Finally back on a Milwaukee-area stage for the first time in 15 years, The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas said he knew exactly what the fans wanted: “just three hours of abstract atonal music.”
That Casablancas, what a kidder. What they really wanted, he conceded, was for the band to “play the (expletive) hits,” even though the band has a whole bunch of new material he said they could play. Their seventh studio album, “Reality Awaits,” will be released July 24, but it was barely represented at the 100-minute set at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater July 17.
Casablancas knew that was for the best. Considering the extended absence and challenging weather, The Strokes, still featuring four of the five founding members on stage, was admirably in crowd pleaser mode. And this packed crowd was ecstatic and largely up on their feet, no easy feat, considering how hot and sticky it was in the amphitheater, even after the sun went down.
But that’s the power of a beloved band largely sticking to beloved songs that hasn’t been around in a while. It’s also the effect of a band that still cares, maybe more now than before, and a fan base that, arguably, also cares more than ever.
When debut album “Is This It” came out in 2001, the band’s novel post-punk sound was so different, so cool, it created inflated expectations, and no doubt pressure, that the band couldn’t possibly live up to, even with all the good stuff that came on sophomore album “Room On Fire” two years later.
But with the passage of time, fans came to appreciate The Strokes’ sound and vibe – their influence is frequently apparent on songs from up-and-coming Milwaukee bands – and the band too seemed to push aside outside influences and triumphantly return to form on 2020 album “The New Abnormal.” There were fans clearly around since the beginning in the amphitheater, but scores of young fans who were just babies, or not even born, when “Is This It” came out.
And so when the setlist swiftly moved from one old hit to another – “12:51,” “Take It Or Leave It,” “Last Nite” and “Automatic Stop” all appeared within a six-song stretch – there was a surge of electricity that swept through the amp with each song’s introduction. In fact, the band was in such a giving mood with the old material, they even unleashed “Is This It” standout “Soma for the first time live since 2024.
But it was clear The Strokes weren’t just going through the motions, either. In the pit taking photos during the first three songs, I witnessed a powerful moment where guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. offered a tense exhale before ripping into the tricky and thrilling guitar licks for scorching “Room On Fire” track “Hard To Explain.”
And while fans have cause for concern that founding guitarist Nick Valensi is not on the tour, his future with the band seemingly ambiguous, his replacement Steve Schiltz was sublime handling all the edgy licks and riffs for setlist highlight “Reptilia.”
And true, Casablancas can come off as a bit detached at times, a bit too cool, his onstage persona for decades now. His wardrobe choice was a curious one – a work uniform for food provider Aramark – and he sported shades the whole set.
But Casablancas found ways to infuse his typically nonplussed vocal style with passion in Milwaukee, bringing a pretty falsetto to his croon on “New Abnormal” highlight “Selfless.” And toward the end of the set, even Casablancas was so impressed by the crowd reception, he slipped off those shades to give the fans a better look.
“Damn,” he said with a voice reminiscent of a movie trailer announcer when he came back on stage for the encore. “What a luscious roar.”
It was a roar 15 years in the making.
Cage The Elephant, Thundercat kicked off the night
The Strokes show was special, but not just because the band, after 15 years, finally made it back to the Milwaukee area. It’s the only show on the tour to boast both Thundercat and Cage The Elephant as openers, two dynamite live acts.
Thundercat set the tone first – or technically his drummer Justin Brown, sporting a disco ball helmet and a shirt that read “Distracted,” smashing into the kit with sharp pops and breakneck speed. It was delightful face slap of an intro – but as Thundercat himself demonstrated moments later, merely the beginning. His brown and gold dreads wrapped around his chin like a bonnet, looking totally unbothered in a long sleeve shirt and black leather pants on a scorching night, he turned Brown’s fire into an inferno on bass, striking keys with lightning speed and laser precision for Remi Wolf collaboration “Children of the Baked Potato.” But stunning as Thundercat was on his instrument, he was a true tiger when he had no vocals to worry about, his jamming slipping into freeform jazz, psychedelic space funk and Latin grooves, gritting his smiling pearly whites at one point like he was strapped to a rocket ship. Fitting, considering how out of this world Thundercat sounded.
Cage The Elephant’s Matt Shultz and his brother Brad repeatedly praised the Strokes during their set, saying it was an honor to open for them and that they were their favorite band. They showed their appreciation the best way possible, paying the rock love forward with an electrifying set. Mere moments into opening number “Broken Boy,” Brad jumped down into the security pit, then hopped over the barricade to rock out on guitar surrounded by sweaty fans, trading his shades for one guy’s glasses and rocking out just for him. Meanwhile brother Matt was like a wild animal, jumping around so hard he had to excuse himself to slip his foot back in his shoe. But amidst all the rock star exasperation, the frontman still locked in with bandmates and fans in the pit, ripping through rockers like “Cold Cold Cold,” the band sounding and playing like the Animals on steroids. It was the sort of performance that turns wide-eyed fans into dream big rockers. It’s inevitable that one day there’ll be a kick ass group opening for Cage, telling fans they are their favorite band.
Three takeaways from The Strokes’ Milwaukee concert
Contact Piet Levy at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him at facebook.com/PietLevy.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Strokes serve scorching set at first Milwaukee concert in 15 years
Reporting by Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
