Julian Casablancas, The Cairos@ The Tivoli (06/05/2010)

Wed 12th May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Check out kelh’s gallery from the night here. Awesome shots!!!

Tonight’s support act The Cairos are a Brisbane band who are fairly well established in the local scene. With their polished blend of pop-rock gaining support slots for various artists over the last few years it was no surprise to see them announced to warm up the crowd. Playing songs off their latest EP as well as a couple of new tracks, The Cairos displayed their ability to translate recorded tracks into a live performance that maintained the interest of the crowd for the entire set. Having to improvise on the set list after being told to extend it, the group chose to play Batman, which proved to be the highlight of their show. Leaving the stage with a thank you to both the crowd and tonight’s headliner, The Cairos were a great support and are worth checking out at their own show in the near future.

The interval between sets was honestly one of the worst this reviewer has ever seen. With the stage already set for the main performance and the crowd buzzing due to both the support act and sheer anticipation, waiting almost an hour for the lights to dim was a real negative of the evening. When the interval playlist begins repeating itself, it’s time to get on with the show. Despite all being forgotten by the time the first footstep was taken on stage, it was still an annoyance that had the majority of the crowd checking their watches and updating their status.

Dressed in red jeans and trademark leather jacket, Julian Casablancas strode onstage and was greeted immediately by applause and screams of adoration that made the half full Tivoli seem at capacity. While both Ludlow St and River of Brakelights off last year’s Phrazes For The Young got the crowd moving, it was his “cover” of The Strokes Hard To Explain that sent them into a frenzy. Surrounded by his backing band, Casablancas seemed at times reserved and happy to hide behind his microphone, while at other times he was more than happy to move around the stage and take full advantage of the space on offer.

After thanking The Cairos for opening, Casablancas leapt straight into hit song 11th Dimension. The live rendition of the track was well received by the crowd as the blend of guitar, synth and beat provided by the energetic drummer combined for the highlight of the evening. As the band walked off, leaving only Casablancas and his keyboardist on stage, the opening notes of I’ll Try Anything Once echoed through the venue. The stripped back version of The Strokes You Only Live Once is amazing on record, and even more so live. The slow paced track had shivers running up the spines of attendees who had hoped for a career probing catalogue, as the emotion displayed in his performance of the b-side was nothing short of awesome.

Like pressing a button, Casablancas again turned up the energy as his band joined him for Left and Right in the Dark, during which he jumped into the pit much to the joy of awaiting fans. Crowd favourites Out Of The Blue and I Wish It Was Christmas Today went down a treat, with one punter finding his way on to the stage with arms raised in triumph before being quickly whisked away by the rent-a-cops. Finishing with another Strokes cover The Modern Age and a drawn out version of 4 Chords of the Apocalypse, complete with guitar solo and the mic stand being thrown across the stage, Julian Casablancas walked off with a thank you and wave.

Although the house lights were now on and the crew was beginning to clean up the stage, the crowd did not relent. Cheering and applause continued, getting louder with each passing moment. After close to ten minutes and at a point where it seemed like no amount of chanting could entice him back on stage, Casablancas returned with a smile spanning the width of his face. Genuinely impressed at the devotion of the crowd, he thanked them again before playing the only album track left unheard, Tourist.

One of last year’s best albums was tonight translated into one of this year’s best live performances. Both covers from his ‘other’ band’s catalogue and solo tracks that sounded even better live than on record kept the crowd captivated for over an hour, after which they still wanted more. On a day that produced a sell out for this year’s Splendour in the Grass festival, which The Strokes are headlining, Julian Casablancas gave punters proof that a break of a couple of years has refreshed him, and by all reports the rest of the band is in a similar state. Fingers crossed that Splendour organisers find some time for Casablancas to play a solo set up at Woodfordia or at other venues when he is back in the country because what was witnessed tonight was truly spectacular.