Thursday 10th December, Leeds Met University
For someone who redefined the meaning of cool when he led his merry band of indie pretenders The Strokes to instant acclaim with game-changing 2001 record Is This It?, Julian Casablancas seems oddly unsure of himself. In recent interviews, he has appeared insecure, perhaps failing to get to grips with the transformative effect his song writing has had on alternative music, an impact of which everyone except himself seems sure.
Cool back in 2001 meant guitars, greasy hair and leather jackets and there is plenty of all three on display on a cold night in Leeds. The skinny jean and standard-issue military jacket brigade are out in force, perhaps hoping to relive those halcyon days. And though pre-gig watering hole the Dry Dock is playing enough Strokes classics to whet the appetite, Casablancas is out to prove he is no spent force, promoting first solo venture, Phrazes for the Young, an album which shows his songwriting talents show no sign of waning.
It does not take him long to get into his stride during his first live appearance on these shores since 2006. Standout album tracks 11th Dimension, Left & Right in the Dark and Out of the Blue go down predictably well, but it is less-trumpeted tracks Ludlow St. and River of Brakelights that are taken to a new level in a live setting. Whatever his supposed insecurities, Casablancas is ultimately a performer as ice-cool as the weather outside, his leather jacket not inducing even a bead of sweat on a potentially stressful first night.
The venue is near full, quite an achievement given that Mad-chester icon Ian Brown is stepping out down the road at the O2. Unlike the Stone Roses frontman, however, Casablancas has no need to dine out on former glories, delivering only a reworked acoustic version of third-album track You Only Live Once to those who had come for a Strokes tribute gig. Casablancas, however, has moved on. Their song-writing inspiration, The Strokes, certainly, need Casablancas back if the fourth album is to ever happen. Whether Casablancas needs them, however, is much less certain.
Casablancas played:
Ludlow St.
Out of the Blue
11th Dimension
Tourists
Left & Right in the Dark
4 Chords of the Apocalypse
I’ll Try Anything Once (You Only Live Once cover)
River of Brakelights
I wish it was Christmas Today
30 minute Boyfriend
Glass
****