The Upstate Life

Monday, November 15, 2004

TUL's Take: Interpol @ Hammerstein Ballroom

We arrived midway through The Secret Machines set as no one really seemed to mind the fact we entirely missed On!Air!Library! I'm not much of SM fan nor do I know many of their songs, but they were a decent act to watch. They were performing against these tall lamps that glared onto the audience the majority of the set which was unique. They certainly had more energy on the stage than what was to follow, but more on that later. It seemed most of the crowd was engaged in open discussion like we were in a high school cafeteria as there were a ton of people talking during Secret Machines. Hammerstein isn't the greatest venue to catch a show due to its huge floor area and poor acoustics. SM finished their act around 9:15, as Bri noticed the soundboard dude's schedule stating that Interpol were to take the stage at 9:50. The three of us quickly made our way up to the front as far as we could. I'd say we were maybe about 10 or 11 rows of people back from the front.

A little before 10, Interpol made their way to the stage. They began the show with "Next Exit" which I thought was an appropriate opener. The band then started to get things going by performing "Evil" immediately after. Unlike the Muse concert, Interpol really failed to captivate me during their set. Don't get me wrong, they're an excellent band and all, but when you see them strumming along song after song it gets a bit tiring. They played a great setlist as I got to hear all my favorites, but there weren't many surprises if any as most of the songs sounded nearly identical from what you would hear on their records. "Slow Hands" was probably the weakest of the songs that night as Banks' voice felt somewhat flat, particularly during the chorus. "NYC" was definitely the highlight of the night since the otherwise passive crowd was really into it. We were also treated to a second encore when they came out and played "Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down" which added a nice touch. Overall, their performance was very solid but nothing really stood out in particular. Setlist via Fluxblog:

Next Exit
Evil
Length Of Love
Obstacle 1
Public Pervert
Say Hello To The Angels
Not Even Jail
Hands Away
NYC
Slow Hands
Narc
PDA

ENCORE 1
Leif Erikson
Roland

ENCORE 2
Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down

Posted by Brett at 3:18 PM |