A Night with The Strokes

It’s a set of two halves from the Strokes. The opening few numbers seem to reflect the mood of the crowd; a bit damp and only partially interested.

w/ Angels & Airwaves, The Subways 06.18.06 @ Lancashire CCC

Long before they take to the stage, former Blink 182 front man Tom DeLonge (pictured) and axeman Dave Kennedy are being snapped by the teenage- mainly male- element of the crowd as they watch the set by the Subways. They are grinning at being entertained by Tim & Charlotte Subway, who start off at a furious pace with “Suburban Disaster”, “With You” & “Shake/Shake” The focus of thousands of wet dreams, Charlotte bounces across the stage.

When Angels & Airwaves take to the stage, the black shirted brigade have pushed to the front of the barriers and the first bout of crowd surfing begins in earnest. DeLonge is in confident mood, arms outstretched messiah like as the band delver their version of a stadium rock type repertoire. He has grandiose visions of “Going city by city and ruling the planet” because if you want something desperately enough, you can get it. The tools of this attempt include a less aggressive musical version of the Blink 182 catalogue that sometimes veers into U2 territory, whilst trying to remand catchy enough to maintain the interest of the listener. It’s a set of two halves from the Strokes. The opening few numbers seem to reflect the mood of the crowd; a bit damp and only partially interested. Sure the black leather jacketed Julian and company try to get the attention of the crowd, but it’s only when material from the first album, Last Nite, is presented that the crowd start moving and actively taking part. It’s only the second date of their European tour, so maybe the bands are still fine tuning the set list, but set closer “Take it or Leave it” appears to sum it all up.

Photo by Ged Camera