The Strokes revived some live rarities during a benefit concert for Chicago congressional candidate Kina Collins over the weekend.
The New York indie legends performed at Credit Union 1 Arena on Friday (March 8), the second time they have staged a gig to support Democrat candidate Collins, following a 2022 event.
This weekend’s show took place on Collins’ birthday and saw Julian Casablancas and co. dust off some rare live tracks.
The setlist included ‘You Talk Way Too Much’ from 2003’s ‘Room on Fire’, performed live for the first time since 2015, and ‘The Way It Is’ for the first time since 2019, along with ‘Drag Queen’ from their 2016 EP ‘Future Present Past’ for the first time since 2017.
You can check out footage of the full set below.
The set also included performances of ‘The Adults Are Talking’, ‘Last Nite’, ‘Reptilia’, ‘Someday’ and more.
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In an Instagram post shared after the performance, the band wrote: “Thank you Chicago – Vote for Kina on March 19 (or during early voting). Happy birthday Kina.
NME watched The Strokes headline London’s All Points East festival last summer, awarding the show four stars in a performance that was hailed a “brilliant balancing act, despite sound issues”.
The review added: “In years gone by, there have been many a complaint about The Strokes’ spirit on stage, sometimes looking as if they’d rather be anywhere else. Recent visits to London have seen them in quite the opposite mood and, although it’s virtually impossible to make out what they say between songs for the most part tonight, thanks to their penchant for mumbling, they seem to be doing exactly what everyone wants them to – having a bloody good time.”
Elsewhere, back in October Casablancas dropped his new single ‘Flexorcist’ with The Voidz, which came ahead of the band’s “immersive” Halloween residency in Brooklyn.
The band previously shared new single ‘Prophecy Of The Dragon’ earlier in the year, their first since 2021’s ‘The Eternal Tao 2.0’. Before that, Daft Punk shared a previously unreleased song featuring The Voidz titled ‘Infinity Repeating’.