The Strokes headlined Ohana Festival in Dana Point and played a 15-track setlist. While their performance left some fan fulfilled, some, not so much.
Regardless, that may have been the most fans will see the band do this year, but the band left fans with a small glimmer of hope that they may see them again in the future.
The three-day music festival took place on Sept. 27-29 at Dana Point and featured a variety of musicians, including headliners Eddie Vedder, Incubus and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
A nice sunny, relaxing day at Ohana set the mood for the day and welcomed all the LA hipsters who came to see their favorite bands.
Festival-goers were greeted with a large variety of food vendors, both vegan and local, as well as draft beer, wine and mixed drinks.
While the state park offered a smaller space to explore in comparison to other venues, it offered enough space throughout the stages to wander and watch artists play.
Many people either wandered from set to set, since the two main stages were right next to each other, or they camped out at the barricaded to see their favorite band.
As the sun started to set and the temperature lowered, fans started to secure their spot at their favorite bands’ stage.
By the time five p.m. rolled around, die-hard fans could be found holding securing a spot for either LP, Tash Sultana or the biggest name of the night, The Strokes.
Tash Sultana warmed up the crowd for The Strokes and gave a strong and energetic performance.
The moment everyone was waiting for had arrived and the mood had shifted.
The pit was no place for the weak, as fans rushed forward, pushed and fought their way through the crowd in hopes they might get a clearer view of the five-man band.
Their set time was set for 8:40 p.m., the minutes passed and fans eagerly waited for The Strokes to come on, but business as always, they’re late.
The band strolled out about 15 minutes after they were supposed to go on and immediately began to play.
Opening with “Heart in a Cage” from their third album, “First Impressions of Earth,” fans greeted the band with a loud roar of excitement as they continued push and shove their way to the front to try and get a closer look.
A dangerous and wild place for the fans in the pit, fans did not let up in the pit and meant business and proved that only the hardcore fans could handle the pit.
The band’s sound was exceptional, with everyone hitting every note and melody, they were the perfectionist they like to be.
This included the lead singer Julian Casablancas’ vocals.
As the night continued, a chatty Casablancas mumbled and talked to fans as the other band members got themselves situated before jumping on to the next song.
Continuing with their predictable setlist– their go-to tracks are their first three albums– Casablancas fangirled about Vedder, lead vocals for Pearl Jam, and rambled on before he called out Vedder to come out and jam with them.
Vedder sang one of Pearl Jam’s more as Casablancas said, obscure songs “Hard to Imagine” and followed with a duet of “Juicebox.”
As the night continued, so did Casablancas’ rambling. Going off about whether wearing socks with sandals was “career suicide,” the night coming to an end, the band proceeded to play a few more songs.
As their cutoff time was nearing, they concluded with “Someday,” but by this point, Casablancas had said, “I don’t want to play in this place anymore, I don’t want to do this” and concluded by singing from backstage and had either given up or didn’t care too much.
The song ended with fans singing along and finishing the track since Casablancas couldn’t be bothered to.
The band did not do an encore and missed a few hit tracks off the setlist, which included “Is This It,” “Last Nite” and “Soma” since they were tight on time, but overall they played well and were their usual selves — vague and perfect.
The festival will donate a portion of the proceeds to San Onofre Parks Foundation and The Doheny State Beach Interpretive Association to help clean up the coast lines.