Interpol

The world’s finest purveyors of brooding, sensual rock graced the Palace Theatre with an epic final headlining show of their Australian tour. Along for the ride were Sydney five piece Bridezilla and their experimental pop tunes. Bridezilla live did nothing for me, they’re definitely not an animated bunch and their slow moving ethereal sounds weren’t remotely engaging. The band had an air of nonchalance about them that wasn’t endearing and that made it difficult to enjoy their sounds. The music itself was not all bad, Bridezilla have some interesting arrangements with violin and saxophone thrown into the mix, but it wasn’t well executed live. Watching Daisy Tully make love to a violin was relatively disturbing and is not an experience I’m keen to repeat anytime soon.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Interpol finally took to the stage and the sold out crowd went mental as they launched straight into Success, the opening track from their latest eponymous LP. Paul Banks has always been a reluctant front man with minimal crowd interaction and the occasional thank you uttered between songs. I was very keen to see how their live show faired with the departure of Carlos D mid last year as the man oozes charisma and watching him stalk the stage and eyeing off ladies in the crowd was highly entertaining on their previous tours. New tour recruits Dave Pajo on bass and Brandon Curtis on keys and backing vocals more than made up for Carlos’ absence, with Pajo in particular being a brilliant musician who fit right in with the band’s intense atmospherics.

Interpol’s focus is still on perfection, and whilst the band has an enigmatic presence, the music speaks for itself and the lush sonic wonderland they created was a heavenly euphoric auditory orgasm. They are all skilled players and the tight relationship between Daniel Kessler, Banks and Sam Fogarino made for a flawless set, which much like their music built slowly to a grand finale that was over all to quickly. Bank’s dulcet baritone has improved immensely since I first saw them at Splendour in the Grass back in 2005, and he gave an impassioned performance that had everyone in the room swooning in adoration. Interpol played a sweet selection from their back catalogue with the early appearance of old favourites Say Hello To TheAngels and Leif Erikson. Highlights of the night included a powerful performance of The New, the entire room jumping to Evil and Barricades, hearing the majesty of Lights as Banks crooned into the mic - that’s why I hold you near and the massive sing along that ensued with Obstacle 1, NYC and PDA. The night ended with a rousing rendition of Not Even Jail and Banks and co. thanking us all for making the last night of their tour so special before walking offstage to thunderous applause. Interpol are a stunning band and their live shows are unadulterated bliss. One can only hope that they’ll be back on our shores again soon.

Set list:
Success
Say Hello To The Angels
Leif Erikson
NARC
Summer Well
Rest My Chemistry
Evil
Mammoth
The New
Barricades
Lights
Obstacle 1
Memory Serves
Take You On A Cruise
Slow Hands

Encore:
NYC
PDA
Not Even Jail

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