On November 29, 2001 The Strokes played a headlining show at a now defunct music venue on Long Island called The Vanderbilt. The openers were The Moldy Peaches and The Realistics and tickets were a whopping $16.50.
According to a diary entry I wrote at the time, the crowd was very young due to the fact that it was an all-ages venue. I remember the crowd was pretty intense, with huge dudes pushing tiny little girls in the front into the barricades. I also distinctly remember feeling a sharp pain around my buttocks during the show, and only later that night did I realize the vicious girl that was standing behind me had actually stabbed me with a broken drumstick that she caught during The Realistics’ set.
During the show things got even more rowdy and Julian Casablancas had to tell the crowd to “stop the fighting” and Fab Moretti stage dove into the audience… twice.
I was at the show with a couple friends, one of which was this crazy French girl I became friends with via the Internet. After the show she decided we were all going to sneak backstage, which we did with moderate ease, and while back there we managed to snag some shots with some of the band members.
Here’s a photo that was taken of guitarist Nick Valensi that night. He looks so young in this photo… and all sorts of confused.
Continue reading “March Madness: Nick Valensi @ The Vanderbilt”
