Mercer...................Interpol Live Review

“Stella was a Diver and She was Always Down” was the frst song that I ever loved. I promise that the rest of this review is way less melodramatic than that frst sentence, I just had to get all of the drama out of the way at once. Back in seventh grade, I Google image searched “Interpol Live” and found a fantastic photo of Paul Banks, back-lit in a cold blue hue while performing “Untitled.” The image had a profound effect on me, resulting in Interpol being the very frst entry on my “Essential-Bands-To-See-Live” list. It’s been more than six years in the making, but I fnally got around to crossing them off last night (11/14/2014). In terms of today’s active bands that use the standard guitar/guitar/keys/drums instrumentation, Interpol is peerless. There are no vocal or guitar effects. There are no crazy synths or weird loops. There’s no time signature trickery or extensive vocal harmony. Everything that Interpol does is limited to the relationships between their instruments at their most basic levels. That’s what makes the greatness of the show all the more impressive: they utilize every simple element to it’s fullest. The live show perfectly refected the bands extensive dynamic range in the studio, stretching all the way from “Say Hello to the Angel’s” crunchy-ass bass riffs to “Untitled’s” supreme serenity. The lights were no less fantastic. Even though it was a little corny, I won’t lie: when the white spotlights emitted at full blast when Paul sang “It’s up to me now / Turn on the bright lights” during “NYC,” I nearly melted. The new material from El Pintor held up well in a live setting, performing a bit better than it does on the record. Of course, the real highlights were found amongst the older material, of which Interpol certainly delivered. The setlist ran like an “Ian Mercer’s Favorite Interpol Songs” compilation: “Stella,” “PDA,” “NYC,” “Slow Hands,” “C’mere,” “Say Hello to the Angels,” “Evil,” “Hands Away,” and “Untitled” were all performed (the last one was especially fantastic, considering how rarely it is performed).

All in all, the set was fawless. “Untitled” transitioning into “PDA” was the musical highlight of my year.

Score: 16 out of 16 Knives