The Strokes in Barcelona: 22 songs and a surprise Selfless encore

The Strokes returned to Barcelona on 20 October 2026 with Reality Awaits, a 22-song set, a rush of classics and one unexpected final encore when the night already appeared to be over.

Some bands need elaborate speeches to fill an arena. The Strokes barely have to say a word. At a sold-out Palau Sant Jordi, the New York group proved that the guitars, the songs and their famously detached frontman can still do the talking.

Opening with the future, immediately returning to «Reptilia»

«Tyrants of the Mellow Moon», from the new album Reality Awaits, opened the evening. They were here to play new music, not simply to revisit the past. But only one song later came «Reptilia». Instead of saving their anthem for the finish, they unleashed it almost immediately. The arena erupted. That guitar riff still sounds like a fuse being lit.

Before «Hard to Explain», Julian Casablancas tried to address the audience — or perhaps himself. His laid-back New York drawl often blurred his comments into barely decipherable murmurs. He did seem pleased to be there, offering a memorable «Smells like Spain» before the band launched back into the music. His awkward, distant stage manner remains part of The Strokes’ peculiar charm.

An hour packed with songs that refuse to age

«Dine N’ Dash», «Soma» and «Lonely in the Future» led to a different kind of modern classic. Albert Hammond Jr. introduced «The Adults Are Talking» with a playful «Los adultos». The song, one of their biggest recent streaming favourites, earned a response every bit as enthusiastic as the older material.

«Juicebox», «Automatic Stop» and «Heart in a Cage» underlined what makes this band special: intertwining guitar parts that sound deceptively straightforward but depend on precision and an instinctive understanding between the players.

Steve Schiltz rises to the challenge

With founding guitarist Nick Valensi temporarily absent from the tour, longtime friend of the band and Longwave musician Steve Schiltz took his place. On this evidence he was more than up to the task. The distinctive guitar figure in «Heart in a Cage» was a particular highlight, brilliantly played without losing the song’s identity. Together with Hammond Jr., Schiltz preserved the intricate conversation between the two guitars.

Fab Moretti and Nikolai Fraiture kept the rhythmic foundations firmly in place. Nikolai, sporting a fluorescent hoodie, stepped forward to introduce «Someday» — another reminder that some songs only grow in significance with time.

«Want some fun?»

Another rare Casablancas question arrived: «Want some fun?». «Going Shopping», from Reality Awaits, followed. It sat comfortably in a set that also included «One Way Trigger», «You Only Live Once» and «Meet Me in the Bathroom». The Strokes moved back and forth through their catalogue without needing to underline the difference between old and new.

«Someday», «Going to Babble On» and «Take It or Leave It» brought the show towards «Last Nite», one of the night’s biggest communal singalongs. It would have been a perfectly reasonable ending, but Barcelona was not finished yet.

Open doors, cold air and one final «Selfless»

The first encore delivered «New York City Cops», «Threat of Joy» and «Ode to the Mets». Then the atmosphere shifted: the venue doors had opened, cold air was entering the arena and some in the crowd assumed the show was over.

Suddenly the band returned. «Selfless» became a second and unexpected encore, a tender, intimate goodbye at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum from that explosive opening «Reptilia».

The Strokes may still seem reluctant to engage in conventional crowd-pleasing. Casablancas can be almost impossible to understand between songs. But when the music starts, none of it matters very much. Barcelona got 22 songs and a potent reminder of why this band changed the sound of guitar music.

Watch our concert reel

Highlights from the night at Palau Sant Jordi:

Full setlist: 22 songs

Main set

1. Tyrants of the Mellow Moon
2. Reptilia
3. Hard to Explain
4. Dine N’ Dash
5. Soma
6. Lonely in the Future
7. The Adults Are Talking
8. Juicebox
9. Automatic Stop
10. Heart in a Cage
11. One Way Trigger
12. You Only Live Once
13. Going Shopping
14. Meet Me in the Bathroom
15. Someday
16. Going to Babble On
17. Take It or Leave It
18. Last Nite

First encore

19. New York City Cops
20. Threat of Joy
21. Ode to the Mets

Second encore

22. Selfless

Live review: Mewsick News. Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, 20 October 2026. Featured image: photograph supplied to Mewsick News for this review. Read our concert preview.