Beneath the twinkling ceiling of the historic Aragon Ballroom, the premier arbiters of New York cool were kind enough to bless the Windy City with an appearance.
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Interpol
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 Entertainment
Art
Aragon Ballroom
Chicago, Ill.
October 11, 2007
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Not so subtly influenced by Joy Division, Interpol is one of the indie rock phenoms of late that enthralls some, yet baffles many. Created after guitarist Daniel Kessler ran into guitarist and vocalist Paul Banks on the streets of NYC after a brief acquaintance in Paris and adding Carlos D. and Sam Fogarino, on bass and drums respectively, they threw on black cigarette trousers and called themselves Interpol.
On this unseasonably warm October eve, Interpol hit the stage with the truly haunting “Pioneer to the Falls,” from their current release Our Love to Admire. With sobering blue and white lights beaming from the stage into the packed Ballroom, the chills were palpable and the crowd swayed, eyes closed, quietly singing every word.
That’s one thing that separates Interpol’s fans from others- the studying they do. Even at Lollapalooza, with a set time competing with Muse, exactly one month after the release of Our Love, the crowd knew every song off the new release, evoking a mental image of hipsters poring over liner notes and online lyrics sheets-but I digress.
Hitting all the bases and kicking it up a couple notches, Interpol played their shoe gaze-ish best, with “Obstacle” and “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down” from their first independent full length, Turn On the Bright Lights. It seems as though 2002 was a hard year for these boys-every song from this album sounds like an elegy, no matter the topic.
Banks’ flat affect, and their tendency to stand still saps the energy out of the songs at times, and their light show, moving on from sobering to just plain bright, the colors often incongruously vigorous compared to the amount of action onstage made me feel like I was at a Hilary Duff show where she forgot her choreography.
Finally, Kessler and Carlos D. proved themselves living, kicking it up a notch after “NARC” from their second album Antics. The crowd danced, heads bobbing, and finally the fun arrived.
If only aping their favorites, Interpol truly knows how to write a song. Their music’s so great, if they could capture that emotion in their live show without having schizophrenic lights taking the place of actual movement. The hypnotizing effects of Banks and Kessler’s distorted guitars and Banks’ haunting voice, make for an intense effect in a venue, with the sound bouncing off every available surface, and combined with the fervent singing of a crowd possessed, it’s quite possible to believe in live music again.
Throwing in their current single “The Heinrich Maneuver” as well as Antics favorite “Evil” toward the end of the set, Interpol peaked late, but the crowd didn’t mind. There is no middle ground with these fans. There is no like, only love, and the fans that came out proved their affection for Interpol is truly one to admire.
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