Should Alex Turner be serious about wanting to be one of The Strokes, he may have a bit of trouble with Julian Casablancas. The Is This It mastermind took to the Utilita Arena stage in Newcastle last night with a notion of what the lyrics for some songs may be and a vocal distortion that’d make Daft Punk blush. Ever since he collaborated with the French duo, Casablancas has been unable to shake the idea that he too can be a man of the future by ripping his voice across the electrified times. Reality Awaits proved he couldn’t do that, but at least the classic tracks are still there, and many of those featured during a short and sweet set from the band that started a little earlier than advertised. There’s been a lot of chatter about The Strokes not finishing the full setlist, but that’s what happens when Casablancas wanders around the stage wondering what the lyrics to half the songs are. Set times aren’t flexible for a venue, though The Strokes perform with a blasé attitude that’s becoming a little tired.
That’s not to say The Strokes aren’t worth seeing live. They’re a magnificent band with plenty of hits to choose from, and that they do across a 19-song set. They pull out Reptilia early and, from the back of the venue, you can see the crowd are more than up for a night of hits and thrills. The Strokes provide plenty of those, even when the setlist featured five songs from Reality Awaits. They feel more like breaks for the band than the audience, but the mood does die down somewhat whenever new material is performed. We shouldn’t knock a band for not giving into the legacy act notions, though, The Strokes have a new album and they’ve every right to play as much of it as they want. But the likes of Dine ‘n’ Dash and Tyrants of the Mellow Moon are forgettable at best. Lead single Going Shopping, as simple and tired as it is, does settle somewhat well into the setlist.
You’d be hard-pressed to not enjoy The Strokes’ set, though. Even with Casablancas muttering the lyrics, the distortion so brutal you can hear how many words he got wrong, just not which ones, there’s a real thrill to hearing the likes of Last Nite, The Adults Are Talking, and a selection of First Impressions of Earth. Those three additions were a real surprise but are welcome to the stripped-back style of the band’s stage presence. A few filters on the cameras either side of the stage and an engaging light show that really does amplify the songs, the same way The Prodigy finds energy in the magic of extra tech sightings. It’s as complete a show as you could ask for, production wise. It’s just a shame The Strokes’ frontman doesn’t seem all that interested in revelling in it.
Instead he wanders around the stage in the same delirious fashion as someone coming down with a fever. Blowing through two packets of tissues and having a glass of wine is, in fact, the best way to experience The Strokes. Lucid at the best of times in a set that, somehow, sits as tightly managed yet on the cusp of collapse. They’re a fascinating live band and an up for it crowd pulls it all together, a little more than the band can. More than anything, it sounds like the band has made its peace with the material they’ve often overlooked, with Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth holding their own in a show that ends with a triple bill of Is This It classics. Take it or Leave It, Last Nite, and New York City Cops is hard to beat, though had the band gotten there a bit earlier, we might’ve heard that wonderful Ode to the Mets, a song from the last great album by The Strokes.
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