By: Andrea Myers, David de Young
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The Strokes at the Orpheum - Photo courtesy of TheRockNRollStar
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I had heard many tales of the Strokes back in their 2001 haze, after being officially proclaimed the band that would save rock and roll (a genre that, apparently, needs saving at least once every couple of years or so). And though I had never seen them live before, I was expecting somewhat of a replay of their shows I had heard about at 7th Street Entry, when Julian Casablancas was so completely tee-rashed that he could barely keep both feet on the stage. A lot has changed over the past five years, including Casablancas' level of alcohol consumption, the Strokes' musical direction, and the band's overall presence on the increasingly large stages they have been playing around the world.
The Strokes appear to have overcome the pressures of success, giving a streamlined, clean-cut performance to the mesmerized crowd and pummeling through from one song into the next. Casablancas shuffled around the stage coolly, dressed in tight pants and huge white sneakers that screamed 80s retro. The rest of the members remained mostly motionless, at times bobbing around a bit but mostly standing still in deliverance of their smoothed-out rock. Though it was clear that the Strokes' had many die-hard fans in the audience that were clinging to their every note, it seemed to me that they floated through their set at times and relied on the hits off of their debut album, Is This It, to get the most excited reactions from the crowd.
David's take:
Two days after the Strokes played the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minneapolitan music fans were still talking about it. Most interestingly, many of the people doing the talking didn't even attend the show, a sure sign this band is still a touch point for a diverse array of musical discussions ranging from the state of indie rock in general, to questions of selling out, to what factor privilege has in success, and issues of musical derivativeness. The list goes on.
Though I found Tuesday's performance a bit underwhelming overall, there were still enough moments of the kind of energy I attend rock shows for to make the ticket price worthwhile. And even without witnessing or hearing anything stupendous, it was still the best of the batch out my five or six experiences seeing the Strokes live, and that includes performances as far ranging as England's Reading Festival in 2001 and at the Entry that same fall my colleague Andrea references above.
Most importantly, the fans were thrilled, and the band was appreciative and gave back the love. More power to Julian Casablancas and the boys for sticking to their guns and continuing through three better than decent albums to produce what is at its heart well-intentioned, honest, high quality rock. All the way up in the balcony, I felt the sincerity of the performance. And in spite of it all (and at the risk of being shot by some of my music snob friends) I still think these kids are alright.
Related links:
Location Info:
Orpheum Theatre
Artist Info: Eagles of Death Metal, The Strokes
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