Night Out at The Strokes

Photo Credits: Mackenzie Ellliott

The Strokes are a band I have wanted to see since I first got into music. Not only have they quite literally soundtracked years of my life, but they have also influenced some of my other favourite bands since the early 2000s (most famously Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys). I had begun to accept that I would never get to see them - on the rare occasion the played in the UK, I had always missed out in one way or another. This was until a few months ago, when my dad rang me at school to tell me he had managed to bag tickets for their first UK show in 3 years - I cant explain how excited my friend and I were. And the show lived up to that excitement 110%.

As this was booked months ago, we failed to realise that I would be at university. So, after my lecture, I hopped on a train in Manchester (listening to The Strokes the whole time), arriving at Waterloo after a delayed train and a PACKED tube in the early evening, where I was meeting my friend. This was the longest we had gone without seeing each other since primary school, so the trip to the O2 was a big game of catch-up. Before we even got in, we had convinced each other to spend far too much money on tour t-shirts from a van outside.

Photo Credits: Mackenzie Ellliott

And then we were in. Two interesting support acts and some pricey chicken and chips later, there they were. The band that had kickstarted so many others. The band that holds so many shared memories between my friend and I. The band I never thought I would actually get to see. And yet here we were.

They kicked it off with one from the new album which, despite the mixed reactions since the album’s release, the crowd seemed to know every word to. They followed this with Reptilia, at which point everybody stood up, singing louder than Julian himself. The setlist contained a healthy mix of new songs, classics, and nostalgic fan favourites, and the crowd was in such high spirits through it all. Getting to sing Last Night with my arm around one of my best mates is a genuinely irreplicable memory - as is the look we gave each other when the opening notes to the songs that meant so much to us a few years ago, such as Call it Fate Call It Karma, rang out through the arena.

The Strokes are a rarity insofar as their live shows sound exactly like the studio versions of songs - the instrumentals are just as cathartic, and his voice completely maintains its unique quality. The only difference was, during some of the longer guitar solos, Julian threw in some ad-libs such as “do you like crudites?” and other similarly random questions to the amusement of the crowd!

And as soon as it had started, it was over. We joined the customary crush to get into North Greenwich tube station to the sound of the crowd still singing the choruses, not ready to let go of the night just yet. Finally, we were on the train home, looking back over our pictures and videos from that evening, already reminiscing on one of the most beautiful nights of our lives.

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Find Mackenzie on Substack & Instagram @shedreamspurple_17