Friday, November 21 – Julian Casablancas, solo artist and singer of The Strokes, made a stop in Toronto on his North American tour to support his new sophomore album, Tyranny (which we review here). The setting was Toronto’s venue, Kool Haus. Waiting for Casablancas to step on stage, the air smelled of weed and the crowd felt ripe with anticipation—understandably so, as Julian has rarely played shows outside of New York in the past few years and the future of the Strokes touring as a band these days seems cryptic at best.
Emerging on stage to massive applause, Casablancas was backed by The Voidz, a band whose haircuts, like Julian’s, give the impression that they handed their hairdressers a picture of the Muppets for inspiration. Dressed in a Houston Basketball jacket that would be decidedly un-rock and roll on anyone but Julian, he and the band started off with Xerox, a track from the new album.
Prior to the performance, I wondered how the songs from Tyranny—an effort that is massively ambitious at best and arguably a whole lot of noise at worst opinion—would translate live. But after less than the first verse, I was sold. While Tyranny is an album that might be hard for any non-avid fan to embrace on record, I might argue that it’s one that doesn’t truly come to life until it is played live. Casablancas must have had similar sentiments, as he strayed from it for only three songs.
Throughout the show, Casablancas sauntered around the stage, playing Father Electricity, Crunch Punch, and Business Dog (amongst others) with dance moves that were remarkably unlike Jagger. What is incredible about Julian is that, just as in interviews, he is easily the most awkward performer that I have ever seen. The only difference is that on stage, he seems to emit a genuine excitement and enthusiasm that his nonchalant interviews always seem to lack. Yet as awkward on stage as he may be—even asking the audience themselves if they feel as awkward as he would in their position— Casablancas still managed to have the entire crowd hanging on his every word. Between songs he would stop for strange yet amusing near-feminist rants and even spit when an audience member asked him to play a specific Strokes song, (“I hate playing that song live.”) but the entire display had the audience enthralled. Going so far as to tell some enthusiastically yelling fans, “I’m fucking talking, shut the fuck up” (a comment that was met with thunderous cheers, to which he backtracked: “I’m kidding, I love you)” it was clear that Julian’s on stage charisma is still as effortlessly, well, cool, as it has ever been… with or without the Strokes behind him.
Now, for the three questions I know any fans are probably wondering: first off, Did Julian Casablancas + the Voidz play Human Sadness? Yes. The band tackled the eleven minute long song live. It was actually one of the standout performances, and not once during it did a single audience member seem bored or over-extended. Second, Is the new band as good as The Strokes? While the Voidz’ sound might be an acquired taste and nothing like The Strokes, collectively, their musicianship doesn’t pale in comparison. Guitarist Beardo’s amazing head-to-toe floral attire was also worth mentioning. Thirdly, Did they play any Strokes songs? Surprisingly, given Julian’s previously stated reaction, yes. Julian threw off the audience by saying, “We’re going to do a cover song” before delving into Ize of the World. This song got one of the strongest crowd reactions, a phenomenon that must have been at least mildly irritating for the band. They also played River of Brakelights from Julian’s first solo album and encored with I’ll Try Anything Once, to which the crowd went insane, leading Julian to cheekily ask, “should I even play the second verse?” Julian and the band then closed the show the same way they started, with Dare I Care, another track from the new album.
Verdict: 4.5 out of 5 – The entire spectacle, from start to finish, was a reminder that Julian, supported by his talented band of Muppets, may just be one of the last living modern Rock Stars around. Without exaggeration, as a fan of both The Strokes and Julian’s solo work, this was one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.
Julian Casablancas Concert Review
Set List:
Xerox
Father Electricity
M.Utually A.Ssured D.Estruction
Human Sadness
Ize of the World
Crunch Punch
River of Brakelights
Business Dog
Johan Von Bronx
Encore:
I’ll Try Anything Once
Dare I Care
