Review: Despite intense scrutiny, Strokes refuse to wilt

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Nov. 11, 2002 | 8:21 a.m.

When: Saturday.

Where: The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel

Tickets: $32.50.

Rating (out of 5 stars): 4 stars.

No group should ever be labeled the "saviors of rock and roll" after just one album, no matter how strong that debut effort may be.

Rock's latest "It" band makes every move under a microscope, as print and electronic media closely monitor the New York City-based quintet's live dates and keep tabs on news of a follow-up to last year's acclaimed "Is This It?"

Yet Saturday night, The Strokes easily deflected that intense spotlight, thrilling an enthusiastic capacity crowd of 1,500 with a fiery performance at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

The five musicians' energy never wanned during a 16-song blitz, a hard-rocking set that lasted an hour -- just long enough to remain fresh without becoming repetitive.

The Strokes' unquestioned strength rests with vocalist Julian Casablancas' songwriting skills. Just 24 years old, Casablancas has already demonstrated the rare ability to craft tunes laden with catchy hooks yet raw enough to supply an edge.

Power-pop numbers such as "The Modern Age," "Late Nite" and "Soma" -- each clocking in at about three minutes long -- draw new listeners in immediately, though many in the Las Vegas audience needed no primer to sing along with the lyrics.

Casablancas' greatest compositions, however, are those which unfold over time. "Trying Your Luck" and "Hard to Explain," for example, seem innocuous enough at first listen, but later reveal themselves to be powerful confections built around lasting choruses and clever bridges.

In addition to 10 of the 11 tracks from "Is This It?" The Strokes played five tracks expected to appear on album No. 2, scheduled for a 2003 release.

The new material hints at a good, but not classic, follow-up CD. Only "Ze Newie " -- which Casablancas jokingly introduced as a "cover song by one of our favorite artists of all, Tom Jones" -- remained memorable, thanks to the Strokes' singer's pained, repeated cries of, "I Never Needed Anybody, I Never Needed Nobody."

The Strokes also worked out their most notorious song, "NYC Cops," which was pulled from "Is This It?" for its post-Sept. 11 domestic release. The track, which has garnered a cult following evidenced by one concert-goer's "NYC Cops"-emblazoned denim vest -- worked perfectly as a powerhouse opener to the show.

The retro-outfitted Strokes remained a bundle of frenetic energy throughout, best personified by guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. With his bushy hair bobbing wildly atop his head, Hammond was a constant blur as he traded lead licks with Nick Valensi in the band's dueling guitar configuration.

Drummer Fab Moretti and bassist Nikolai Fraiture, meanwhile, presented a study in contrasts as the group's hard-driving rhythm section. While Moretti bounced enthusiastically in his drum seat, Fraiture stoically laid down an impressive wall of sound while nearly blending into the stage's black background.

Ultimately, though, all eyes were drawn to Casablancas. He backed up his sneering, hipper-than-thou demeanor with a strong, unique voice infused with the same fuzzy quality live evident on the band's CD.

Casablancas was the only Stroke to speak or sing Saturday night, relying on no backing vocals or harmonies. Though his constant use of the F-word, both in speech and improvised song lyrics, was over the top, his crowd-diving and exaggerated hand and facial gestures only further enraptured his screaming, whistling fans.

The show's $32.50 ticket price also included visits by indie rock acts Adam Green and Ben Kweller, easily making it one of the year's top bargains.

Green's 20-minute solo acoustic guitar performance relied heavily on off-color lyrics, as the Moldy Peaches' frontman titillated the crowd.

Kweller, meanwhile, served notice his act could soon join The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Vines and others as one of modern rock's buzz bands. The former Radish vocalist/guitarist/pianist opened with a deadpan solo take on Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby," before three bandmates joined him to alternate between emotive ballads and rocking numbers that had many scrambling to the merchandise table to buy Kweller's latest solo CD, "Sha Sha."

Both Kweller's band and The Strokes were somewhat sloppy at times, but that seemed mostly by design, an effort to retain their slacker, indie credentials in the face of critical notoriety.

In what has become their custom, The Strokes closed the show without an encore, instead letting their closer, "Take it or Leave it," speak for itself. Appropriate exit music for a band unchanged by the recent attention directed its way.