The Grand Union Tour 2024 co-headlining with Barns Courtney -The Roundhouse, London 6th October 2024
The co-headlining Grand Union Tour kicked off in Glasgow on 27th September with Barns Courtney closing that night. What a treat for me then to have The Struts leading the show tonight at the Roundhouse in London with fab support from their co-headliners and a surprisingly fantastic set from James Bruner.
One key takeaway from tonight’s show was how much of a family we all felt. The whole crowd were together and joining in on the tracks. Apart from the Drumstick Fail (kudos to the lady who dove for the drumstick BEHIND HER), no violence was to be seen haha!
James Bruner
Now the Roundhouse is possibly one of my favourite venues in London where you never feel squidged even if full and a great view from the back if needed so I was a happy bunny as I set out on a very wet, rainy evening to London. The doors opened promptly at 7, and it had already begun to fill up when James Bruner stepped onto the stage and began with what sounded like a very soulful acoustic guitar-only ballad from him – When I’m Down. It was beautiful and soulful, and no indication of what was to come.
James from Illinois in the States was then joined on stage by his supporting band to up the tempo and went into a bluesy rock and roll feel before introducing us to the next track. ‘Bad News’ was a belter, and looking around, everyone was already into it and moving along to the beat. It can be tough being the first band on, but that did not come across at all. And oh my Lord – the guitar solo was so smooth and velvety – yum.
James kept making it interesting by the unpredictability of each track such as going into a slower tempo with the next track ‘Heart a Flame’ which kept us on our toes. It got a great and mellow reception from the crowd. He did it again with the next track and is now one of my favourites – can someone let me know what it is called – can’t be ‘Unknown’? It was so bouncy and I love a good bouncy song. I looked around again and the crowd feeling was mutual.
From the sexy, drawn-out guitar and slow drum beats of ‘Wait For You’ to his last track, ‘Better Days’, a bluesy / Southern rock lead guitar intro with smoky vocals from James, this was a great introduction to an artist who keeps you guessing with his performance. If you were not a fan before, James Bruner did a great job of making you one.
Setlist:
When I’m Down
Bad News
Heart a Flame
Unknown
Wait For You
Alibi
Better Days
Barns Courtney
Now I had not heard of Barns Courtney before, who hails from the UK but spent time in the US as a child, which is a failure on my part as they have been around for a while. I have missed out.
As co-headliner, Barns Courtney obviously had a much longer 75-minute set but coming into this with an open mind, the opening notes on their first song ‘The end is near’ was a pleasant surprise so maybe this long slot is needed?
His performance style on stage (not vocals) reminds me of Steve Tyler or Mick Jagger in their younger days – all those slinky moves. He also jumped onto the drumkit a lot with a drumstick and violently beat the air in time to the music – that was fun to watch. He did hurl said drumstick into the crowd which landed at my feet. I missed out as a kamikaze shorter lady dove two rows back to the floor and scrabbled for the drumstick at my feet. Shocked, I could only watch as she crawled back to her spot with her prize – darn-nammit!
Someone mentioned he was reminded of the Killers with their sound and the next song ‘London Girls’ did go with the vibe; I sort of get this. They remind me of a UK band from that era but just not sure. Their tracks and performance are very singalong like ‘London Girls’ woah woah woahs which the crowd ate up (the theme for all acts tonight).
All the songs were met with bouncing heads and with a lot of synchronised arm waving from us, it did feel like a big party. You could see how much the band were into this. Unlike the previous band – not a negative thing – their tracks do tend to all have a samey feel.
Hearing the fun lyrics ‘Your Knight in shining leather’ to ‘National Treasure’ was a ball but some of that chorus is very much like ‘Fire’ from Kasabian (totally different song to Barn’s track later on). We had ‘Golden Dandelions’ which is such an uplifting, beautiful, bouncy, soulful song to ‘Kicks’ which is a rousing rock’n’roller with a powerful riff.
The last two in Barns Courteny’s set was ‘Fire’ which is deep and banging track was a great way to start winding down their set. There has been constant singing from us all and clapping – my hands hurt and I can see how seamlessly co-headlining could work with the two bands.
‘Fire’ is a banger, and the lyrics are so beautiful. With Barn’s smoky vocals reminiscent of the deep South, it was a treasure to listen to so when they then finished with ‘Young in America’ while ok, it was a bit nothing special to me and I would much rather they finished with ‘Fire’. A band I should have discovered earlier and will remedy that in future.
Setlist:
Fun Never Ends
London Girls
Hands
National Treasure
Supernatural
Glitter & Gold
“99”
Golden Dandelions
Kicks
Fire
Young in America
THE STRUTS
Well, we knew something was happening when Freddie Mercury’s voice came out of the speakers, and we all turned to the stage and the magnificent backdrop showing a London scene and Big Ben. Ooh this looks promising.
The crowd all started clapping – they had been here before and knew what was coming.
It was a loud, rousing start to the night and set such a strong start to the night that everyone’s mood which was already doing bloomin’ well just soared.
Now, we already knew we would be singing all night, so we all sailed through ‘Fallin’ With Me.’ But I sometimes take little notes when reviewing a gig, and for the life of me, I could not work out why I had written the crowd were ‘beep beep beeping’ on ‘Body Talks.’ Don’t ask, but I may have misheard ‘need need need’…though this song is so much fun and soul-lifting. Happy place!
Honestly, this gig is one of my favourites because they created such a feel-good vibe; lead vocalist Luke Spiller knows how to work his crowd. Talk about inclusivity!!
Like the opening act, James Bruner, Luke and the gang kept switching the tempo, but with all songs having catchy choruses that everyone sang and knew well. Luke kept both new and old fans together for each track.
The Struts introduced their new song, ‘Can’t Stop Talking,’ midway, and yes, Luke had given us a very lengthy but enjoyable lesson in how to sing the ooh ooh ooh la la la bits. We all did—all of us—no shame. We all jumped on the la la las and clapped at the bridge section, so this is an awesome track and great to see.
The band slowed it right down with ‘Kiss This,’ but then Luke introduced us to the legs on the 2023 ‘Pretty Vicious’ album cover. No, there was not a pair of random legs pulled out but introduced us to the lady who owned them – Mango In Euphoria. Girl crush started! That got a huge cheer before the band went straight into ‘Pretty Vicious’ and we all bounced and sang along. Adam Slack came forward to perform his guitar solo magic on this track so such a big high as it is my favourite!
I did cringe a little at Luke’s request before ‘In Love With a Camera’—no way I was turning to anyone I didn’t know and taking a selfie (introvert hell), but apparently everyone else loved it, so go The Struts. It was amazing looking at the crowd throughout the set, and I can’t remember the last time I went to a gig that felt so together.
After such a great set, I must admit I was bored with ‘Put Your Money On Me’, though the crowd loved it, sang the words, waved their arms, and clapped a lot. It just felt tame and less vibrant than the other tracks they played. It was a bit soft for me.
Thankfully, the Struts ended the night with their most popular track to date, which is such a stomper—’ Could Have Been Me’. It was the only way to end the show. The intro started, and we were happy. We all knew the words—could we even tell who was singing anymore? All we knew was that we were ending the night feeling like we had just been to the most excellent party in a very Round House.
Setlist:
Primadonna Like Me
Fallin’ With Me
Body Talks
Too Good at Raising Hell
Dirty Sexy Money
The Ol’ Switcheroo
Can’t Stop Talking
Kiss This
Better Love
Pretty Vicious
In Love With a Camera
Put Your Money on Me
Could Have Been Me
WORDS: LUCY WALKER PHOTOS: ROBERT SUTTON PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTO GALLERY
