A swirling wind, ironically pointing
east, dragging the music away from the crowd, skewered the sound leaving some
fans unhappy, leading to boos after the first few songs and chants of ‘turn it
up’, to which Cabalancas replied, “hey, it’s a festival, a park”, with a wry
smile on his face. The moaning proved more annoying than the muted sound
however, because once you realised that you were in a field, hearing some of
the greatest songs of the past 20 years live, in what could prove to be a once
in a life-time opportunity, you simply suck it up and enjoy yourself, and
that's exactly what we did. It's rock'n'roll. Shit happens. Get on with it and
have a dance, ya borin’ fucks.
There was a swagger and suaveness to
the New Yorkers who trotted around in completely contrasting outfits: Albert
Hammond Jr in red trousers and a vintage Strokes' t-shirt, Casablancas in an
all-black ensemble and western shirt, Valensi in a tropical mismatching
I-don't-know-quite-what, Fraiture in a diamond-studded biker jacket and drummer
Fabrizio Morretti keeping it cool in denim.
Julian was in a playful mood, clearly
enjoying himself, looking, dare I say it, healthy! He knew his boys from the
big city would overcome the difficulties, which they did, uniting the crowd
with ‘Reptilia’. From then on, it was all sunshine and rainbows, because every track is a hit.
‘Is This It’ was sung by the crowd,
Casablancas mic cutting out, but this proved to be a blessing in disguise as the
audience and artist swapped places, the crowd singing, Julian dancing, woefully may I add. Ultimately, it was an evening of indie anthems, as The Strokes played songs that have bound people together in friendships and
relationships for the past 20 years. These songs, as 'Is This It' proved, unite strangers and force people into dancing and singing together. Whether you were happy with the sound or not, you couldn't help but smile at the fact you were hearing these tracks live.
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