Paul Banks performing lead vocals and guitar for Interpol. (photo: luhp)
I wasn’t sure if Interpol had graduated to arena rock or if they wanted to play to a large home crowd. Either way, their performance at MSG worked well. The new material off of Our Love To Admire coupled with select tracks from Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics fits well in a setlist. It’s hard to believe but Interpol actually exhibited some energy as if they were having a really good time. Paul thanked the crowd several times, Carlos D had a skip in his step and Daniel Kessler pulled off a Buddy Holly dance move more times than I could count.
The un-natural still life imagery from Our Love To Admire and stage lighting was appropriately matched to each song but if they plan to stick with arena rock, they’ll have to consider upgrading. The crowd was extremely receptive to the new songs in addition to the old hits. And getting the band to come out again to play Untitled was my favorite moment. They brought it home, completing an impressive setlist and performance.
Pioneer to the Falls
Obstacle 1
C’Mere
Narc
Say Hello to the Angels
Pace is the Trick
Mammoth
Hands Away
No I in Threesome
Slow Hands
Rest My Chemistry
The Heinrich Maneuver
Evil
Not Even Jail
NYC
Stella Was A Diver and She Was Always Down
PDA
Untitled
*update: Rolling Stone has a captioned photo gallery of Interpol backstage @ MSG before the show.