Julian Casablancas delivers more than handshakes in Chicago

April 6, 2010, at the Vic

By Lily Hansen
Published: April 9th, 2010 | 2:00pm

Hailing from opposite ends of the Stroke-osphere, L.A. indie pop rockers Funeral Party kicked off a vicious set, which definitely referenced the party part of their name. The five-piece band’s relentlessly energy was dominated by lead singer, Chad Elliott, who alternated between singing, screeching, and spastically drumming along the stage floor and knocking over microphone stands. The band’s percussion-heavy set also amped up the dancing sea of underage punks, who ate up the rock star antics, like randomly jumping on drum kits and dropping numerous F-bombs between songs. As Elliott bid the crowd good night by giving Chicago two thumbs up, it was clear that Funeral Party had easily gained the same Midwest approval.

Looking like a cross between Johnny Ramone and Run DMC, Julian Casablancas is a rare breed whose casual crowd banter (“What’s going on guys?”) is often followed up by thunderous applause. In Chicago for support of his sensational solo debut, 2009’s Phrazes for the Young (RCA), the Strokes lead singer proves that he has not only sharpened his songwriting and singing chops (with an '80s-style album set in futuristic 2030) but also his stage presence. Casablancas can still stand on his own without his native NYC Strokers, who have practically been given unofficial status of Manhattan icons.

Soothing speculation for how he would complete a full set for an album that barely reaches 40 minutes, Casablancas diced up his set between his solo singles and several scattered tunes from the Strokes’ catalogue which earned solid approval from the audience. On “Out of the Blue," (in which the motorcycle jacket–clad singer infamously predicts his fate of “going to hell in a leather jacket") and “Glass," Casablancas shattered pitch-perfect high notes as a testament to his vocal growth.

Although eloquent in his songwriting, Casablancas lived up to his loveable space cadet status with several tongue twists and flopped jokes that eventually caused him to mumble, “I don’t really know what I’m doing but at least I’m having fun.”

After a dynamic set that ended with two full encores, Casablancas humbly thanked his audience by touching the hands of each and every front-row audience member, thereby giving new meaning to the “11^th Dimension” lyric “I just lied, I’ve never been so good at shaking hands.”

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For more photos visit Venus Zine's Flickr page

Julian Casablancas official site

Julian Casablancas Myspace page

Funeral Party Myspace page

RCA Records