{"id":919399,"date":"2026-10-07T12:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/919399\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:36:12","slug":"the-strokes-live-in-london-playful-proof-theyve-still-got-the-goods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/919399\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strokes live in London: playful proof they\u2019ve still got the goods"},"content":{"rendered":"

The three towers of lights beaming onto The Strokes<\/a> might resemble those of an industrial-sized jukebox, but the band aren\u2019t here to act as our music machine. \u201cIf you want us to never play a song, request it,\u201d frontman Julian Casablancas<\/a> responds when a fan shouts out a song title early on tonight (October 6), the first of two shows at London\u2019s The O2. \u201cI\u2019m like The Hulk \u2013 I feed on your rage.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been just over three years since the New Yorkers were last in town to headline All Points East<\/a> in 2023, and things feel different. They\u2019ve never been the type of band to prioritise crowd-pleasing over their vision, but there was a while when it felt like they were going through the motions for the paycheque that comes with being in such a revered band. Since releasing their latest album \u2018Reality Awaits\u2019<\/a> in July and touring it at shows across the US, though, there\u2019s been a palpable shift: whisper it, but it seems like The Strokes might just be enjoying being The Strokes again.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something distinctly playful about Casablancas in particular tonight. He begins \u2018Going Shopping\u2019 by ad-libbing new lines and announcing, mid-first verse, that he\u2019s going to attempt a \u201cWalton Goggins imitation\u201d<\/a> in a nod to the track\u2019s music video. Throughout the set, he twists lyrics (the last word in \u2018Juicebox\u2019\u2019s \u201cFor a while, it was nice, but it\u2019s time to say bye\u201d becomes a good-natured \u201cfuck off\u201d), and follows the Alex Turner<\/a> playbook of slowing down fan favourites, catching the audience singing along out with his new pace. During \u2018Gratisfaction\u2019, parts of which are delivered with a Dylan<\/a> rasp, he turns to drummer Fab Moretti and asks: \u201cYou like that old-time rock\u2019n\u2019roll, Fab?\u201d When his bandmate doesn\u2019t respond, Casablancas bends down to peer at him through his drum kit.<\/p>\n

High spirits aside, there are some slightly jarring things about tonight. It takes a while to adjust to the absence of guitarist Nick Valensi, who is currently on a \u201ctemporary break\u201d<\/a>, although Longwave\u2019s Steve Schiltz does a respectable job as his stand-in. It\u2019s also odd to see the crowd give The Strokes the arena act treatment, a sea of phone flashlights going up for \u2018Call It Fate, Call It Karma\u2019, \u2018Under Control\u2019 and \u2018Ode To The Mets\u2019.<\/p>\n

But neither gripe can hold the band back from greatness. Tonight\u2019s setlist is delectably good. There are plenty of classics peppered throughout, from early hitters \u2018Reptilia\u2019 and \u2018Heart In A Cage\u2019, to a thrashy \u2018New York City Cops\u2019 and an incendiary \u2018Take It Or Leave It\u2019, while newer material like \u2018Dine N\u2019Dash\u2019 and \u2018Tyrants Of The Mellow Moon\u2019 allow the five-piece to venture into more intriguing territory. A cover of Blonde Redhead<\/a>\u2019s \u2018This Is Not\u2019 is unexplained but pretty, and set closer \u2018Ode To The Mets\u2019 makes a last-minute bid for highlight of the set.<\/p>\n

After \u2018Gratisfaction\u2019, Casablancas hands the mic to bassist Nikolai Fraiture, who nods to some of the band\u2019s earliest gigs in London at venues far smaller than The O2. In the 25 years since their first UK show, The Strokes have had their ups and downs, and their moments when it felt like they\u2019d rather be doing anything but playing together. Right now, though, they\u2019re firmly on a high \u2013 doing things their way and sounding as vital as they ever have.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Strokes\u2019 Nikolai Fraiture live at The O2. Credit: Jenna Murray
\nThe Strokes played:<\/p>\n

\u2018Lonely In The Future\u2019
\u2018Reptilia\u2019
\u2018The Adults Are Talking\u2019
\u2018Heart In A Cage\u2019
\u2018Dine N\u2019Dash\u2019
\u2018Hard To Explain\u2019
\u2018Automatic Stop\u2019
\u2018Going Shopping\u2019
\u2018Going To Babble On\u2019
\u2018New York City Cops\u2019
\u2018Tyrants Of The Mellow Moon\u2019
\u2018Juicebox\u2019
\u2018Gratisfaction\u2019
\u2018Call It Fate, Call It Karma\u2019
\u2018You Only Live Once\u2019
\u2018Meet Me In The Bathroom\u2019
\u2018Someday\u2019
\u2018Evening Sun\u2019
\u2018Take It Or Leave It\u2019
\u2018Under Control\u2019
\u2018This Is Not\u2019 (Blonde Redhead cover)
\u2018Last Nite\u2019
\u2018Ode To The Mets\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The three towers of lights beaming onto The Strokes might resemble those of an industrial-sized jukebox, but the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":919400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,1770,136],"class_list":["post-919399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-indie","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=919399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/919400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=919399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=919399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=919399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}