THE STROKES – MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NY – 1st April 2011

(The Strokes/Elvis Costello and the Imposters/Devendra Barnhart)

Before you read this review, I must pay special thanks to my fellow NY gig going junkie and friend, Jerry Miller for putting this together. He attended this one on my behalf and given we are very much aligned in our musical tastes and opinions, I feel comfortable with posting this in my blog.

Heading to see the Strokes at MSG, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The truth be told, I am neither the most knowledgeable nor ardent ‘Strokes’ fan. ..Nor am I overly familiar with their hits, lyrics or live pedigree.  I do however go to a lot of rock concerts and consider myself pretty qualified with four years of gig going on the NYC music scene under my belt.

I missed the opening band and arrived just in time to see Elvis Costello do an impromptu 3 song set get underway with ‘Pump It Up’.  I had seen Elvis Costello before during a taping of his Sundance Channel show and on that particular evening he played with Ray LaMontagne, Lyle Lovett, and John Prine, whose grouping seemed way more normal to me than Elvis Costello and The Strokes.  I guess the one thing they do both share in common is that they are NYC music institutions.

The Strokes got started in the Lower East Side of NY at Arlene's Grocery and their sound, to me, has never really strayed from that inception. They don't really strike me as an arena band…they sound like a small club band. The fact that they now almost exclusively play these huge arena/festival style shows is a little strange to me given that they remind me more of the Ramones at CBGB type band than Muse at Reading.  However, after seeing them live, I think I “get it”…at least a little. This show surprised me in a lot ways from a normal arena show: 

-  The fans were really into it, belting out every word of every song and there was very little chit chat during songs (oftentimes the cost of doing business at an arena show).

- The band was light on banter in between songs (personal pet peeve of mine when bands talk too much instead of getting on with the job at hand).

- With the exception of Elvis Costello and Julian singing from the audience, there were no gimmicks/Spinal Tapesque arena rock stunts. No major light shows, moving stage parts or home videos which often distract from the music.

On the negative side, the show had a few lulls where the band seemed to lose the crowd in parts, but nothing that derailed the show completely. 

Overall, I would give the show a pass mark and ultimately say that I think the Strokes would be better served in a smaller venue which in my opinion reflects the character of the band far more. That said, they did a solid job in The Garden and that is no mean feat. Rating 7/10

The Strokes set list
Is This It
Reptilia
Under Cover of Darkness
Hard to Explain
Last Nite
Juicebox (Julian jumps into the GA pit audience)
Someday
You're So Right
Under Control
You Only Live Once
New York City Cops
Games
Whatever Happened
Taken For A Fool (with Elvis Costello)
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Ask Me Anything
The Modern Age
Gratisfaction
I Can't Win
Take It or Leave It (Julian sings in the audience)