The Struts and Casino Empire live at one of the quirkiest, coolest venues in Leicester – The Cookie Jar. This is the only way you should have spent Halloween this year. A sold out show was on the bill with one of the tastiest line ups that has been offered in a long time. Currently touring the UK, The Struts are performing at sold out venues most nights and the support band Casino Empire are one of the brightest up and coming talents in Leicester. It was a show which no one should have missed.

Due to SuperEvolver pulling because of illness; it was home boys Casino Empire who took to the stage first and they duly delivered. Swaggering on to the stage to cheers and a packed out crowd, frontman Tommy Cobley got the crowd going from the start to finish. Possessing mannerisms from all of the greatest frontmen, from Ian Curtis to Mick Jagger, he put on a show which the crowd won’t forget anytime soon. The rest of the band unsurprisingly aced their parts as well, with lead guitarist Tom Marlow hitting every note to perfection in their original song ‘Shine On’ and drummer Ollie Dennis nailing his solo in their upbeat cover of ‘Rock n’ Roll Star’. The teenagers served up the perfect starter to what was going to be a brilliant night. They’ll be gracing The Cookie Jar again, this time as headliners, on 12^th December for their debut EP launch – a gig which is sure to be brilliant.

Up next was The Spice Gir… Oh wait, I mean the Struts. As it was Halloween the band decided to dress up as the 90’s girl band and surprisingly they looked remarkably similar. At one point in to the set they delved into the famous song ‘Wannabe’, with frontman Geri Halliwell/Luke Spiller singing ‘IF YOU WANNA BE MY LOVER’ – the crowd laughed and sang along as well – it was great to see a band genuinely enjoying themselves on stage.

Unfortunately due to Luke Spiller coming down with a sore throat the set was a few songs short but the band compensated wonderfully. Opening up with ‘Roll Up’, which is also their debut track off their insane debut album, they had the entire sell-out crowd singing along to the catchy chorus. In fact throughout the entire night the ‘Strutters’ never stopped going for it. ‘Could’ve Been Me’ was up next, with the frontman leaning into the crowd making sure everyone was dancing. He didn’t sing a note wrong either, I don’t think anyone could tell that his voice wasn’t 100%.

It was hard to pick just one highlight from the night, in their song ‘Kiss This’ you can tell they have been inspired by The Rolling Stones, whom they’ve supported. Halfway through the set Spiller jumped into the crowd, and started getting the crowd to sing along with him, it was outstanding. Finishing on their hit ‘Where Did She Go’ the sweaty crowd continued until the end – bouncing along to the beat of yet another amazing song.

It was a brilliant night at The Cookie yet again, full of everything: Excellent music, Charismatic frontmen, The Spice Girls… It was a pleasure to see both bands live, especially The Struts who put on a killer performance. It was the first time I’ve seen them perform live and it certainly won’t be the last.  They played Leicester last year, but that time to only 2 people… Instead of over a hundred. It is easy to see how far they’ve come. Although they don’t have tonnes of songs in their repertoire every song they do have is formidable and they translate these songs into unforgettable live performances.

Morgan Russell