I think everyone was more than a little curious as to how exactly Julian Casablancas's meandering, confused but continually intriguing solo debut Phrazes For The Young would translate live. Everything about the record suggested that it was far more suited to a set of headphones than a packed out venue. Yet surprisingly in between all the sci-fi blips, warbling ballads and extended experimentation laid a surprising amount of bouncy and often visceral grooves. Julian will never be the world's greatest singer, he'll never be a judge on the X-factor but the carefree vigour with which he attacked his tracks is unparalleled. Starting with lead single 11th Dimension Julian turned the flamboyant Prince tinge sci fi epic into the visceral ravings of a mad man and Julian screech out every last syllable as if a dagger were piercing his lungs and every last lyric were his last blood curdling cry. Venturing into the crowd on more than one occasion it was clear Julian was having a hell of time and he seemed far more relax and charismatic on stage than he has in comatose tv interviews.
The albums more lively tracks 11th Dimension, River Of Breaklights and Out Of The Blue went down a storm live transforming into Ramones-eske stomps. It's amazing that after all the festival headline slots Julian has never engaged in spectacle or major level showmanship he's always kept to the rough around the edges garage rock fury of '70s New York underground scene. Other tracks faired less well, Ludlow Street was more of a dirge than a rallying cry and with a set clocking in at around fifty five minutes (despite using a B-side and a New Track) Julian hardly offered value for money. Furthermore the entire gig was undermined by a horrifically bad microphone that left most of Julian's verse inaudible, which was a shame as Julian seemed to be in surprisingly good voice. However these minor quibbles weren't enough to sink a truly raucous, entertaining and remarkable varied set, which was highlight by a downbeat keyboard sing along version of The Strokes You Only Live Once and a Ramones-afied take on I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday. So while Julian was far from perfect he still managed to pull out all the stops and put on an entertaining and fast paced vintage rock and roll set, that despite all the self-indulgence and sci-fi gimmickry fell honest, gritty and reassuringly earnest.
I think everyone was more than a little curious as to how exactly Julian Casablancas's meandering, confused but continually intriguing solo debut Phrazes For The Young would translate live. Everything about the record suggested that it was far more suited to a set of headphones than a packed out venue. Yet surprisingly in between all the sci-fi blips, warbling ballads and extended experimentation laid a surprising amount of bouncy and often visceral grooves. Julian will never be the world's greatest singer, he'll never be a judge on the X-factor but the carefree vigour with which he attacked his tracks is unparalleled. Starting with lead single 11th Dimension Julian turned the flamboyant Prince tinge sci fi epic into the visceral ravings of a mad man and Julian screech out every last syllable as if a dagger were piercing his lungs and every last lyric were his last blood curdling cry. Venturing into the crowd on more than one occasion it was clear Julian was having a hell of time and he seemed far more relax and charismatic on stage than he has in comatose tv interviews.
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