The Strokes were tired the last time they played Detroit. Tired
and hung-over.

The NYC garage quintet were taut and electric as ever when they
opened for the White Stripes at Chene Park in August of 2001. By
then, months of incessantly hyping their debut, Is This It,
had taken their toll on the battered crew.

Frontman Julian Casablancas was laid up with a broken leg and
confined to tentatively perching on a stool the whole set, dropping
his mic in the middle of debuting "Meet Me in the Bathroom."
Everybody else in the band pulsed with the weary, third-wind energy
of zombies who hadn't slept in days. Still even on autopilot, the
band's skin-tight minimalism rocked with the offhand confidence of
guys who have been on road for almost a year.

Last week at the State Theatre, the Strokes were a different
band. Well rested and hungry to play, the shaggy-haired group
looked lean and more than ready to start ripping through their new
album, Room on Fire.

Opening act, Nashville's Kings of Leon shrugged off their unfair
rap they've been getting as the Southern Strokes. While their
Dixie-fried rock was needlessly abbreviated, the Kings certainly
left you wanting more, capping off with the best song on their
Youth and Young Manhood, the surging build of "Trani."

The crowd, a healthy mix of D-town hipsters, college kids and
20-something professionals, were eager as well as anxious to get a
live preview of the new Strokes material before it hits stores.
They were treated to all but one of Rooms' tracks, beginning with
the brooding "Between Love and Hate."

Julian in particular seemed to be in a good mood that night,
even finding time to smile when he wasn't pressing his mic deep
into his face, slamming his stand into floor and leaping into the
crowd during "Hard to Explain" and "Take It or Leave It." Although
he had previously shunned the limelight, Jules seemed more
comfortable with being both the leader and focus on stage.

Meanwhile, the band seemed determined to showcase how much their
chops have grown. The new songs bled sharper, more complex
musicianship, in contrast to the rudimentary sucker punch of the
first LP.

Guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr. still trade off
melt- your-ears solos, and refined tonal quality that speaks to
road-tested proficience. While bassist Nikolai Fraiture seemed
content to stand as motionless as an Entwistle-anchor, drummer Fab
Moretti banged away with glee, filling in the end of "Reptilia"
with a thumping climax.

The show almost climaxes too early with the stamping back to
back to back trilogy of "Modern Age," new single "12:15" and exiled
classic "New York City Cops," which surprised everybody, including
the Strokes, by rivaling "Last Nite" in cheers. Perhaps even more
surprising was a rare encore. "We never do this," said Casablanca,
"But you guys were great."

Likewise, fellas.