930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: vansmack on October 20, 2003, 02:58:00 pm
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Smackette is hounding me to get tickets for the Strokes tomorrow night here in NoCal.
Did anybody catch their show at the UMBC fieldhouse last week and could let me know if their new stuff is worth me going? I heard the new song "12:15" and if it took them two years to produce that, I may sit this one out.
I've seen the "Is this it?" stuff a couple of times before and couldn't bare sit through that like I had to sit through Interpol a couple weeks ago.
Any reviews of the UMBC show (or other recent shows) are appreciated. Any thoughts on how much the Strokes suck will be ignored.
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Man.......That show is going to suck.......
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can't you bribe smackette with something else so you don't have to suffer thru a strokes show? they are utter shite.
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Does it help if Kings of Leon are going to open?
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Does it help if Kings of Leon are going to open?
See my post above......
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Does it help if Kings of Leon are going to open?
Actually, it does help. They attract just your kind of crowd -- co-eds.
Which is baffling, considering that the band members are truly ugly.
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BUt THe STROKEs ALBUm Is THe BESt ALBUm EVEr, I KNOw BECAUSe A MARTIAn TOLd Me.
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from the baltimore city paper
Personality Crisis
Review By Bret McCabe
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Strokes
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Fieldhouse, Oct. 11
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If you caught the Strokes' fall 2001 tour after their summer media heat-streak through Europe and Australia, the professionally polished quintet at the UMBC Fieldhouse was a surprise. The messy knot of trebly guitars and nervous snare drums that barely held together for some 30 minutes (which was probably all the songs they knew at the time) has become better packaged and behaved, delivering a well-knit hourlong set liberally mixing its debut hits with songs from the upcoming Room on Fire. Live, the band now acts like it wants to grow into its hype; unfortunately, it makes for a concert almost as rocking as a really bitching dental exam.
Which is too bad, because while the Strokes haven't changed a thing for Fire, they've also become much better at it. They've pushed and pulled the pace away from the too-much-coffee jitters, creating a better dynamic. So while slower numbers like the Cars-esque pop of "What Ever Happened?" and the primitive decadence of concert opener "Under Control" aren't throat grabbers, the Strokes now also have certifiable bleacher shakers in the pulsating "Reptila" and the chugging "You Talk Way Too Much," and two nigh guitar anthems in "The Way It Is" and "The End Has No End." Older songs--the New York Dolls ska of "Last Nite," the Lower East Side Salinger of "NYC Cops," the sigh and pant of "Someday," and the excitable shrug of "Hard to Explain"--got the ample crowd hand-raising, but the band sounds more confident with the new ones, if only because they provide a better pocket for Julian Casablancas' distorted delivery and lethargic anti-presence.
Whether bad-posture stooped at the microphone or skulking around the stage as if it were a 24-hour Laundromat, Casablancas was a study in affected ambivalence, a silent scoff that hangs unnaturally on the young Stroke. It wouldn't look so ill-fitting if the entire band didn't echo it. Standing pretty much stock-still and silhouetted in red and blue light, the Strokes looked less like a rock band than the Bear Jamboree automatons going through the required motions--all, that is, save rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. Aside from sporting a look that is a living composite of Welcome Back, Kotter's Sweathogs and being suave enough to relish being the "other" guitarist, Hammond windmilled his right hand as if he was missing an elbow, shimmied in place like an overexcited puppy, and in general hit the stage like a man who realizes what this whole "rock star" thing is--and wants to enjoy the ride.
http://www.citypaper.com/current/feedback3.html (http://www.citypaper.com/current/feedback3.html)
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Ok, it takes courage to admit this on this board, but I was at the Strokes' UMBC show.
The show itself- musically- was very much like the 9:30 Club show 2 years ago, as opposed to the much worse Constitution Hall show last year, but about twice as long. The band was sharp and in good spirits (actually better spirits than at 9:30) and played with something to prove. (At Constitution Hall they seemed exhausted and going through the motions). The new songs mesh well with the older songs- all variations of the same theme, but no weak song in the set. Some might find it redundant, but I like their sound and the ringing interlocking guitars so I thought the whole set was great.
On a side note, the Strokes could afford to evolve some. Nigel Godrich was a bad call that predictably failed. I'd like to see what Alan Moulder could add to the mix. Just a thought.
