The Strokes close Coachella set with pointed message to US government

The second weekend of Coachella featured a performance from The Strokes which carried a message of political protest against the US government.

As the band were wrapping up their show at the festival the video screens behind them carried a montage of governments the CIA had overthrown over the years.

The Strokes also played footage of more recent conflicts including Israel bombing Gaza and the US strikes on Iran, while the band performed their song 'Oblivius' which they've not played in concert since 2016.

During the show the song's chorus of 'What side you standing on?' rang out across Coachella, and the visual spectacle ended with the message 'over 30 universities destroyed in Iran' and they showed footage of the 'last university standing in Gaza' being destroyed in a controlled explosion.

There were also images from US history over the slave trade and segregation.

While some who saw the set thought that might be it for The Strokes at Coachella and wondered if the band had 'ensured they'll never set foot in Coachella again', the footage appeared on the festival's YouTube livestream without attempt to censor or cut away from it.

The montage also contained allegations of the US government being involved with the deaths of various political figures including Martin Luther King Jr and the presidents of Panama and Ecuador.

Last week when they performed at Coachella, The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas wore a t-shirt made to look like it had the Amazon logo but it said 'crime' on it instead.

He'd also asked the crowd 'you guys excited about the draft' in reference to a recent US government proposal to automatically register men aged between 18 and 25 for eligibility in the military.

In the US those men already have to register for eligibility and can face up to five years in prison if they don't, though America hasn't had the draft since 1973 and the Vietnam War.

According to the BBC the proposal is being reviewed and has resulted in fears that conscription could be reintroduced, though they note that many states automatically register men when they get driver's licences.

The US government said in 2024 that compliance with registering had fallen to 81 percent.

America's war with Iran is currently in a ceasefire while a possible peace is being negotiated, but the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again as the US continues to blockade it.

Donald Trump has once again threatened to destroy all the power plants and bridges in Iran if they don't agree to a deal, the latest in a long line of such threats.

Intentionally attacking civilian objects which are not military objectives is a war crime.