According to NME.com, The Strokes performed the song, “Going To Babble On” for the first at Just Like Heaven 2026. The New York band headlined the festival at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, August 22, alongside joint headliners LCD Soundsystem. Julian Casablancas and company opened their encore with the first-ever live performance of “Going To Babble On”, which is taken from their seventh album, Reality Awaits, that was released back in June.
The ditty was one of four songs from the new album that made the set list, alongside “Lonely In The Future”, “Going Shopping” and “Dine N’Dash.” Also, the set also saw a playful jibe from Casablancas to LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy. “What a pleasant surprise. I thought you retired 15 years ago… just kidding,” Casablancas said, before branding him the “Brett Favre of indie rock” and adding: “Yeah, announcing we’re retiring tonight to make it cooler when we play a show in two years.”
The Favre comparison relates to the NFL legend’s multiple retirement U-turns over the years, with the quarterback having announced his retirement from the Green Bay Packers in 2008, only to change his mind and join the New York Jets later that year. He retired again before reversing the decision once more to join the Minnesota Vikings. Similarly, LCD Soundsystem announced their split in 2011 with a farewell show at Madison Square Garden, only to reunite five years later.
Photo Credit: Owen Ela
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