Equipped with long, greasy hair, beer bottles and simple, ebullient tunes shaded in the aesthetic of '60s Brit rock - among other genres - The Strokes' Tuesday night performance at the Sunshine Theater instilled the audience with the fortunate/unfortunate fact that these guys are hotshot rock stars.
Prefaced by a delicate but powerful set by New York native indie-rockers Longwave, The Strokes ripped through all the songs on its debut album Is This It, along with two new songs, in just under an hour and with a bullet.
Lead singer Julian Casablancas, clad in a black T-shirt covered with what seemed to be a Civil War soldier jacket, walked on stage with his band mates and immediately tore into a searing rendition of the new song, "Meet Me in the Bathroom."
Casablancas, along with guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr, bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fab Moretti, had the cool, stoic rock and roll disposition down to a tee.
The feral exuberance trademark to nearly all of Is This It was contrasted severely by the group's seemingly inebriated nonchalance.
The crowd, however, rose to the energy of the music - providing plenty of sing along for the jarring "The Modern Age" and the restrained melody of "Is This It."
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Respectively, performances of the single "Last Nite" and an unknown new song - which Casablancas called "new song" - were a testament of The Strokes' raw talent.
The combination of Valensi and Hammond on guitar was fluid, pounding out rhythm upon rhythm, while the drumming of Moretti was simply impeccable.
Casablancas, however, was not the most vocal person in between songs, mustering out a muffled "Thank you," a song title or a few inaudible mumblings.
All of this was interspersed, of course, by random cigarettes and frequent retreats to the back of the stage for swigs of beer.
During "New York City Cops," a track cut from the U.S. release of Is This It following Sept. 11, Valensi - apparently lost in the refrain of "I've got to let go / Oh I've got to let go" - did just that by stumbling in an awkward rush to the back of the stage.
He recovered gallantly, however, and was able finish the song. Another comical highlight included a girl jumping on stage during "Alone, Together," clasping the sides of Casablancas' head and planting a nice kiss on his lips.
The girl was quickly ushered off stage as Casablancas, who gave her no resistance, decided not to sing the last third of the song and kneeled on the ground with his back to the audience.
And thus, in spite of what could be seen as youthful pretension, The Strokes' performance was a model of efficiency and simplicity, leaving Albuquerque with the same flash in which the group appeared, only with the added memory of a great show.
