Interpol live!

Interpol
Aragon Ballroom, Chicago
Thursday, October 11, 2007

For the third time this year, Interpol visited Chicago with its haunting, atmospheric indie rock. Though it may seem like overkill, each setting and circumstance was remarkably diverse, from its Our Love To Admire prerelease publicity gig at the intimate Metro, to a co-headlining slot alongside Muse on Saturday night of Lollapalooza, to a full-length solo show at a sold-out Aragon. Throughout each step of the journey, the Big Apple-based band continues to shed its skin as the second coming of Joy Division (a title now handed down to the nearly plagiaristic She Wants Revenge) and seems much more confident delivering its brooding, occasionally downright dark, but delightfully moody post punk.

Similar to its latest CD, the 90-minute set started with the unassuming but entrancing “Pioneer To The Falls,” wrapped around ghostly guitar strums and keys, plus the melancholy cries of vocalist Paul Banks. It may have been ominous enough to put a near suicidal attendee over the edge, but Interpol quickly peeled back the cloudy underpinning for the much more assertive and infectious “Obstacle 1” (off its critically lauded debut Turn On The Bright Lights).

The set continued bounced back and fourth between those two records but also included “Evil” from 2004’s Antics. The track served as yet another textbook example of Interpol’s hypnotic bass lines, threatening guitar churns, and insistent vocals that would make Ian Curtis (and at times even Morrissey) proud. “Mammoth” was also sliced from a similar station, merging militant drum beats and eerie electronics as ten LCD screens briskly changed colors to the corresponding beats.

The eye-catching production (most meaty of any Interpol tour thus far) also helped build the momentum during “Slow Hands,” a grinding affair with escalating percussion backed by several clouds of smoke. “PDA” served as the show’s ultimate peak as Banks and company performed in front of a blood-red backdrop (reminiscent of the Turn On The Bright Lights cover to much more imaginative degrees) as the aggressive pleas of “sleep tight/dream right” collided with Daniel Kessler’s guitar circling (a la The Edge).

Throughout the night’s three-CD sampling, there was no denying Interpol’s retro leanings or obvious influence pool, but the group clearly graduated beyond flash-in-the-pan status and is well on the way toward longevity in an age of one-album wonders.

— Andy Argyrakis

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly