Interpol Live - MSG

For a previous non-fan, I enjoyed Interpol a lot on Friday night's Madison Square Garden show. Part of this was of course just being caught up in the excitement of being at the Garden (yes, it still gives thrills). But, really, the band sounded great, the sound and lighting was excellent and apart from their curtain snafu at the start, everything else went well. Kudos to Interpol for a triumphant show.

-- Newsday's J. Edwards Keyes succinctly wrote: "It could be argued that the group writes only three kinds of songs -- doomy rock numbers, loping atmospheric ballads and frenetic danses macabre -- but on Friday, it executed them with such energy and efficiency it was hard to care. "Say Hello to the Angels" was all swiping chords and thundering percussion, guitarist Daniel Kessler rushing forward then plunging back. "Narc" throttled forward on a tight, rigid groove and "Pace is the Trick" layered icicle-drip guitars over Paul Banks' full, ominous baritone."

-- Kevin Barnett wrote: "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."

- Sentimentalist Magazine wrote: "All of this can seem a bit overly serious, of course, and so naturally, or perhaps not, Interpol suffered a Spinal Tap moment at the zenith of their grand reveal; a white screen was to drop during the climax of “Pioneer to the Falls,” but instead did not until after the second song, “Obstacle 1.” Cue the fans gesturing madly, screaming “pull the screen down!” Kessler asking roadies what the deal was, and famously reticent frontman Paul Banks briefly stopping the show to address the problem, stating to everyone’s delight, “We’re going to take a little break while they remove the fucking curtain so we can see you.” Visual prop mishap aside, it never took away from the magnificent power of “Pioneer” or the excitement of the old and beloved latter tune."

-- Bobby Sketch wrote: "After the screen came down, the band seemed to get into a great groove, playing an array of songs from all of their albums. They satisfied me, the casual Interpol fan, with “NYC,” “No I in Threesome,” “Rest my Chemistry,” “Stella Was A Driver And She Was” and “Obstacle 1.”

I took a few pix, but they're mostly crap, so here's a cool one from Bobby Sketch.


Here's one short clip - see a bunch more at YouTube.