By Terry Marland, Rock At Night Manchester

Live Review: The Struts – Barns Courtney – James Bruner – The Grand Union Tour – Manchester Albert Hall, Manchester, UK – October 1, 2024

Tonight’s venue is the stunning  Albert Hall. Not to be confused with London’s Royal Albert Hall, the (Manchester) Albert Hall is a Grade II listed Wesleyan chapel in the City Centre, closed and hidden for over 40 years. As explained on the venue’s website The grand and ornate chapel has been restored into a stunning music hall and is set to become one of the most atmospheric music and events venues in the UK.  

This evening’s bill is a double headliner featuring the UK’s own Barns Courtney and The Struts. Billed as the Grand Union Tour the bands are alternating slots and tonight it is Barns Courtney’s turn to  close the evening.

James Bruner 

Support is provided by the emerging James Bruner who hails from Springfield Illinois and delivers an enticing half hour set that draws tracks from his growing back catalogue and includes his latest single “ When I’m Down”,  a deeply emotional and heartfelt  slow burner.  This is about as quiet as it gets as the rest of his set is pretty much full on rock and roll. Playing the support slot on a double headliner could be a tough job but Bruner breezes through it and wins over some new fans tonight. 

The Struts 

Smoke drifts across the empty stage to the strains of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” as the band members arrive one by one. First there’s drummer Gethin Davis who takes his place behind his Welsh flag draped drum kit, then bassist Jed Elliott and guitarist Adam Slack who all receive a rapturous welcome but the loudest reception of all is received for enigmatic front man Jake Spiller who launches into the tongue-in-cheek “Primadonna Like Me” covering every inch of the front of stage while the audience joins in with the chorus. 

Then its straight into “Fall In With Me” and “Body Talks”. Spiller is the consummate front man who as well as being a stunning vocalist is also an orchestrator, ringmaster and cheerleader. The crowd hangs on to every line and responds to every request. His thrusting stage persona is unashamedly influenced by some of the great classic rock front-men but there is more than enough originality to keep this act fresh and relevant. His Mercuryesque vocals are top notch throughout and are skilfully interspersed with playful crowd banter. 

“Too Good at Raising Hell” sees Spiller devilishly using his fingers as horns and by the time new(ish) song and future favourite “ Can’t Stop Talking” is introduced the band is in over-drive and Spiller is soaked in sweat but continues to spiral to new highs. 

In a double headliner show the setlist is always going to be truncated and tonight a few favourites maybe missing but the band tailors its performance to perfection and with its razor sharp delivery it’s a genuine case of less is more.   

Barns Courtney 

On his social media profiles Barns Courtney says of his move to indie label Avenue A and the release of his latest album Supernatural that it enables him to “connect with his fans in a way that he couldn’t before”. Tonight the connection is unmistakeable as together with his band he delivers a powerhouse performance that  leaves the crowd more than satisfied. 

The set kicks off with two tracks from the 2019 album 404 first an explosive rendition of “Fun Never Ends” followed up with  a sublime “London Girls” 

Courtney has an engaging stage presence and his powerful vocals more than fill the iconic venue and has the audience in dance mode from the start. He wields his microphone (Roger Daltrey Style) perilously close to his bandmates while intermittingly taking gulps from his preferred drink before theatrically spraying it across the stage. 

The members of the band are top notch musicians and the heartfelt interaction between Courtney and stellar guitarist Andrew Martin is a key feature of the show.  

He tells the audience that it’s five years since he played Manchester and toasts them before introducing “National Treasure’  from his latest album “Supernatural”. This full-on version receives the loudest cheer of the night so far and there is a similar reaction to the album title track, where Courtney checks out the crowd’s ability to join in with the chorus and seems pleasantly surprised by the more than enthusiastic response.  

While the new songs in the set were personal favourites of mine, older songs including “The Kids are Alright” and “Glitter and Gold” were also notable highlights.  

PHOTO GALLERY

TOUR DATES

Sat Sept 28^th    O2 Academy, Leeds, UK
Sun Sept 29^th   Rock City, Nottingham, UK
Tues Oct 1^st     Albert Hall, Manchester, UK
Weds Oct 2^nd   O2 Institute, Birmingham, UK
Fri Oct 4^th        NX, Newcastle, UK
Sat Oct 5^th       SWX, Bristol, UK
Sun Oct 6^th      Roundhouse, London, UK

Tues Oct 8^th     La Madeleine, Brussels, BELGIUM
Weds Oct 9^th   013, Tilburg, NETHERLANDS
Thurs Oct 10^th Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, GERMANY
Sat Oct 12^th     Bataclan, Paris, FRANCE
Sun Oct 13^th    Docks, Hamburg, GERMANY
Tues Oct 15^th   Vega, Copenhagen, DENMARK
Weds 16^th Oct Huxleys, Berlin, GERMANY
Thurs 17^th Oct Progresja, Warsaw, POLAND
Sat 19^th Oct     Lucerna Music Bar, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
Sun 20^th Oct    Komplex 457, Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Mon 21^st Oct   Fabrique, Milan, ITALY

SOCIAL MEDIA

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Terry Marland

I’vehad a passion for music from an early age starting with the classic rock bands of the late sixties and early seventies. A few years ago I was able to combine my love of music with my interest in photography when I started to secure press passes for bands appearing in local venues close to my home in North Wales. I also had a stint with the good people at Down the Front Media where I worked at a variety of venues across the UK.Aside from gigs I have been a match day photographer with Chester FC for eight years and you’ll find me pitch-side most Saturday afternoons during the football season.

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