The Libertines - New York Drive-In Studios & New York Bowery Ballroom - 16-17/8/04
4/5
By: Joshua K
Set-List (Drive-In Studios): 'The Saga', 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun', 'Death On The Stairs', 'Can't Stand Me Now', 'Time For Heroes', 'Boys In The Band', 'What Became Of The Likely Lads', 'The Good Old Days', 'I Get Along', 'What A Waster'.
Set-List (Bowery Ballroom): 'The Saga', 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun', 'Up The Bracket', 'Vertigo', 'Can't Stand Me Now', 'Death On The Stairs', 'Plan A', 'Mayday', 'The Ha Ha Wall', 'Boys In The Band', 'Road To Ruin', 'Last Post On The Bugle', 'Time For Heroes', 'Tell It To The King', 'The Boy Looked At Johnny', 'The Good Old Days', 'What A Waster', ENCORE, 'What Became Of The Likely Lads', 'I Get Along'.
Is this the last stand for The Libertines?
Just admit it: as a rockfeedback reader, knowing how ambiguous the vital signs are, this question weighs heavily on your mind as you eye this review. After all, on the one hand, even the casual music fan is by now well-versed in co-lead singer Pete Doherty's ongoing drug problems - and has likely seen Carl Barat's recent comments that the band won't continue without him. On the other hand, this hasn't stopped the band from selling out ever-larger venues in the UK and now US on the eve of releasing their shockingly strong, eponymous second album.
Likewise, these gigs. In which Pete's presence is sorely missed, but the remaining players prove that 3/4 of The Libertines is still a far superior live act to almost any rock challengers.
On with the show then, eh? Herewith, rockfeedback's full report on back-to-back, small venue New York appearances.
Monday night finds the band headlining a private fifth anniversary party (of promotion company Cornerstone) in loft-space Drive In Studios. Playing to essentially an industry crowd, Carl, Gary and John could've simply mailed it in. Instead they put their heads down and fire off a powerful 35-minute set of singles and hits, including a punchy, poppy take on new album closer 'What Became Of The Likely Lads'.
Saving the best for last, 'I Get Along' gets even this crowd jumping - not to mention shouting the iconic lyric, 'F**k 'em!', in unison. 'What A Waster' then ends affairs by sounding sharper-edged and angrier than ever: three minutes of musical catharsis at the situation into which Pete has thrust Carl and the gang. With that, and a 'Thank you, everyone', they're gone into the night.
If Monday was a sprint, then Tuesday is the marathon: a high-energy hour in which every song you were hoping to hear gets played, and played like their lives depend upon it. Old favorites 'Vertigo', 'The Boy Looked At Johnny' and 'Boys In The Band' are rollicking and reenergized - Carl stutter-stepping about the stage like a young 1970s punk - while the brace of newer tunes, such as 'The Ha Ha Wall' and 'Last Post On The Bugle', miss nary a beat. (In fact, drummer Gary tonight emerges as a star, his solos cheered vigorously and his precision playing met with frequent chants of praise from the capacity crowd.)
Furthermore, in rough-edged opener 'The Saga', played with backs to the audience, The Libertines have finally found the perfect bookend to traditional closer 'I Get Along'. And Carl ably pulls off ace new single 'Can't Stand Me Now', switching between two mics as he delivers both vocal parts himself.
However, hard as they may try, all songs paled in comparison to tonight's rendition of 'The Good Old Days'. Carl spits the lines about 'tenements and needles' and 'all the things we said we'd do tomorrow' with a fury he typically reserves for 'What A Waster' - proving once and for all how much he's been hurt by recent events. It's a delivery that's simultaneously chilling in its brutal, wounded intimacy and heart-warming in its tunefulness.
So, is this the end for The Libertines? Only Pete, Carl, Gary and John know for sure. But, based on this recent NYC excursion, we can only hope not. They haven't lost their 'faith and love in music', and, seemingly, Albion still beckons.
Photo-Credit: Sharlene Mousfar & Adrienne Dee
Artists in this article: The Libertines
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