The Strokes: Live
Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca9/17/06
The Strokes have only been around five years, but already those sharp-guitar edges seem a little dull. Everything is in sync, true, but the question as to how exciting their retro-indie style can be after three albums hovers in plain view. Although they played an early show at Cornell University (students were tucked in by 11 P.M.), they had already lost a little of the crowd's interest (at less than half capacity, there didn't seem to be all that much interest to begin with) thanks to opening act Calm Chaos, a Godsmack-meets-Papa Roach aggro hybrid from Sweden that clearly shared no musical ground with the post-punk headliners.
Thankfully, the Strokes saved a sagging evening with a musically tight, entertaining set. Frontman Julian Casablancas, sounding more and more like a drunk, slurring Rufus Wainwright of late, charmed the audience with clichéd praises of Ithaca ("Ithaca is f**king gorges, man") and Cornell University ("Man, if I went here, I would study Greek Mythology. Or Chemical Engineering. Or Sanskrit."). His retro posturing and half-intelligible stage banter kept the crowd engaged, even though "sincere" ballads like "Anything to Say" bogged down the performance—by the time Casablancas moans, "I've got nothing to say," you come close to believing him. During their encore, The Strokes played a cover of "Walk on the Wild Side," finally putting to rest any speculation as to whether Julian still sounds like Lou Reed or not (he does).
Their set drew equally from their three releases, and newer songs like Room On Fire's "Reptilia" and First Impression of Earth's surfer-schizoid "Juicebox" displayed the band's improved tautness, despite the occasional bloated guitar solo (of which Valensi in particular seemed guilty). That said, the audience clearly preferred their Is This It?–era songs: "Hard to Explain," "Last Night," "The Modern Life" and encore-closer "Take It or Leave It" elicited raucous screams, crowd-surfing, and sweaty moshing.
Their show was a total package—tight performances, good acoustics, a fog-swirled stage, flashing graphic equalizer-styled lighting and a strong catalog—and yet somehow, there is that nagging criticism that the band is, at heart, an empty calorie. Perhaps road shows like this one will put those "style over substance" accusations to rest. Whether Julian and Co. have that kind of fortitude remains to be seen.