UMBC was an interesting place for them to play. Unassuming gym on an unassuming campus. No drinking or smoking . . .just bottled water. It provided all the atmosphere of a high school gym in Iowa. But the crowd on the floor was very into the show, and good vibe all around.
Kings of Leon opened and put on a good show- again assuming you like their sound. They struck me as being a little more purposeful than they were at 9:30 just about a month ago. They still got old after about 15 minutes, though.
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Originally posted by Mobius:
Ok, it takes courage to admit this on this board, but I was at the Strokes' UMBC show.
I dunno, thoughtful, half decently written reviews are always appreciated, by me at least. So was it worth all the effort to see the strokes then or not, in your opinion?
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I was at the UMBC Strokes show.. I could write a long review about it.. but can't afford right now. I'll just say.. it was quite good, thank you much.
unfortunately, it makes for a concert almost as rocking as a really bitching dental exam.
Totally disagree with this guy. What? So if Casablancas would have been jumping around on stage like high-on-crack Fred Durst the show would have been the shiznit? Bahhh.
Ok, it takes courage to admit this on this board, but I was at the Strokes' UMBC show.
Why would it take courage to admit it? Are the Strokes hated around here or something? If you like a band, don't be afraid to admit it. To hell with the hipsters.
Kings of Leon opened and put on a good show- again assuming you like their sound. They struck me as being a little more purposeful than they were at 9:30 just about a month ago. They still got old after about 15 minutes, though.
I dare to disagree. The Kings Of Leon were fantastic. And their debut CD is one of the best I've heard this year. The audience just wasn't familiar with them.
:cool:
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i'm certainly not a hipster... i just happen to feel that the strokes are the most well connected bar mitzvah band on the circuit today.
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i'm certainly not a hipster... i just happen to feel that the strokes are the most well connected bar mitzvah band on the circuit today.
hehehehe, that's pretty funny. The hipster comment wasn't meant for anyone in particular. It's just that there's this annoying elitism practiced by indie music fans as if the band that sells the least records or has the fans who wear the most disheveled clothes wins. No one should be afraid to post about their likes or dislikes of X band. That's all. :cool:
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
i'm certainly not a hipster... i just happen to feel that the strokes are the most well connected bar mitzvah band on the circuit today.
Blame Bob Pollard,it's all his fault!!
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I've heard the "Strokes are boring" argument a lot. Its like saying a baseball game is boring. It a subtle and repetitive game- just a guy throwing a ball, a guy batting a ball, and some guys fielding a ball- but of course it can be extremely exciting and electric, when the context and atmosphere are right. I'd say the Strokes right now are playing playoff baseball and it was worth the trek out to UMBC. . . Better context would have been in the city with a bar, though.
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First time I heard them was when they opened for Doves and they were amazing. I went home thinking they sounded like The Replacements (which sounds stupid, but they were much more all-over-the-place and raw), but was bewildered by the lo-fi sound of The Modern Age ep I picked up at the show. Then saw them again six months later when they headlined the 9:30, after the album came out, and by then it seemed liked they'd settled into their stand-still-and-deliver-the-songs routine. It was only okay.
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Thanks for the reviews. I went to the theater to pick up tickets (and avoid the Ticketbastard surcharge of $7.25 a ticket!) and they don't sell tickets at the box office until 2 hours before the show.
As Smackette is aware of my longstanding fued with ticketbastard, the fate of her seeing the strokes now firmly rest on the availability of tickets at the box office 2 hours before the show.
Therefore, if I should see the strokes, it will be because I was meant to. Or because thousands of other people were smart enough to stay away and I wasn't.
Thanks for your help everyone.
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It should be at best a fun show, at worst, redundant. Not such a big risk.
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i saw the strokes with gbv and was impressed enough to get the modern age ep as well, but like pop rocks the intial fizz was quickly released with a bad taste in my mouth. the lo-fi courtesy pro tools ep did nothing for me. i did buy "this is it" when they re-released with the dvd because it was seven dollars. and was still unimpressed...
the hype machine turned them into bigger stars then they deserved. their success shows how most people have to be spoon fed what they listen to. because they aren't out there supporting the other hundreds of bands that do what the strokes only better. and will continue be around long before and after the strokes. for the price of one strokes ticket one can seen 4 or 5 of these bands working their guts out in clubs.