By Michael Tittinger
Daily Press Staff Writer

UNIVERSAL CITY — The Strokes’ performance on Thursday, March 30, at the Gibson Amphitheater — the first of two sold-out shows here — may not have been a lovefest between the New Yorkers and its fist-pumping fan base, but it was another skillful workmanlike performance by the acclaimed post-punk revivalists.

Touring on the strength of their solid third release, “First Impressions of Earth,” the Strokes wasted little time engaging the crowd with that album’s driving opening tracks “You Only Live Once,” “Juicebox” and “Heart in a Cage,” before tearing into older hits like “Last Nite,” a song from its landmark first album that is quickly approaching classic status.

The band’s hook-laden, garage rock filled the arena, with guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. — bedecked in a white jumpsuit — driving each song with tight familiarity and orchestrated grit. Lead singer Julian Casablancas seemed to perform with a newfound sense of urgency, hitting all the radio ready hooks and sudden crescendos in turn.

After Casablancas told the crowd early on that the Gibson Amphitheater was his “favorite place to play in LA,” the crowd was his for the taking. But in the end, Casablancas declined the offer.

In keeping with his persona of cool detachment, Casablancas turned his back on the crowd each time vocals weren’t called for, seemingly squandering much of the love being heaped upon the band at Universal City. The band’s decision to kill the stage lights after each song, rather than face the crowd or segue into another song, made the Strokes seem unapproachable and distant.

This too-cool-for-school approach has served the Strokes well in the past, adding an aura of mystery to the band’s hard driving, yet radio friendly songlist. But it is just such a performance that feeds into the divisive camps that surround them — critics convinced they are the band to revitalize rock n’ roll and those who see them as agonizingly reluctant to take the next step to superstardom.

Still, the Strokes’ show last Thursday was exactly what fans of the band could have hoped for, if a bit business-like, as the New Yorkers tore through the best of their three albums of material, even adding a typically cohesive cover of The Ramones’ “Life’s a Gas.” Frustrations and expectations aside, the Strokes are still the standard bearer for indie rockers out to kick some retro butt.

The night’s opening act, the Eagles of Death Metal, played in stark contradiction to the Strokes’ melancholy, rattling the still-filling arena with a sense of whimsy and enthusiasm, all played to a head-banging beat. Lead singer and guitarist Jesse “The Devil” Hughes — who looks like a “Super Troopers” reject with his thick moustache, aviator sunglasses and severe haircut — appeared happy to be along for the ride throughout the band’s 30-minute opening set.

Relying heavily on its 2004 release “Peace, Love, Death Metal,” the Eagles of Death Metal got stragglers into their seats in a hurry, with Hughes infectiously shaking about the stage and calling upon the audience to ‘give it up’ for the Strokes, who seemingly could take a lesson or two from their warm-up players.