Back in December we wrote a review of Julian Casablancas Phrazes for the Young, loving the return of JC, but lamenting the loss of The Strokes. They had been away since 2005 and there was no firm word on when they would be back, despite the occasional murmur.
Then, just a few days after the review, we published news that The Strokes would be playing the Isle of Wight Festival 2010, with some excitement, and for me they didn’t disappoint.
With casual, smashed-out-of-his-head skill Julian fronted a resurrected Strokes like they’d just nipped down the road to get some crisps from the Co-op.
Random drunken comments, leather jacket and shades were back and every second was brilliant. All the hits were crashed out like they were in their back pockets all the time they were away, and it marked a class return to the glory days of the early 2000’s.
The only down side was that none of their new stuff got played, which was a bit disappointing. I reckon they planned to do a couple, but Julian was too p*ssed to remember them and Albert Hammond, Jr. didn’t have the heart to tell him. Despite this, the return of The Strokes definitely lived up to the hype.
For a quick summary of the rest of the weekend, go to our Isle of Wight Festival 2010 page.
The Strokes live at the Isle of Wight Festival 2010 review: 4.5/5
