The Strokes

All Points East brought a stellar line up of Indie icons to East London’s Victoria park on Friday 25 August. Nostalgic names from the genre's 2000s resurgence: the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, The Walkman and headliners The Strokes played alongside newer names Amyl and the Sniffers, Black Midi and more, for a guitar-filled celebration of rock and roll.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, performing on the West Stage, brought fist-pump-throwing energy to the park in their energetic set. Interweaving songs from their noughties albums with newer tracks from last year's ‘Cool it Down’, they saved their best until last, likely in a bid to stop people fleeing to the East Stage early to get the best spot for The Strokes.

Their third to last track 2003's ‘Maps’ was pre-ambled as a love song and dedicated to the late Sinead O’Connor, as well as every Tom, Dick and Harriet in the park. Emotions were high as the crowd crooned along to ‘They don’t love you like I love you’, iPhone lights swaying in the air, a modern symbol of appreciation for the decade-old ballad. This warm melancholy swiftly turned into unbridled joy as ‘Heads Will Roll’ opened the encore, the synth pop number’s ability to start a party as good now as ever.

Karen O’s raucous stage presence added to the knees up. Dressed in a winged cape and glittery flares, she made full use of the stage, high kicking her way from one end to the other. Before she departed she made sure to give us a final show as the microphone became her glamorous assistant. She chucked it, fellated it, and put it down her pants before throwing it in the crowd for a lucky punter to keep. Her nonchalant exit after this madness ensued was nothing short of legendary.

The Strokes, the headliners of the night, were worth the quick muddy sprint from West to East after the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’s finished. Refraining from the usual tactic of playing the biggest crowd pleasers towards the end, popular songs were expertly woven in between lesser obvious selections and newer material, keeping the tempo high throughout the whole set. ‘Last Nite’ made a particularly early appearance, coming in third on the bill, the surprise ignited an enjoyable mosh pit in the front section of the crowd.

Despite the fact this unconventional approach seemingly rewarded us for getting through their newer catalogue, songs from this era were just as impactful and as well received as their nougtie counterparts. People chanted out the melody to ‘The Adults are Talking’ from their 2020 release ‘The New Normal’, a song that loosely speaks to political dissonance over the band's signature combination of catchy guitar riffs and a drum machine. A clear indicator of the strength of the band’s decade-spanning discography is that not a single track seemed to flop in the hour-long performance.

‘This is the last one before the encore,' Julian Casablanca pronounced with his dulcet tones, before a storming performance of ‘Reptilia’, a song that many had clearly waited for. When the band graced the stage again for the final couple of songs, Julian threw a drink over himself as punishment for ruining the ‘surprise’ of the curtain call. ‘I shouldn’t have said we are coming back’ he proclaims, before ending with the apt choice of ‘Is This It’.

This deadpan humour is all the band has to offer in the form of stage presence, but the sheer quality of their material and the thoughtful order in which it was played, more than made up for it. The set was a perfect end to a day that served as a reminder of why so many of us remain committed to the genre. Whether through songs that serve a nostalgic window to the past, or gritty anthems from exciting newcomers to the scene, indie music is as powerful as ever in 2023.