The Strokes had an uphill battle as Thursday night’s Lolllapalooza headliners, competing against Top 40 perennials The Chainsmokers across the park.

However, Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas’ constant jabs at the situation — and Chicago — did him little favors in engaging the already sparse late-night crowd.

“What is that techno monster in the distance?” he asked on one than more occasion, hinting at the mild soundbleed coming from the opposing Bud Light Stage. That was followed by taunts about Chicago weather, its reputation as the Windy City, and how it was a second-rate Gotham as the setting of the “Batman” movies. Lest any one has forgotten, The Strokes are from New York City, as if their hometown pride and Lou Reed-by-way-of-The-Ramones shtick didn’t already make it abundantly clear.

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In their glory days, The Strokes were the sea change in the early 2000s, ushering in a new dawn of indie music. But try as they might tonight, the songs felt like a far cry from their early influence, with an apathetic delivery save for the chiseled guitar work of Albert Hammond Jr., who grabbed most of the attention. [The Chicago Sun Times