap along!"
Again, the entire retro rejuvenation would be contrived, if not for the execution. The album is truly, unabashedly infectious; as I write, the urgent opener "Roll Up" and arena-ready single "Could Have Been Me" battle to be hummed next.
Such electricity suggests larger stages are on the way, though some of rock's top dogs have already come barking.
The Struts -- named for Spiller's antics -- slayed an opening slot on Guns N' Roses' reunion tour in August, to a full baseball stadium in San Francisco. And in 2014, the then-very new four-piece scored a gig supporting muses The Rolling Stones, for 80,000 Parisian listeners who'd never heard of them.
U.K. retro rockers The Struts live at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, Dec. 15, 2016. (Mark Brown | For NJ.com) So naturally, a roaring crowd of 2,000 in Sayreville -- a room double the size of July's sold-out Stone Pony show in Asbury Park -- was all tea and biscuits for the dudes from Derby. Guitarist Adam Slack strummed along dutifully as Spiller spread his arms out wide, popping and shimmying through awesomely rehearsed dance routines for "Kiss This" and "Dirty Sexy Money," direct homages to The Stones at their loosest.
The packed Starland Ballroom audience was addicted from the minute the singer galloped out, as if his shimmering gold jacket had awoken some unknown yearning for rock's bombastic heyday (in a year where guitar music made little impact on mainstream channels). When the band finished up -- only little more than an hour in -- the packed Sayreville club all but pleaded for the group to stay.
But the band will be back soon enough; Spiller mentioned Thursday The Struts are currently working on "album number two," and this sweat-soaked group appears to really love touring, as they have done most of 2016.
Enduring Aussie hard-rockers Sick Puppies opened and reminded us -- or me, at least -- just how effective a tight rock power trio can be: guitar, bass, drums and a scoop of confidence.
Were they Cream? No, but after 15 years in the game, frontman Bryan Scott is still an affable wailer, pumping up the crowd pre-Struts, and bassist Emma Anzai handled the throbbing rhythms of "You're Going Down" and the worthy new single "Where Do I Begin" with just the right intensity.
THE SET LIST
- "Put Your Hands Up"
- "These Times Are Changing"
- "Could Have Been Me"
- "The Ol' Switcheroo"
- "Kiss This"
- "Mary Go Round"
- "Roll Up" (with "I Don't Know" intro)
- "Dirty Sexy Money"
- "Let's Make This Happen Tonight"
- "Put Your Money on Me"
- "Only Just a Call Away"
- Encore:
- "She Makes Me Feel" (acoustic)
- "Where Did She Go"
Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier. Find NJ.com on Facebook.