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Spin 
April 2002 
By Julie Taraska

THE STROKES/GUIDED BY VOICES
Apollo Theatre, New York City Dec. 31, 2001

Thirty-five years ago, Lou Reed stood on Harlem's 125th Street waiting for his man. On New Year's Eve, the Strokes, Reed's most recent musical and spiritual progeny, reenacted his rock moment by making the trip uptown from their East Village haunts to 125th's legendary Apollo Theatre. The second show of a two-night stand that also included indie veterans Guided by Voices and comedian David Cross, the event was clearly meant to be another picture-perfect moment in the Strokes' evolving mythology as timeless and nervy punks who walk on the wild side.

But once the Strokes took the stage, reality undermined rock-n-roll fantasy. Blame lead loud-mouth Julian Casablancas, who was seemingly too drunk to do much but slump against the mic, bleat through his lyrics, and lurch left and right. In the middle of "Someday", he lunged offstage to bear-hug a friend in the wings. During "Soma", he was as erratic as the tune's flaky protagonist, barely bothering to deliver the last stanza. When Guided By Voices joined the Strokes onstage to count down to the New Year, Casablancas pulled some action from the crowd, locking lips with several nubile ladies. Refreshed, he climbed back in front of the mic and invited the crowd to come onstage and "show some fucking love" during the new-wavish "Trying Your Luck." When about a hundred fans took him up on the offer, he ignored them all.

Although old enough to be Casablancas' dad, Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard proved he could drink him under the table, as his band turned out a manic, virtuosic performance with enough solos to make any hair-metal band proud. So what if their musical skills were occasionally obfuscated by a prog-rock haze? They had the goods, as evidenced when the group joined the Strokes for the latter's more simply structured "The Modern Age." With Guided by Voices guiding the way, the Strokes instantly sounded much more sure-handed and muscular. On record, the Strokes may be the sexiest thing to happen to alt-rock since the Chili Peppers donned their socks, but as a live band striving for that elusive rock narcotic, they're still waiting to score.