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indie-snob>+!#
interpol @ belmont music fest (6-1-03)
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Perhaps I fell in love with Interpol by default. I never listened to a lot of Joy Division (the band they are most often compared to (with good reason)), I'm not goth in much of any sense, and I hadn't really heard all that much about the new-found indie rock darlings, but I guess that's all I needed to buy their album when it first came out. Initially, I was modestly unimpressed. They seemed, somehow, like a normal, genuine rock band and not much more... until you start listening deep inside Interpol, where the complex guitars and lyrics shine out. And that is what the band did at the Belmont and Sheffield Music Festival. Opening up officially for Interpol were their Touch & Go mates, Enon, a band I very recently reviewed with the Faint. This time, Enon split their set in two, instead of rocking back and forth between Guitar-Song/He-sings and Techno-Dance-Song/She-sings. I still favor the songs that "Miho" (the name we've dubbed her, since she seems so much like Miho Hatori), which was the second half of the set, and over-all the highlight of the set. "Miho" has this little angelic voice that doubles as a screaming punk master, much like the wails of Bjork. It's this that creates a rich texture in the songs she sings, with catchy dance numbers that really do move you around. "Disposable Parts" is a great song, in addition to their more shared work on their most recent single, "In This City." This crowd, however, seemed distinctly more Interpol-y though, with at least several men who looked like women. Most people seemed to be in black, even those people who I've seen at concerts before in normal clothing. As Interpol came out, I seemed to notice a theme... black, black, black, black... all except for the lead singer had all black on. Hmm. So I guess Interpol really is a goth band. Oh well. They opened with the most obvious choice of "Untitled," since it truly does have that opener quality to it. Basically though, the band played a set entirely off "Turn on the Bright Lights." This is not surprising though. This NYC band have made their entire career on their debut album; their intial releases were just songs off this Matador release anyway. I was surprised to not hear more new songs from the band, the only one I could tell was simply called "That New One" on the setlist (I doubt this is a working title). It was, nonetheless, a most fantastic show. Since I was second row, I really saw what went into making everything happen, the guitar work by both the lead singer and the lead guitarist was simply amazing, from their progression of chords to the slides and variations of the riffs. The dark lyrics also seemed to penetrate me that night, especially from the highlights of the show, like the monumental scream in "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down." "Stella / Stelllaaaa! / Stella I love you, Stella I love you, Stella I looooove yoooooou." Mmmm, so good. Another amazing part was in the band's final encore of "Leif Erikson" when he sings "But she doesn't know that I left my urge in the icebox." That one line still stands out in my mind. And I think that's what Interpol's live show is: memorable. The tunes are strangely catchy and strangely movable in that alienating way. I can indeed tell you though that I danced around. The first [and most likely last] time I have ever danced to goth. A worthy live show. I think they were probably one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Truly. Catch them if you can (although there aren't many US dates planned for this summer). |