The Pageant was completely and utterly packed for the Strokes’ sold out appearance Tuesday night. After an unsatisfactory set from the Raveonettes, a forty-minute wait during set-up and sound check left the place buzzing, sweating and impatiently sipping over-priced drinks as backwards-baseball-cap-wearing dude-bros and their clubby clothes-dressed honeys jockeyed for place with rail-thin hipsters and their asymmetrical haircuts.

Relegated to the balcony because of late arrival and stuck behind the tallest girl to ever live, I was sure I was in for a disappointing evening. But as the lights went down and the five nattily dressed members of the Strokes calmly took the stage, their presences illuminated by the shadows cast from lit cigarettes, the unpleasant nature of the crowdedness seemed to vanish. The opening bass riff of “Reptilia,” from the latest album, “Room on Fire,” signaled the beginning of the show, and poseurs were removed from their hip trances as strobe lights blinded the audience.

The first uncontrollable ovation came long before the end of that first song, as all instruments dropped out but for the jittery guitar and the crowd went nuts. After the song, the screaming had to subside because the band followed the opening number with their most well-known hit song, “Last Nite.” The audience sing-along nearly drowned out vocalist Julian Casablancas’ artfully disaffected croon, but nothing could extinguish the fire of Albert Hammond’s spasmodic guitar solo.

Since the last time I had seen them-on the tour supporting the release of their first album “Is This It?”-the Strokes have morphed from an indie-style band playing small clubs and barely moving onstage to an arena rock force to be reckoned with. Casablancas, instead of hiding behind his hands and having to hold himself upright on the microphone stand because of the drunken wobbles, had some seemingly rehearsed banter and a calmer presence as he stalked the stage. Albert Hammond and drummer Fabrizio Moretti are both born rock stars, and have too much fun onstage to have time for ultra-cool poses. Though they stand stock still second guitarist Nick Valensi and bassist Nikolai Fraiture look the part. The lights were amazing and the sound was note perfect-every guitar strum and drumbeat was crystal clear. And nearly every song had a point where certain instruments would drop out, prompting ecstatic roars from the crowd.

What seemed to be lost in all of this, though, was a slight sense of the rock and roll spirit. A band whose songs are as intimate as the Strokes’ are wouldn’t be playing such a huge venue in a perfect world. Some of the connection from those earlier shows was lost, and it took the bigger, more bombastic, louder numbers to regain that. “NYC Cops” was a good example of this, and probably the best cut they played the whole night-though it wasn’t on the US release of “Is This It?” the crowd sure seemed to know it, and its punky blasts got the floor moving back to front and side to side.

For most of the set, they alternated songs from “Room on Fire” and the debut album and closed with their usual set-ender, “Take It or Leave It.” The house lights came up, indicating there’d be no encore. The Strokes are a very good band, and they’re getting very popular. Hopefully, though, that doesn’t mean the next time we get an opportunity to see them it’ll be at an even larger, more impersonal venue. It’s hard to set an entire room on fire when it’s that big.

Much more, and this is the snob in me coming out . . . it’s disappointing to go to a concert and be standing around people who don’t appear to enjoy any music, much less the music being played at the particular show. As my compatriots stupidly danced our white asses off, we were eyed incredulously by people who were obviously too cool for fun. Previous Strokes shows in smaller venues weren’t like that. Everyone was there for the band rather than the social event status of: “Dude, we’re goin’ to the Strokes show,” “Aw, sweet dude, you got another ticket, I think I’ll bring Megan . . . maybe she’ll let me tap that cuz I think she likes that one song they played on the radio.”

But that’s the dilemma of loving a band that gets popular. And I hope they continue to be-because, no matter how selfish I might be, everyone needs to hear the Strokes’ rock and roll renaissance. If that means I might not be able to see for the whole show, then so be it.

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