The Strokes appreciation blog

Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas’ voice has deepened and sharpened with age. It possesses the huskiest of lows onstage while still managing to swerve into sweet falsetto on tracks like “One Way Trigger.” Recently, concert-goers have taken the singer to task for his lackluster and pitchy live appearances with new group Julian Casablancas + the Voidz, but he demonstrated no such passivity on Saturday night. Not only did he sound great — his best in years, really — but Casablancas also gelled with his bandmates for the first time in ages, bopping around the stage and playing off Albert Hammond, Jr.’s energy like they were long-lost brothers reunited at last. Sure, Casablancas had a few lyrical flubs here and there, coming in early on some verses and fudging others entirely, but fans forgave him quickly by screaming the proper words back at the stage with double the sheepish singer’s fervor.