Who: The Strokes

Where: In the Venue

When: Friday

The Bottom Line: The New York rockers delivered a spry and dynamic set in their best Salt Lake City show to date.

The worst thing that ever happened to The Strokes was the maelstrom of hype that accompanied the New York band's 2001 debut album.

Hailed as the saviors of rock and roll, or at least the New York City scene, The Strokes never had the chance to develop below the radar. Instead, the quintet faced unrealistic expectations from Day One when that debut, "Is This It," sent rock critics racing for their thesauruses in search of ways to describe The Strokes' laconic, lo-fi approach.

Now on their third album, "First Impressions of Earth," The Strokes' sound has been spit-shined into an ideal amalgam of pop hooks and underground influences like Lou Reed, who the band covered Friday at a packed show at In the Venue. The band's version of Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" during its four-song encore was a worthy nod to its New York roots, but far from the highlight of the show.

From the onset, The Strokes were in fine form Friday, and lead singer Julian Casablancas proved to be a most comfortable frontman, more so than on past stops in Utah. Not only did he chat up the crowd between songs and sing the praises of Salt Lake City; he shimmied his way through 17 songs with a voice far stronger and more distinctive than it comes across on record.

Songs from "First Impressions of Earth" provided plenty of sparks Friday, particularly "Razorblade," "Juicebox" and a sprawling version of "Ize of the World." Bassist Nikolai Fraiture drove "Juicebox" forward with a rumbling bass line, while guitarist Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., reveled in the noisy chaos that kicked off "Ize of the World." Hammond also shined on "Killing Lies" from the new album, and Valensi showcased some serious chops on "Vision of Division" as Casablancas pushed his voice to the breaking point.

Besides the new songs, tracks from The Strokes' debut garnered the loudest cheers from the crowd. The loping "Is This It" was another high point for Fraiture, and the one-two punch of "Last Nite" and "Hard to Explain" showed the band has been capable of creating insanely catchy rock songs since its very beginning. By the time the band ripped through a four-song encore including "New York City Cops," "Someday," "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Take It or Leave It," the band had delivered a concise, rock-solid 70-minute set blissfully short on filler or extraneous jams. That's reason enough to hope The Strokes stick around for a while, hype or no hype.