March 8 was a very special day for Democratic candidate for Congress in IL-07, Kina Collins. Not only did the gun violence prevention advocate celebrate her 33rd birthday and International Women’s Day, but she did so in style as The Strokes performed a special show in support of her campaign, just like they did back at Metro in 2022.
Beach Bunny, Nnamdi, and Uwade were also on hand to perform at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago and several speakers – including current elected officials, supporters, and members of Collins’ team – spoke to Collins’ agenda. It was a festive occasion as well as an opportunity to discuss Collins’ vision for a better future driven by grassroots efforts, free from corporate influence.
“I told my mom I was throwing this on my birthday and she said, ‘This is a sneaky way to throw a birthday party with a few thousand of your closest friends,’” said Collins before introducing The Strokes.
She also took time out to thank everyone for attending the show, shout-out her Black union-organizing parents, and explain the many ways she is different from her political opponents.
“When we shut down public schools, when we don’t have clean air and clean water, when we don’t have grocery stores – that’s what sends bullets flying. And so a lot of these status quo and machine politicians have not been happy about what we’re doing. They’re telling me that what we’re doing is too much. But, let me tell you all what’s too much for me,” said Collins. “What’s too much for me is crushing student loan debt. That’s too much for me. What’s too much for me is our government stripping the rights of women to do what we want with our bodies. What’s too much for me is our politicians pocketing corporate PAC dollars and not voting with the side of the people. That’s too much for me.”
She added, “And what’s too much for me is we don’t have enough women, and Black women, in Congress.”
After Collins’ worked the crowd into a frenzy, The Strokes – Julian Casablancas (vocals), Albert Hammond Jr. (guitar), Nick Valensi (guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass), and Fabrizio Moretti (drums) – took the stage and opened with “Selfless,” “Hard to Explain,” and “You Talk Way Too Much.” “Last Nite,” “Juicebox,” and “Reptilia” were further highlights of the setlist.
Between songs Casablancas frequently talked about the many reasons he supports Collins’ candidacy.
“She’s basically kind of like – I don’t know if it’s okay that I say this – but kind of a Bernie vibe where she’s independent. She’s basically a progressive caring nice person who has to run as a Democrat to win. Just FYI,” he said.
Casablancas also found the silver lining in what feels like an increasingly bleak existence, explaining how, now that we have identified so many problems, we can get to work to fix them.
“I’m not trying to be false hopeful or anything but it’s kind of like that uncomfortable shitty awakening thing. I can’t say ‘red-pilled’ because that’s like a male rights thing,” he dryly quipped before leaning back into sincerity. “You know it’s that awakening time when you start finding shit out. It’s depressing. So it feels bad, but it’s kind of how it’s always been so maybe it’s a good thing in the long run.”
Whenever thousands of people get together for an evening held in support of making the world a better place, that is most certainly a good thing. Casablancas continued his efforts to get out the vote by canvassing alongside Collins on Saturday March 9.
Primary election day in Illinois is March 19 and early voting is taking place now.
Check out photos from Kina Collins’ March 8 event – featuring The Strokes, Beach Bunny, Nnamdi, and Uwade – below and head over to Kinacollins.com to learn more about Collins’ vision for the future of IL-07. More information about The Strokes can be found at TheStrokes.com.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
